1)
a. From the outside it might seem that the person I observed, who is my roommate, is simply missing a lot of deadlines and that it is not such a big deal. However, upon further observation, I noticed that it’s way more than simple forgetfulness.
My roommate has a big problem with remembering deadlines. This can be considered a problem as it has been causing them both academic and professional repercussions.
When it comes to the academic side, they forgot to turn in assignments, on multiple occasions, which caused stress in the following days. This resulted in a drop in their grades, professors’ losing trust in them, and their commitment to their academic careers.
Very similarly, in their professional environment, they forgot to communicate, with the players that they had been coaching, the weekly schedule of the training and failed to remind them that one day of practice was canceled due to the rain. This caused a lot of frustration within the teams and among the parents of the team they were coaching.
The repercussions have brought persistent stress and affected their relationships, causing a loss of trust with colleagues.
b. Moving into the whys and the design thinking approach to further understand this problem here are some considerations I have drawn:
I think that this is a real problem, due to the continuous recurrence. The continuous pattern indicates a more serious issue than a simple episode of forgetfulness. Also, another reason why I strongly believe that this is a problem is because it is heavily affecting their well-being during the day with symptoms such as anxiety and stress. At times, lately, even when they have days off, they are always worried to have forgotten something.
To add to what I just explained above, another reason why this is a real problem is because the parents in the team they are coaching are very unhappy and complain to the management.
To conclude then, the consistently missing deadlines, more than just forgetfulness, reveal actual organizational issues affecting my roommate’s academic and professional performances. This affects trust, induces stress, and disrupts group dynamics, highlighting not just an inconvenience but a continuous challenge that impacts his well-being and interpersonal relationships.
c. some secondary research elements certainly helped me validate my roommates’ forgetfulness as an actual problem:
When it came to observing them, I could see how my roommate’s behaviors would give me a lot of insights. Last-minute scrambles, visible stress, or the aftermath of missed communications, such as players showing up unexpectedly to the field, because they were not notified of changes, are tangible signs of the issue.
However, I also experienced feedback from colleagues, and I could see hints of frustrations related to missed communications or unreliability. When it comes to Academics, I could hear my roommates mentioning how their grades were lowering and they were losing lots of points.
2) a.
I have designed a watch that my roommate should be wearing every day. Ideally, the final goal of the watch would be to help him with his deadlines and forgetfulness and improve his productivity. Below I have explained all the features and functions of the watch:
Red Button – Focus Mode: Whenever the button is pressed, a ‘Focus Mode’ is activated. This will silence all notifications and reminders, except for very important ones. Could be used for This is useful when he needs to concentrate.
Blue Button – Quick Voice Command: If this button is pressed it activates the voice recording feature. With this, he can quickly set reminders, tasks, or any other command without navigating through the menus. This allows for rapid scheduling.
Green Button – Instant Sync and Backup: Lastly, the green button will immediately synchronize all the information to the cloud, allowing all the devices owned by my roommates to reflect the changes done through the watch.
Icons on the Watch Screen:
Robot (AI Pattern Recognition): This app will show his daily, weekly, or monthly patterns. The AI then will analyze how time is spent and all related details. Doing this will help the AI to make future suggestions to make his schedule and day more productive and efficient.
Post-it Pad (Reminders and Tasks): This app will allow you to access tasks, reminders, and to-do’s. Tapping it shows a list, and he can easily add, delete, or modify items. Also, label tasks with their urgency.
Soccer Ball (Soccer Communication): Here he can communicate directly with his team and parents. Schedule updates, messages, and live communication.
Book (Academic Communication): Dedicated to his academics. Will access upcoming assignments, exams, and other educational commitments.
