The Application of the Firma Model

The application of the Firma Model

Sociomedia UXSF 2015 Summer by J Hobbs

Hi. Again.

Hi. Again.

Recap. Why the need for the Firma Model?

A humanistic approach to design should place improving people’s lives, individually and collectively, at the heart of its ambition.

Design also requires that these solutions are accountable and sustainable.

A humanistic approach however does not mean that we can bias our research focus towards users at the expense of understanding complex problems in their totality.

Sustainability and accountability require that we consider all players in the problem-ecology such that we may place the well-being of the system centre stage.

That the ultimate solution is humanistic is just one of the challenges we face as designers.

RESEARCH IDEATION PROTOTYPING

RESEARCH IDEATION PROTOTYPING

A MODEL FOR RESEARCH A MODEL FOR CHANGE A MODEL FOR CRITIQUE

Case study

Designing with and for small- scale urban farmers in Soweto

http://paulberkowitz.co.za/one-of-these-johannesburg-wards-is-not-like-the-others/

Michael Denne : http://paulberkowitz.co.za/one-of-these-johannesburg-wards-is-not-like-the-others/

Enabling access to information

Hassenzahl’s Three Level Hierarchy of Needs

Methodology:Contextmapping (co-design)

Generative tools

Generative tools:Participants make and then reflect

DataCollected and coded

History•Apartheid • Poor communities• Lack of resources, infrastructure and access

to land

Economy

•Farming is regarded as a good career•Provide a good product•Compete with commercial farmers•Struggle to secure capital•Cant access price information•Farming business needs to improve•Contribute to the local economy

Culture•Farming is a common heritage•Strong oral tradition•Religious•African•Paternal•Culture of entitlement•Urban

Politics•Political favoritism•Government infighting effects service•Policy inconsistencies•Lack solidarity• JHB City has food plan- not effective in execution

Society•Farmers are perceived as not of value•Farming is not see as a career•(unless you are rich)•Community is grateful for produce•Security issues: theft and vandalism

Physical environment•Natural threats•Water accessibility issues•Waste and litter•Farming improves the environment• Difficult to access markets due to poor transport• Poor local amenities

Technological environment• Online banking• Love google• Olyx, Facebook, Whatapp, etc• Regard tech as a sign of progress• Find content often hard to understand• Farmers use the internet frequently• Hate browsing- cost to much in data

Legacy• Farmers had previous careers• Different ambitions• No formal jobs available• Desperation• Natural curiosity led them to farming• Knowledge gaps

Organisation• Socially connected to local community• Self organised• Farmers Forum• Struggle to organise themselves effectively• Clash with poor city organisation

Marketplace • Family consumption• Walk-ins• Schools, Nursery Schools, Hospitals• Spaza shops• Erratic consumers• Farmers have poor marketing skills• Threats: Commercial wholesalers, cheap unhealthy food

Users - Soweto Farmers• Formally educated• Family providers• Want sustainable farming• Relate well to other farmers• Aspire to be better farmers• Enjoy learning• Very committed to farming

The resulting strategy and solution remain contextually relevant

Further applications

The model for research

The model for research

Ways to use the model:

• Planning research activities • A tool for multi-stakeholder engagement workshops • Data mapping, tagging and categorization (affinity modeling) • Conducting research GAP analysis

The model for strategy

The model for strategy


• For guiding and enriching ideation through, for example, facilitated co-design workshops

• The validation of ideas as prototypes in testing under conditions that are reflective of the problem-ecology

The model for critique

The model for critique


• It may also be applied in the critique of design work that has been conducted by other designers or organisations.

• To apply across various design projects where a consistent model is required (for example, in a design competition spanning multiple topics),

• Or in comparing work dealing with a single topic perhaps from radically disparate contexts (for example, three different design solutions for public transport, one from New York, one from Lagos and one from Warsaw).

Design tools mapping

It seemed to us that the logical next step for the development of the model was to identify design methods, techniques and tools that could be used during research, strategy and critique within the areas of concern.

Logical, yes. Easy, no.

IT’S A MESS!

IT’S A MESS!

1. There are literally hundreds of techniques2. Many techniques are the same but go by different names3. Many techniques offer just minor variations on one another4. Some techniques are just variations in application5. Some techniques aren’t techniques at all: they’re methods or

approaches6. Sometimes names are just descriptors of groups beneath

In short, before we could begin we needed to do some IA

Scope:

For the first iteration we would only include design techniques. We will enrich the index later with techniques from business, marketing, etc.

Sources:

Again, we limited our references to 6 sources with the intention of enriching and testing ourselves later.

Sources

Sources

The index (1)

Techniques, methods, approaches for the areas of concern across: 1. Research 2. Strategy3. Critique

The index (2)

Research, strategy and critique are too broad for the design process so we further mapped techniques (etc.) into a generic HCD design process

DISCOVERY STRATEGY IDEATION TESTING PROTOTYPE

The index (3)

A taxonomy, labeling and a lot of cleaning up!

The index 3:


The index 3:


The index 3:


Working with students

4th year digital design students are required to conceptualise a project from problem identification through to finished design solution.

Our first step in the process is to have them explore a problem of their choice through the use of the Firma Model for research.

Tasmin Jade Donaldson, UJ Dept of MultiMedia

kabelo mokhari, UJ Dept of MultiMedia

Anecia Pienaar, UJ Dept of MultiMedia

Tasmin Jade Donaldson, UJ Dept of MultiMedia

Self reflection

Thank you

www.firma-design.com