Assignment 7: Final Design Thinking Challenge Deliverable (Team)

This assignment is the culmination of your Design Thinking Challenge. It represents the accumulative learning from and about the challenge. For this assignment, you will develop and share a presentation of your design challenge prototype in response to the design challenge for MACAL 501.

Contemporary approaches for climate adaptation leadership are as varied as the sectors involved. As an example, six statements are provided below from your readings:

“[T]he more scientists understand the significance of the practice and renewal of Indigenous knowledges for Indigenous peoples’ own purposes of preparing for climate change and Whyte | 159 protecting their ways of life (sometimes called the governance value of Indigenous knowledges23), the more scientists will grasp richer senses of their responsibilities to work with Indigenous collaborators mutually instead of exploitatively. “(Whyte, 2017)

“We envision an important share of the new generation of scholars on climate change adaptation to be generalists, educated to assist addressing real world problems. But this means that there is also an increasing need for a science of adaptation—to provide substantive insights and recommendations to support transdisciplinary research.” (Swart et al, 2014)

“Whenever you study a complex system, human being, being part of it, you have to realize that different groups of human beings will have different values, different culture, different ideas, and you have to try to take everything into account…We need to realize that not everybody thinks the same way we think and so whenever we go out to try to understand a complex situation, we need to further realize that we’re going to have different voices, we’re going to have different groups with different ideas and we have to listen to all of it to be able to get a better picture of what’s happening.” (Edwin Castellanos, Universidad del Valle de Guatemala. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5xGi9EFCSY)

“Inside the teaching lodge, we engage in a process I’ve termed relational systems thinking where awareness-based systems change centers mutual benefit, a foundational principle that Uncle Dan shared with me, between all the humans, the non-humans, the unborn generations and our Earth Mother.” (Goodchild et al, 2021)

“Given the novelty, complexity and magnitude of the crisis, organisations are forced to think beyond tried-and-tested ways of thinking and doing. Designers “conceive and plan what does not yet exist” (Buchanan, 1992, p. 18), making design thinking a particularly wellsuited way for organisations to address the complex challenges in the broader business environment (Kolko, 2015) and solve wicked problems (von Thienen, Meinel, & Nicolai, 2014).” (Cankurtaran, 2020)

“The interconnections between players in any given system are complex, and poorly designed attempts to make changes can have negative unintended consequences or introduce new failures or inequalities. Supporting transformational adaptation requires the capacity to inquire systematically. This means to inquire into a system of interest, to understand the history of that system (e.g. around sources of control, legitimacy and knowledge) and challenge the assumptions that underpin existing structures and ways of doing things. Reproducing ‘solutions’ without assessing what holds the current system in place may result in simply reinforcing existing failures and inequality.” (Lonsdale and Turner, 2016)

Design Rationale

You have already reviewed and analyzed some of the literature concerning issues of climate adaptation, resilience, and Indigenous perspectives to date in the MACAL 501 Learning Intensive. Therefore, you and your team (the designers), are in a powerful position to engage in the design thinking process to answer the following question:

What are ways we might encourage the public [businesses, politicians, educational institutions, not for profits, communities] to to use their voice and understanding to become more actively engaged in creating and implementing climate adaptation strategies?

Problem Scenario:

You and your team have been selected by your respective organizations to design and develop a prototype of a component of an open educational program designed to empower and engage end users. You are the designers in this problem scenario. You have access to your faculty, guest speakers, and the literature to inform and mentor you along the way. Your design should help end users begin to understand their role, responsibilities, and actions towards climate action, whether you focus on adaptation or mitigation, or co-benefits. You and your team, the designers, will determine who your end users are. It could be general public, a specific age group in the general public, Rights Holder or Stake Holders in your organizations. Remember, in human centred design, we recognize that the end users hold a portion of any solution.  Your prototype should encourage end users to use their voice and understanding to become more actively engaged in inclusive climate adaptation strategies.

Assignment 7 – Presentation Parameters:

• Assignment 7 focuses on presenting the results of your team undergoing the design thinking process throughout this course (Steps 1 – 9) using the CAL 501 Design Challenge Worksheet May 17 2021 Full as your guide.
• Your team will create and present a 10 – 15 min team presentation (delivered live in our synch sessions in Unit 5). The presentations will be recorded during the synch sessions.
• Content: The presentation should address the following:

The prototype: consider the following questions (these are not proscriptive – use these to guide your presentation on the prototype itself):

• • What problem or issue does this prototype solution or initiative address?
  • How does this prototype address it?
  • What do you think is most important to making your idea a success?  Do you have ideas for further refining your solution based upon the feedback you received?
  • What are the component parts of your prototype (description of what you are proposing)?

