Design Studio 388 - End of Term Reflection Paper

A Journey with D.Studio By Jennifer Zhen 31685134

SHORT 12 WEEKS

While it was a short 12 weeks and 12 classes, I felt that through this course I was able to better understand and grow my personal thinking processes and translate them to future applications. Through working with EY specifically, my team and I were able to take what we learned in the classroom and in readings to evaluate, assess, and design a solution for a company facing a real problem. This project overall, provided me the platform and opportunity to learn, make mistakes, and succeed in the future.

MY PERSONA

Prior to working with my team, I had identified as being an “Anthropologist” and a “collaborator”. Within my team, I found that this held true because I had contributed to fact-finding. I had compiled the characteristics of Millennials and always asked questions to dive deeper into our facts of EY employees and how the company operated. I refined my personal by always trying to see the problem in a different light. I challenged our group with questions to probe discussion and idea generation. Furthermore, as a collaborator, I got along easily with my team members, encouraged them and offered to help, and that facilitated enjoyable meetings that were productive at the same time. Understanding my personas, not only benefitted my D.Studio team, but also my Brand Management team where I stepped up to conduct market research and make sure the facts were gathered appropriately. Understanding the importance I had as a collaborator in my D.Studio team will encourage me to use my ability to encourage, support and build a team in future employment and group settings.

TEAM WORK

[pic 1]With concepts learned from the classroom, my team and I had adapted team scrums at the beginning of each meeting in order to reassess one another’s progress as well as a way to get to know one another. Before each meeting we would identify around the table what we did prior to the meeting, what we’re working on now, and what we needed help with. We also did ‘personal updates’ which were a key component to the success of our team building and atmosphere. I realized how effective these scrums were in team building and making meetings more effective. I have been using both these ideas when I conduct meetings with my Commerce Undergraduate Society Marketing Portfolio before diving into the professional updates. Not only does it allow me to get to know my team, but understand where I can help them.

[pic 2]CLASS READING

The reading that resonated the most with me was in the early beginning of the course – Customer Profiles. Prior to understanding the reading and the concept, I had not considered a customer profile to the extent that this one did provided. It allowed me to dive deep into the root of the “Pains, Gains, and Jobs of the Customer” in order to identify the facts, the issue, and the solution in a broad, yet insightful way. With EY, we figured out their motivation by asking “Why would they want to do this?” “What benefit do they want?” I am able to translate what I learnt about Customer Profiles to not only in business, but in life in general of why people do what they do. Knowing this method will help me understand what motivates people and why they do what they do. I can relate it to family, relationships, employers, friends, all sorts of people and that’s what makes it fascinating to me – because I can use it to better understand anyone.