Image credit: Alex Litvin
UXD720 in retrospect.
As we near the end of this module, it feels as though I have one last opportunity to come up for air and reflect on my journey over the last 3 months before I knuckle back down for the final push. Conveniently, part of this module’s assignment is to produce a case study to document my progress, so a bit of retrospection will be a useful way to spend this time.
As expected from a learning experience, I’ve found my design journey to be one of remarkable highs and lows. I’m happy to admit that I was guilty of the Dunning-Kruger effect at the start of this course (Dunning and Kruger, 1999). I wasn’t nearly as familiar with the design process as I perceived myself to be. I tumbled into the valley of despair when it came to synthesising the findings from my first round of user research.
That blow to my confidence resurfaced on a few occasions through the module. Nunez, Reinoso, Raies, and Fuentes, 2017, recognised that mentors in clinical nursing contributed to their students’ professional progression on a technical-practical level, but also on a behavioural level. I’m thankful for the support and guidance of the course tutors, who helped me push forward when I lost momentum. And I’m not just saying that because they’ll be marking this blog.
One of the most significant highs of this module came when in the form of a second round of user research. Beyond the weekly content and webinars, I dedicated reading week to developing my research technique with clinical literature. Putting that content into practice returned a marked improvement in my performance as an interviewer, and in my confidence as a creative practitioner.
Beyond the highs and lows, there were also crippling plateaus in the form of burnout. In part, I put this down to fluctuations in how well I have managed my time. Instead of routinely posting to this blog, I have a tendancy to take a few weeks off here and there, then despair at the workload before me when I start writing again.
McCormack and Cotter, 2013, p.194, reframes burnout as “hard lesson that most people ultimately find themselves grateful to have learned.” In my case, writing in spates hasn’t been sustainable. I’m reasonably happy with the content I have written in this module, but I need to change my approach for the modules to come.
Case studies, delivered.
At the time of writing, I have just finished the PDF and video components to the case study of my design journey. So, I think it’s fair that I give myself some respite from writing this week.
Without further ado, please enjoy my case studies!
References
KRUGER, J. & DUNNING, D. 1999. ‘Unskilled and unaware of it: how difficulties in recognizing one’s own incompetence lead to inflated self-assessments’. Journal of personality and social psychology, 77(6), 1121-34.
MCCORMACK, N. & COTTER, C. 2013. Managing Burnout in the Workplace : A Guide for Information Professionals. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 194.
SOTO, C., REINOSO, A. , RAIES, C. L. & FUENTES, P. S. 2017. ‘In-depth Knowledge of the Role of the Clinical Mentor’. Investigación y Educación en Enfermería, 35, 356-363.
Skoobin Design 
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