The Design Thinking Process you engaged in (these are not proscriptive – use these to guide your presentation on the process):

• • What are your reflections on the process you engaged in to design this prototype? As you reflect on this process question consider the following:
    • • What aspects of your solution were well-received by your peers?  Did your peers provide any suggestions for improvement?
      • What was the most surprising thing you learned through the design thinking process?
      • Which part of the process was most rewarding? Why?
      • Which part of the process was most difficult or frustrating? Why?
      • What parts of the design thinking process are particularly useful or insightful for tackling challenges in your own organizational context?
      • What would you do differently next time?

• The balance of these two areas is up to you, but you should include both. You may decide to use PPT, or Prezi, or share an Infographic, or tell a story. You as a team decide how you want to present.
• You are not required to have handouts, but if you do then please share those with instructors in advance so that these can be shared with your peers.
• During the presentation session, you will give and receive feedback on the design thinking conceptual prototypes that are shared.
  • See the Asking Good Questions prompts in the Taking Making into Classrooms Toolkit and this Asking Good Questions document shared with thanks by UBC-O.
• Assignment 7 will be assessed by instructors using the rubric below.
• You are expected to show evidence of critical thinking and a consideration of trans-disciplinarity. Your final deliverable should be research/evidence informed, demonstrate your ability to analyze and synthesize ideas and adhere to APA writing style. You are expected to incorporate APA standards for citations, formatting, and references and to back up your writing with evidence and appropriate academic literature as necessary. You are required to pay attention to grammar and clarity and to avoid colloquialisms. References are not included in the assignment word count.

Success Determinants:Success will be determined by:

• Alignment to design motto: “design is an optimistic stance.”
• Degree to which your prototype addresses the problem posed in the Design Challenge
• Degree to which your prototype aligns with your group’s design sketch
• Considerations of openness  suggested with your prototype
• Evidence of interdisciplinary with your prototype
• Functionality illustrated within your prototype
• Uniqueness

Weight: 25%

Submit: your team presentation to the Assignment 7 – Final Design Thinking Challenge Deliverable dropbox in Moodle.

Assignment 7 Assessment Rubric

Assignment 7 will be assessed according to the following rubric:

Course Learning Outcome/Assessment Criteria	Excellent (A+ to A)	Proficient (A- to B+)	Satisfactory (B to B-)	Unsatisfactory (F)
Citation and APA format	All citations and APA format are correct.	Most citations and APA formatting are correct.	Some citations and APA formatting are correct.	Citations and APA formatting are not correct.
Style, Grammar, Spelling	Writing is clear and effective for potential audiences with minimal errors in grammar, spelling, mechanics, and punctuation. Paragraphs are well-organized and adhere to proper academic paragraphing structure.	Writing is clear and effective for potential audiences, for the most part, with minor errors in grammar, spelling, mechanics, and punctuation. Paragraphs are fairly organized and mostly adhere to proper academic paragraphing structure.	Writing is somewhat unclear and/or ineffective for potential audiences with multiple errors in grammar, spelling, mechanics, and punctuation. Paragraphs somewhat adhere to proper academic paragraphing structure.	Writing is unclear and ineffective for potential audiences with significant and repeated patterns of errors in grammar, spelling, mechanics, and punctuation. Paragraphs do not adhere to proper academic paragraphing structure.
Summary of Solution	The solution is thoughtful and original and demonstrates an inter-discipline approach. It demonstrates the design thinking process. It clearly addresses the design challenge, adheres to parameters and success determinants and showcases evidence of iterations along the way based on the deepening understanding of the problem informed by multiple perspectives.	The solution demonstrates adequate development of ideas and some connections beyond specific disciplines but would benefit from more specific development of relevant points through more discussion. Some of the design parameters are addressed and some success determinants are adhered to.	The solution has some development but seems to lack insufficient discussion or contain irrelevant details that do not yet develop a clear sense of purpose. The solution does not address the design challenge as outlined. It does not adhere to the design parameters or consider all of the success determinants in the solution as presented.	The solution requires more details on every level and lacks relevance and originality.
Documentation of the Design Thinking Process	Thoroughly documents the design thinking process and provides an insightful discussion of the experience. Clear, detailed examples are provided, as applicable. Reflection demonstrates synthesis of ideas and feedback received and speaks to the next iteration of the solution presented.	Documents the design thinking process and provides a discussion of the experience. Appropriate examples are provided, as applicable. Reflection somewhat demonstrates analysis and synthesis of feedback received and begins to address further iterations required.	Documents some of the design thinking process and provides a limited discussion of the experience. Some examples, when applicable, are provided, but they are minimally connected to the assignment. Reflection is minimal and does not demonstrate synthesis of feedback and/or considerations for the next iteration of the solution presented.	The design thinking process is minimally documented and there is little to no discussion of the experience. Examples, when applicable, are not provided. Reflection on the feedback and synthesis of it to inform the next iteration is not provided.

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