WEEK-10

The last topic in this course was about designing entrepreneur fundraising campaigns. The tutor defined fundraising as a set of activities which are carried out to access financial resources within a specified period to achieve some set goals. I learned about the internal and external sources of finance. Some of the internal sources which I was interested in using our own money, crowdfunding and grants. Own money represents personal funds from savings, inheritance, personal credit cards, etc.  Crowdfunding is about using the general public to fund projects. Grants come from the government, charities and the local authorities. The amount raised by these sources are not fixed, and they depend on the providers.

WEEK-9

We were approaching the end of the unit when we were introduced to a very thought-provoking topic; Marketing. Important ideas from the topic were; understanding the target markets, defining marketing, competitor analysis, 4ps of marketing, Entrepreneurial marketing campaigns and design as communication. Marketing is the management process which identifies and supplies the customer requirements effectively. A target market is a market which a marketing campaign is aimed at. I learned that the best way to identify competitors is to read about them from their websites and compare what you do with what they do. In marketing, the product, price, promotion and place are the main concepts which facilitate the marketing process and campaigns.

I now know that as a marketer I have to be a good communicator so that I can communicate innovation to the product/service users.

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WEEK-8

The tutor taught about learning launch, real launch and launch readiness plan. I had always thought it is about how much you sell to the customers, but I got shocked to know that it is about how much you learn before you present a product to the customers. A learning launch is like an experiment in the marketplace which is cheap and easy to understand. To plan a learning launch, the first question to ask is what product or service will be sold. The second important thing is to do an assumption testing then determine the metrics to measure the success of the assumptions being tested and determining the financial requirements. A real launch is done after some iterations of the learning launch, and it has to be planned effectively. The aim for real launch is to offer a new product to the real users, and it has to build momentum.

WEEK-7

Week 7 was about design prototype. I was ready to make a design prototype by the end of the week. I was excited to understand how to develop a concept when analyzing data. Concept development is a technique used to choose the best ideas from the previous design thinking tools then evaluating them using the business and customer criteria. The previous tools are combined to create discrete concepts. The week got more enjoyable when we created a dessert using the concept development technique. I also discovered that assumption testing is crucial when making a design prototype and the assumptions must be articulate. After testing the assumptions, rapid prototyping is done. This means the concepts are manifested quickly and roughly through an iterative process. Early prototyping is done on a paper and it is very rough and in 2D. The later rapid prototype is refined, and it has more features. Some of the advantages of prototyping included the ability to make a tangible product to the customers, early identification of flaws and the ability to visualize the thoughts of a design thinker.

WEEK-6

During week six we continued learning about how to design research. In the introductory part of the unit, I learned about research approaches, data types, data sources, and ethics. I got a better understanding of what research is all about; ‘Research is the systematic collection and interpretation of information with a clear purpose to find things out.' I also learned about some of the ethical issues which affect research. The most important according to me was about the privacy of the participants. Interviews should be held in a separate room but not in the office. It is wrong for a researcher to lie to participants to get information from them. When doing research, it is advisable for the researcher to get an organizational and individual consent from the participant. Also, I learned about co-creation of insights which is a highly involved research, and the customers create ideas and insights with the design team. This was a new concept to learn in week 6.

WEEK-5

Week five was a great week for me as a student. I remembered that research work and design is part of what every student must go through before they graduate. Important tools used in research design are journey mapping, value chain and value network and mind mapping. The tutor defined journey mapping as a geographical representation of the experience which customers have when they interact with products and services. A value chain is a sequence of activities within an organization which adds value to the product being offered to the customer. I learned that mind mapping is an important concept which involves looking for pattern in substantial data amounts. As a researcher, I realized that there is a difference between academic research and design-led research.  Academic research is driven by theories while the design-led research is very practical. Moreover, I learned about qualitative and quantitative research approaches, the types of data and common sources of research data.

WEEK-4

During the fourth week, I understood that everything has its problems and challenges. However, I remembered that my mother used to tell me that problems are always gravitating towards their solutions. Module 4 was about design problems. Before a problem is solved, it has to be found. I learned that design thinking is a problem finding approach because it involves understanding the problem before finding the solution. I also learned about brainstorming, visualization and spotting the obvious design thinking tool. Visualization is the process of using imagery to envision possibilities and bring them to the real life. Spotting the obvious is being able to identify a problem without having to research it.

WEEK-3

I had a very great time during the third week. The main focus was on design processes.  The first thing was about the difference between design and business. What I found interesting is that a business aims to prove one best answer while a design uses experimentation to get a better answer.  Design thinking was defined as a ‘skill set’ or an approach used by designers to create new and different values which have a positive impact. I learned the five steps in the design process (Empathize, Define, Ideate, Prototype, and test). The tutor also emphasized that learning design thinking is crucial and it is about reflecting upon values. Getting out of the business-minded comfort zone and practicing the design techniques.

WEEK-2

I had a very great time during the second week. The main focus was on design processes.  The first thing was about the difference between design and business. What I found interesting is that a business aims to prove one best answer while a design uses experimentation to get a better answer.  Design thinking was defined as a ‘skill set’ or an approach used by designers to create new and different values which have a positive impact. I learned the five steps in the design process (Empathize, Define, Ideate, Prototype, and test). The tutor also emphasized that learning design thinking is crucial and it is about reflecting upon values. Getting out of the business-minded comfort zone and practicing the design techniques.

WEEK 1

Week 1

Week one of the unit helped me to understand what it was all about and it introduced me to the course, classmate and the teaching team. It was about design, and I had to ask myself what design thinking means. I noticed that this unit was different from other units because it had so many activities and required students to demonstrate the development of a designer mindset. Unit 1 began by a definition of entrepreneurship, and I liked the academic description given by Stevenson & Jarillo who said that Entrepreneurship is ‘the process by which individuals pursue opportunities without regard to resources they currently control. ‘When I was a junior, I used to hear people talk about innovation but I could not understand what it meant. I seemed to be complicated. However, during the first week, I learned the simple innovation process which shed light to my understanding of it. The process is as shown;

 Organizations should emphasize on innovation because it can lead to better profits, efficiency and a competitive advantage. The knowledge about innovation and entrepreneurship understand how the two concepts are linked. Innovation is the specific tool used by entrepreneurs.