Design Thinking

Overview

The Design Thinking RapidS Workshop is an integral collaboration between the SIT$223-$SIT$753$

unit and the Capstone unit, specifically tailored for students aiming for Distinction and High

Distinction grades.

This exclusive workshop embraces the core principles of design thinking to foster a creative

and systematic approach to problem$-$solving and innovation. Students aspiring to excel are

invited to immerse themselves in this dynamic environment. Here, they will engage with the

design thinking process to generate and refine innovative product ideas for their chosen

company's capstone project.

Throughout the RapidS workshop, participants will be given the unique opportunity to apply

design thinking methodologies $$ empathising with users, defining pain points, ideating

solutions, and pitching. This hands$-$on experience is critical for developing an individual idea

that is not only innovative but also viable and user$-$centered, serving as a foundation for the

artefacts they will create within their selected capstone company.

Active participation is key, as the workshop is designed to simulate real$-$world challenges,

providing practical experience in the field and the chance to hone skills essential for future

innovation leaders.

Achieving a distinction

To achieve a Distinction, you will need to satisfy all Pass, all Credit, and all Distinction

conditions.

These conditions are guidelines, it is your responsibility to convince your tutor that you have

met or exceeded them and deserve this grade.

$$ being actively involved in the RapidS workshop from week $6$ and doing hands$-$on

activities.

$$ must contribute to all RapidS project process requirements including Pitch video,

Lean Canvas, Product Backlog Trello Board, Low$-$Fi Figma prototype.

$$ all contributions to the project are of a very high standard.

Assessment Instructions

The workshop aims to provide you with a comprehensive understanding of the Capstone

projects, while also giving you the opportunity to learn new skills and gain valuable experience

that will help you in your future Capstone units and IT career.

The submission includes the following two parts.

$1.$ Self$-$reflection report

The goal of this assessment is to help you to deepen your understanding of your

experience and to develop a plan for continuing your professional development. By

reflecting on your experience and setting goals for yourself, you can leverage the skills

and knowledge you gained during the workshop to advance your career in the IT industry.

Your professional development plan should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant,

and time$-$bound $($SMART$),$ and your timeline should help you to stay on track and adjust

your plan as needed. Providing evidence to support your reflections and assessments will

help you to better articulate your learning and growth during the design thinking

experience.

Your reflection should be between $1000$ and $1200$ words written in essay format. Your

submission must include the following sections:

Introduction: Provide an introduction to your design thinking experience, including the

company you worked for, and the problem you worked on$.$

Learning objectives: Describe the learning objectives you set for yourself at the beginning

of the workshop. What did you hope to learn or achieve during the workshop?

Skill assessments: Assess your skills based on what you observed and learned during the

RapidS workshop. What are your key strengths, and how did you leverage them during

the workshop? What skills or areas do you need to improve, and how can you work on

them? Provide examples to support your assessment.

Project reflections: Reflect on the project ideas and problems you worked on$.$ What did

you learn from the project? What challenges did you face, and how did you overcome

them? What were your successes, and how did you achieve them? Provide specific

examples and evidence to support your reflections.

Professional development plan: A professional development plan is meant to allow you

to develop a strategy to address the gaps in your skills as identified in the workshop. The

strategy must include both short term and longer$-$term actions to address the gaps as

follows.

a$.$ Provide details of all the gaps you can see in your skills. For the identified gaps,

draft a plan on how you think you can address the gap and improve your skills and

knowledge to be successful in similar positions.

b$.$ Your professional development plan needs to be specific, achievable, and realistic.

Try to include as many details as you can in your plan and be specific. For example,

if the plan is to improve your web development skills, you need to clearly define

which technologies you would like to learn or improve on$,$ which units at university

are you going to enrol to help you with this, which projects will you try to be

involved, and whether there are opportunities