What will we do in a team?

Your team will go through a semester-long design process together, which will involve finding & identifying target users’ needs, prototyping & implementing ideas, and testing & iterating on solutions. You will build an interactive prototype using a prototyping tool (e.g., Figma, InVision, ProtoPie, etc.). Please note that no implementation of a working web application (like previous years) is required this year. Also, we limit the scope of the solution to software-only prototypes, which means no physical interfaces, no dedicated hardware or devices, no sensors, and no robots.

How do we find a topic?

You don’t have to commit to one idea yet. Remember that the whole purpose of the design process is to make sure you carefully understand the user’s needs before jumping to a solution. In this phase, your team needs to answer the following questions: (1) Who’s your tentative target user population? and (2) What experience do you want to redesign for the target user population? (e.g., “redesign how a user gives gifts to their family”, “redesign how a KAIST visitor takes a school tour”, and “redesign how a blind user watches video”).

Please shoot for a stretch idea, by aiming to support a target user population that is far from you. The team members should not be in the target population. While we understand that you may need to interview some students during some parts of the project for logistical reasons, you are highly encouraged to make the majority of participants be non-students. For example, a course planning app for undergrads would not be allowed. But also keep in mind you need to have access to the target user population, since you’ll need to actually observe and talk to them throughout the design process. Please talk to course staff if you want to run by your ideas.

How do I find teammates?

Use Campuswire to post advertisements for finding teams and teammates. You may also continue to work with teammates from the Mini Project. We will also hold a couple of team-matching sessions after class before the due date.

What should my team look like?

Each team should have four students. However, the students taking the course may not be divisible by four, or there’s always a chance your team member(s) might unexpectedly drop the class. We will take into account the circumstances of the team for grading. The more diverse the members are (e.g., major, year, gender, nationality, interest, skillset), the better. You become more creative, learn more, and ultimately perform better when you work with people who are not like you.

Okay, we have a team now. How do we submit?

Each team needs to submit the team signup form. Note that your team just needs to submit once; no need for everyone to submit the form separately.