Week 6 - INSPIRATION to IDEATION ｜ The four F's of active reviewing

As the last week before the holiday, I decided to summarise my current progress and fully utilise the upcoming two-week break to produce more valuable content. I chose the "Four F's Model" as the framework for this week’s work, organising my ideas and completing tasks into four stages: Facts, Feelings, Findings, and Future.

• Facts: An objective account of what happened

• Feelings: The emotional reactions to the situation

• Findings: The concrete learning that you can take away from the situation

• Future: Structuring your learning such that you can use it in the future

[Figure 1: The four F's of active reviewing, Greenaway, R., (n.d.)]

Facts:

This week, I spent a significant amount of time deeply researching the user group. Through class surveys and expert advice, I gradually realised that creating detailed user personas not only helps reveal many hidden pain points but also assists in discovering potential, targeted solutions. Based on personas and interviews, I designed a "Priority Map," a table that uses the X and Y axes to visually analyse the priority of user needs. This ensures that the core features of the project align more closely with the actual needs of the users.

[Figure 2: User Persona, My Miro]

[Figure 3: Priority Map, My Miro]

Feelings:

I have a vague sense that I’ve grasped the core elements of the project, and the user personas and priority map have given me a clearer understanding of its direction. However, I feel somewhat anxious and confused as I face so many important points, trying to incorporate them all into the project. I want to ensure that every key aspect is reasonably represented, but I also realise that this could lead to information overload, affecting the project's simplicity and execution efficiency. This contradiction leaves me feeling both a sense of accomplishment and a bit of concern about how to balance depth and breadth.

Findings:

Through analysing users of different age groups, I was able to categorise their needs into several groups. For example, the younger group seeks novelty and entertainment, the middle-aged group is influenced by health conditions affecting work demands, and the elderly group focuses more on family and quality of life. Additionally, based on different types of health conditions—congenital vs. acquired, mild vs. severe — these factors significantly impact the online functionalities of the project. Given the diverse needs, combined with my understanding of the Unicorn Hybrid device, I remain cautious about executing complex neurofeedback commands through the online system. While I hope the project can proceed according to Plan A, I currently doubt that the neurofeedback system at this stage can effectively handle multiple complex computer commands simultaneously.

Future:

As a result, I have scheduled a visit to the lab with Dr. Kunal in the first week of the holiday, where I will personally test the device and gain a deeper understanding of its operational principles. Based on this hands-on experience, I will adjust the content of the online project in Plan A according to the actual capabilities of the device, making it more practical and feasible.

Reference:

Greenaway, R. (1970) The four F’s of active reviewing, The University of Edinburgh. Available at: https://www.ed.ac.uk/reflection/reflectors-toolkit/reflecting-on-experience/four-f (Accessed: 27 August 2023).

Shen, Elisa. (2024). User Persona. Miro. https://miro.com/app/board/uXjVKsJq4ao=/

Shen, Elisa. (2024). Priority Map. Miro. https://miro.com/app/board/uXjVKsJq4ao=/