Things that I took away from conducting the workshop: After the presentation, we did a group exercise where we gave each group an object which they should determine how and where they could use the object. After that, we gave the task to throw all those uses out of the window and think of new weird ways to utilize the object.
The results were interesting, they imagined very different usages of what I was imagining but that was also the point of the exercise. Things like the egg cuter where a group imagined a new application for opening bottles for people with a weak grip. The exercise should let people go beyond what they think how an object should be used and try to imagine how someone would use it who never heard of it before.
Other points:
Effective testing involves asking important questions:
Timing and methods are very important factors. Thinking about moments like Xerox's innovations, where luck played a big role. There can be more to the value of a Project beyond what you see immediately. As technology advances, its purpose might not always be clear. Steve Jobs used Xerox's ideas to help Apple succeed. We need to recognize our assumptions in design, whether we're using numbers or personal experiences. Both can be influenced by our biases and opinions.
Numbers give us reproducible results, but we need to be careful how we interpret them. On the other hand, personal stories give us unique insights that are hard to fake. It's important to show how our research is used in real life. Being creative means trying different methods and checking our biases. But often, we skip studying users because we don't have enough time or money. Being creative means building on what's already been done. We need to keep evaluating our projects, changing our assumptions as we go. Reflecting on what we've learned helps us improve in the future. By showing our results visually and in writing, we can keep improving our projects.