Discuss about the Design IT for Understand, Improve and Apply.
The term blog is a short form which is used to refer to a weblog. It is a website which has published information that is on the World Wide Web. A blog is a very useful resource in helping to track and record the activities in which an individual does. A blog can also help an individual in nurturing their reflection and writing skills. If an individual can nurture these skills they will be able to become good writers and communicators as they talk or refer to a specific issue. The will also be able to remember and reflect on various experiences in which they have undergone and learning from them. This week deliverables were to define and understand blogs and why they are needed to aid in reflection. All the blogs will build up on each other to ensure they give a descriptive view of the whole venture.
A blog can help an individual share their own personal experience in referring to a specific issue or topic. A blog enables individuals to detail the learning objectives which they are able to achieve throughout the course of this unit. In the beginning of the unit the lessons were very inspiring. As expected they would be since it was a new unit. The surprising thing was that the information we acquired as the weeks went by became more interesting. This unit was one of the founding factors which led me to begin my entrepreneurial journey. This week was all about the introduction part of the unit and what we expected to learn would be detailed.
The critical thinking lecture was one of these ground breaking lectures in my journey. Critical analysis is the process of going through every possible scenario when presented with a problem to find a viable solution. Critical analysis is a very important skill in trying to find a viable solution to a specific problem. In critical analysis the goals or purpose of the process is to come up with a feasible judgment to a problem. Logical and rational thinking is utilized in critical analysis to ensure it is an effective process. Thinking logically is all about ensuring that your thought process is practical and can be possible to actualize (Visser, 2006).
During the course of the unit I was able to utilize my critical thinking and analysis skills by observing what challenges were being faced by my fellow students. After doing a brainstorming session with some students to identify the problems in which they faced I discovered that most students were having problems as they did their assignments. The level of support and guidance in which students usually get as they are doing their assignments is lacking (Beinecke, 2009). I analyzed the problem and decided that I would be in an ideal position to provide a solution to the students with this issue in which they faced.
I embarked on a journey of understanding the problem and how it would be solved. I utilized all the critical lessons we were taught on design thinking and entrepreneurship to make the whole venture a success. Design thinking is the utilization of creativity and creative processes to come up with solutions to specific problems (Brown, 2008). It is utilized with the designer’s methods and sensibility to match feasible solutions to the problems which individuals may face. Design thinking is a solution based approach which focuses on practicality in reaching creative solutions to specific problems. Design thinking focuses and bases use of critical thinking and analysis to ensure that a feasible solution is obtained to specific problems. Problem solving is a venture which involves a lot of critical thinking and is therefore an engaging and interesting venture.
The design thinking process encourages divergent thinking which is whereby the individuals focusing on the process after achieving their problem definition are able to source out all the possible ways in which they problem can be solved. After this convergent thinking is employed whereby out of all the possible ways to solve a problem a specific one is chosen which is the most viable choice (Dorst & Nigel, 2001). In the course of the semester I was able to identify a problem which faced the students. I decided to solve the problem by utilizing the design thinking process to achieve a viable solution. I defined the problem which was all about students not having enough support as they worked on their assignments.
I researched to identify whether there were many students who faced the same issue and the number was quite high. The possible solutions to solve the problem were researched on. I decided to settle on coming up with a messaging platform where students would be able to communicate with each other and assist each other in their assignments. The platform was the best viable option because most of the students had access to a phone and they would be able to brainstorm with each other as long as they had access to the internet (Plattner, Meinel & Leifer, 2011). The messaging platform was then developed. After this the messaging platform was tested on a few students who would use it frequently as they undertook their assignments.
The last stage was learning from the whole process. Most students did not refute the fact that the internet had been of help to them as they undertook their assignments but the messaging platform helped them to get the needed guidance and coaching from fellow students and lecturers. I was also able to learn why some students did not adopt to using the platform because it did not support the desktop or web application format. This provided good feedback for improvement in the endeavor. My problem solving skills were tested as I came up with the messaging platform and I was able to learn new principles which led me to believe that learning is a lifelong process.
Entrepreneurship is a process in which a new business is designed, launched and brought to operation. These kinds of business usually begin as small businesses which are out to solve a problem (Crainer & Des, 2000). They later may grow based on the impact and applicability they have on their clientele. The whole process of starting a business revolves around satisfying a specific need or solving a specific problem. In the semester that passed I was able to identify a problem in which my fellow students had a hard time while they were working on their assignments. They would sometimes get lost or confused as they did their assignments which led them to attain lower grades. The solution to the problem was the implementation of a messaging platform in which the students would get help from fellow students and coaches as they attempted to do their assignments (Zhang & Cuete, 2015).
The business aspect in the venture was to solve the problem in which the students had and make a profit while at it (Landstorm, 2007). The adoption of the solution by some students displayed that indeed it was a viable solution to a problem that they faced. The business framework behind it was to charge the students a membership fee so that they would gain continuous real time access to the messaging platform. The coaches and lecturers would get to be paid a small fee for input of their professional knowledge in solving the problems which had been posted. There were a fair number of students who subscribed to the service helping the business make a profit (Ramoglou, Tsang et al., 2016).
The project was not widely known to many students and there was a need to continue marketing the business and its benefits to students and other stakeholders so that it would grow and enable the business to grow. Through the whole process I was able to learn a lot both from the knowledge acquired in the unit and application of the knowledge I had to a real world scenario. Entrepreneurship is indeed a worthwhile venture for those who are willing to take a risk and venture into it (Yetisen, Volpatti, Coskun, Cho, Kamrani et al., 2015). It entails a lot of uncertainty and is for those who are willing to survive under such harsh conditions to make it. It also entails a lot of failure and learning experiences. Entrepreneurs are individuals who should be open to a lot of advice, coaching and entrepreneurship. They should be individuals who wish to become entrepreneurs, be teachable and willing to learn for them to improve and grow in their business.
The various blogs in detail build up through the twelve weeks in which I was able to undertake the course. Through every week I was able to work very hard and take a positive approach in ensuring that I achieved the required knowledge to come up with a solution that would be viable as a business. The process of design thinking was a very interesting methodology to use in coming up with solutions. Entrepreneurship is also a fulfilling task because it is a fast paced venture which involves the entrepreneur being on their toes and having problem solving skills which enables them to come up with viable solutions as they grow the economy.
References
Beinecke R. (2009). Leadership for Wicked Problems. The Innovation Journal. pp. 1-7.
Brown T. (2008). Design Thinking. Harvard Business Review.
Dorst K. & Nigel C. (2001). Creativity in the design process: Co-evolution of problem-solution. Design Studies. 22(5): 425-437.
Plattner H, Meinel C. & Leifer L. J. (2011). Design thinking: understand, improve, apply. Understanding innovation. Springer.
Visser W. (2006). The cognitive artifacts of designing. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Crainer S. & Des D. (2000). Generation Entrepreneur. FT Press. p.202
Landstorm H. (2007). Pioneers in Entrepreneurship and Small Business Research. Springer.
Ramoglou S., Tsang E. W. K. et al. (2016). A realistic perspective of entrepreneurship: Opportunities as propensities. Academy of Management Review. 41(3): 409-434.
Yetisen A. K., Volpatti L. R., Coskun A. F., Cho S., Kamrani E. et al. (2015). Entrepreneurship. Lab Chip. 15(18): 3638-60.
Zhang S. X. & Cuete J. (2015). The Study of Bias in Entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. 41(3): 419-454
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