4 minutes read
Innovation & Interaction Design WorkshopAt Digicorp, we believe design is a key aspect of any software product. We make sure that the products we develop are pleasant to the eye, intuitive to use and minimizes usage problems. Steve Job said, “Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works.”. We completely agree with him and that’s why every software product developed by Digicorp goes through in-depth design analysis. To sharpen our skills, our creative team took part in a two-day Innovation & Interaction Design Workshop delivered by Ketna H, founder of Interiact Lab.
The objective was to broaden the collaborative innovation and creativity within the team. The workshop also touched upon soft skills through communication and mindfulness with the intention to enhance overall confidence and efficiency within the business.
To kick off, the team experienced a unique design thinking process, which included observing, defining, brainstorming, prototyping and testing. The team had never been through this process before which made it more enjoyable and novel. It provided them the exposure of rapid problem solving to create multiple solutions in a short amount of time. Initially, it took some time to get around the fact that they would be using junk to come up with a prototype that would show how something worked.
“It was an outstanding workshop and I learned a lot of things. I figured a new way of thinking. What I loved the most was the “empathy map”. I think it will really help us in our work, our thinking process as well as in our personal lives.” – Deepak.
At the end of the workshop, each team member had to pitch his or her business idea within a minute. This exercise helped the team to articulate and communicate their thoughts and ideas publicly with conviction.
The most important takeaway was how quickly the team dynamics and attitudes changed; they felt most comfortable and confident after the training.
“I think this activity brought us together. We spend nine hours together per day, and sometimes we don’t even communicate with each other, or we haven’t had the chance to work with all the members of the team. By doing this workshop we got to know and see how our team members understand design according to their perspectives applied to the different assignments we had. For me, this is very important, because it improves the work environment, as well as it motivates us to interact more with each other.” – Jessica
The second session of the workshop was based on public speaking, effective questioning and understanding design from an interaction perspective.
Team members were told to think of an animal that shared the same characteristics as them and presents it to the team. This was a fantastic exercise to really open people up by providing them a new way to describe themselves.
“I would never imagine myself being compared to the characteristics of an animal, It made me feel imaginative and alive. In short I learned to “think out of the box.” – Sunil
“This was a reminder for some that they still had the ability to think without ‘googling for an answer or a solution. We enjoyed the workshop and learned many things that will help us in both our professional and personal lives.” – Jigar.
“The way in which the workshop was delivered was to ensure people remembered that they had all the skills and answers for each task. It was discreetly facilitated In a fun way, yet initiative and action was put onto the team members accordingly. The special thing about the workshop was that it made me feel free. It will influence me a lot in my future communication with my colleagues at Digicorp. I have never had this type of workshop in past which has made it memorable, I hope I can get a chance to attend something like this again.” – Tushar
The team also understood the benefits of a growth mindset vs. fixed mindset. Each member highlighted a skill, activity they wanted to learn in the New Year. They also learned how to ask effective questions in limited amounts of time. Since they liaise with clients, it was beneficial for them to understand what matters and how to understand a brief better.
Overall the workshop was an inspiration as well as motivation to learn more, do more and become more. One of the biggest takeaways was that work doesn’t have to be serious and boring.
I realized the importance of keeping everyone charged up and motivated to get the best out of them through an open, fun environment. I used to do it occasionally in different ways, but now have more ideas to do so. Thank you! Supriya.
Created by Digicorp based on the inputs provided by Ketna H, founder of Interiact Lab.
Nachiket Patel
Co-Founder, VP (DIGICORP)
Nachiket Patel
- Posted on February 25, 2016