Minor Project - Task 2
TASK 2 - Empathy, Define & Ideate Stage
WEEK 01 - WEEK 14Aina Ahmed Aleem | 0355701 | BDCM
Minor Project | DR WONG CHUI YIN
TABLE OF CONTENTS
- LECTURES
- INSTRUCTIONS
- EMPATHY FINDINGS
- DEFINE STAGE
- IDEATE STAGE
- TASK 2 OUTCOME
- REFLECTION
LECTURES
INSTRUCTIONS
Task 2 continued from the user research conducted in Task 1. After interviewing family caregivers and healthcare professionals, we used the findings and insights from those interviews to further understand the needs of our target users and develop the direction of our project.
For this stage, we focused on translating our research into User Personas, Point of View (POV) statements, How Might We (HMW) questions, a User Journey Map, and ideation before developing our proposed solution, LUMI.
EMPATHY FINDINGS
From the family caregivers, we identified recurring challenges such as:
Emotional and physical exhaustion
Uncertainty when responding to difficult situations
Unpredictability in everyday caregiving
Limited access to immediate guidance
Difficulty asking for or receiving help
Limited time to focus on their own wellbeing
From the healthcare professionals, we learned that caregivers often need clearer and more practical guidance that can be used outside clinical settings. Healthcare professionals cannot always provide immediate support when situations occur at home.
These findings helped us identify the most important needs that would guide the next stages of our project.
DEFINE STAGE
During the Define stage, we organised our research findings into a clearer understanding of our target users, their needs, and the problems they experience.
User Personas
Based on our research, we developed personas representing our main users and stakeholders.
Based on our research, we developed personas representing our main users and stakeholders.
Our primary persona represented a family caregiver who manages everyday caregiving responsibilities while dealing with stress, uncertainty, and limited access to immediate support.
Creating these helped us keep our design decisions connected to the people and needs identified during our interviews.
Point of View / Problem Statements
Using our research findings and persona, we developed Point of View statements to clearly define the problems we wanted to address.
For caregivers, we identified a need for quick and accessible support during stressful Alzheimer’s-related situations, particularly when they are unsure how to respond at home.
Defining these helped us narrow the project and gave us a clearer direction for ideation.
How Might We Questions
We then transformed our problem statements into How Might We questions to explore possible opportunities for solutions.
Our main caregiver-focused question was:
How might we support caregivers during stressful moments so they can respond quickly and calmly when comfort is needed?
This allowed us to explore different possibilities without immediately limiting ourselves to one solution.
We then transformed our problem statements into How Might We questions to explore possible opportunities for solutions.
Our main caregiver-focused question was:
How might we support caregivers during stressful moments so they can respond quickly and calmly when comfort is needed?
This allowed us to explore different possibilities without immediately limiting ourselves to one solution.
User Journey Map
We created a User Journey Map to visualise the caregiver’s experience across different stages and understand where the main challenges and opportunities occurred.
The journey helped us identify moments where a caregiver may feel overwhelmed, uncertain, or unsupported, particularly when dealing with a difficult situation for the first time.
It also helped us recognise that support should not only be available during an immediate situation. Caregivers also need ongoing support for their wellbeing, organisation, and confidence over time.
IDEATE STAGE
After defining the main problems, we moved into the Ideate stage.
During this stage, we brainstormed possible ways to address the needs identified through our research. We explored how technology could provide caregivers with immediate support while also helping them manage the longer-term demands of caregiving.
Our ideas focused on areas such as:
- Immediate guidance during difficult caregiving situations
- Easy access to reliable information
- Caregiver stress and wellbeing support
- Care management and organisation
- Family support
- Emergency assistance
Proposed Solution: LUMI
Through the ideation process, we developed our proposed solution: LUMI, an AI-powered support application designed around the needs of family caregivers of people living with Alzheimer’s.
The main concept was to provide caregivers with immediate and accessible support when they are unsure how to respond to a caregiving situation, while also supporting their own wellbeing and everyday caregiving responsibilities.
The proposed features included:
- Help Me Now for immediate AI-powered support
- Caregiving guidance and communication support
- A Wellbeing Dashboard for caregiver stress and burnout awareness
- Episode tracking
- Caregiver resources
- Family support tools
- Care-management features
- Emergency support
LUMI was developed directly from the needs identified through our interviews rather than beginning with a predetermined solution.
TASK 2 OUTCOME
The process developed from:
Interview Findings → User Needs → Personas → POV → HMW → User Journey → Ideation → LUMI
This stage helped ensure that our proposed solution was connected directly to the needs identified through our user research.
It also provided the foundation for the next stage of the project, where we would develop LUMI into an interactive prototype, conduct usability testing, and refine the design based on user feedback.
REFCLECTION
Task 2 gave me more experience in turning research findings into an actual design direction. I worked on analysing our findings, developing the user experience, contributing to the LUMI concept, planning features, and preparing the project presentation and documentation.
Since our group consisted of only myself and Eshaa, I had to take responsibility across several areas rather than focusing on only one task. This gave me more involvement in how the project developed from research into a proposed solution.
Observations
One of my main observations was how important it is to continuously refer back to the research when developing a concept.
At different points, it was easy to think of additional features, but I learned that a feature should have a clear reason for existing and should connect to an actual user need.
I also became more aware that our primary user was the caregiver. This meant that our solution needed to go beyond helping them manage the person they care for and also consider their own stress, confidence, wellbeing, and need for support.
One of my main observations was how important it is to continuously refer back to the research when developing a concept.
At different points, it was easy to think of additional features, but I learned that a feature should have a clear reason for existing and should connect to an actual user need.
I also became more aware that our primary user was the caregiver. This meant that our solution needed to go beyond helping them manage the person they care for and also consider their own stress, confidence, wellbeing, and need for support.
Findings
The main thing I learned from Task 2 was how the different stages of Design Thinking connect.
The interviews from Task 1 were not separate from the design process. They directly influenced our personas, problem statements, HMW questions, journey map, and eventually the LUMI concept.
This stage taught me that a strong solution should be traceable back to real research and clearly identified user needs. It also prepared me for the next stage, where the proposed solution could be prototyped and tested to determine whether it actually worked for users.
The main thing I learned from Task 2 was how the different stages of Design Thinking connect.
The interviews from Task 1 were not separate from the design process. They directly influenced our personas, problem statements, HMW questions, journey map, and eventually the LUMI concept.
This stage taught me that a strong solution should be traceable back to real research and clearly identified user needs. It also prepared me for the next stage, where the proposed solution could be prototyped and tested to determine whether it actually worked for users.
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