"what if we tried..." practical prototyping for tinkerers, inventors & on-the-ground...

www.kristinwolff.com PAGE 1

“What if we tried…”Practical Prototyping for Tinkerers, Inventors & On-the-Ground Innovators


Mission: Making purposeful learning, inspired work, and innovation-for-good more universal, every day.

Data/CivicTech

SocialInnovation/Enterprise

Coworking/MainSt.Eship

WorkforceResearch/TA

www.kristinwolff.com

Prototyping Poll

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Re: Prototyping:

✳ Proto-whaaaa???

✳ I know what prototyping is(in concept).

✳ I prototype everything I do.

✳My colleagues & I are proto-type ninjas.


Prototyping is a structured way of thinking through change before you implement it.

That’s it.

You do it everyday.

Prototyping. Let’s demystify.


Prototyping.

You get dressed – and then change into something that suits you better.


Prototyping.

You dress (most days anyway…).

You paint (right?).

You cook – and you tinker.


Prototyping.

You dress (most days anyway…). You paint (you do paint…?)


Prototyping typically happens after ideation, before piloting, and alongside research…


…no matter what innovation process model you use.


Why do it in workforce innovation? Work is changing.

Opportunity not equitably distributed.

No crystal balls.


POWERPOINT PROPOSAL

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The Future of Work is a thing.

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Technology.


The workforce needs you.

“Technology is a catalyst for bigger changes but by itself technology doesn’t raise living standards. It’s requires a host of complementary innovations – investments in education, reorganization of work, new policies.

I don’t see us being nearly as good at those complementary innovations or nearly as fast …as we have been in the core technologies.

[That’s why median incomes have stagnated for over a decade.]

...We need to rethink our policies, retrain people, boost entrepreneurship to invent new goods and services...and people need to work harders to upgrade thier own skills.”

Erik Brynjolfsson in conversation with Dan MossBloomberg Benchmark Podcast, September 7, 2016


1. Exploratory Prototyping –Early stage. Think lo-fi, low-tech, bubble gum and string.

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Figuring out those complementary innovations is what the Workforce Accelerator Fund is all about. Prototyping is a big part of how we do it.

Prototyping boosts efficiency by maximizing smart inputs and eliminating flaws early in the design process.

Two Types:

2. Developmental Prototyping –Low cost, but still detailed. Allows user testing, supports your “pitch.”


Prototyping: The How (insert drumroll here…)

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Many methods. Be intentional:

✳ Determine what do you want to learn

✳ Collaborate with diverse people

✳ Document


✳ Reveal assumptions

✳ Unearth knowledge/identify gaps in knowledge

✳ Focus energy on the right problems

✳ Cultivate shared ownership

(Yes, increase efficiency, too)

Prototyping can…


A Note About Prototyping for Apps/Websites

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✳Balsamiq.com✳BlankCanvas.io✳Concept.ly✳ Proto.io✳Marvelapp.com✳Mural.co

Bundlr List: bundlr.com/b/prototyping-tools-resources


A Note About Toolkits & Resources

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Where to find tools/toolkits

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bundlr.com/b/prototyping-tools-resources


Today’s Methods/Tools

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1. Describing Personas

3. Journey Map/Story Board

2. Prototype Planning


Prototyping is a structured process to guide improvement or invention. That’s it.

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1. Describing Personas

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A. Tool

B. Instructions

Gather as a project team. Identify the target customers for whom your project/innovation is intended to meet a need Use sticky notes. - Who are they? (role in family, industry, community, workplace/home)- What are they like? (demographics, type of firm, place in sector/economy)

Draw them on the left third of page. Describe them in the middle. Identify what they are trying to do and the challenge/s they face that your project seeks to remedy. Highlight the priority challenges (pain points) your project can best address. Complete one sheet for each target customer type (persona) up to three.


2. Prototype Planning

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A. Tool

B. Instructions

Gather as a project team. Use sticky-notes. Use the prompts on the Prototype Planning tool to help you determine what you seek to learn through prototyping, and begin to identify action steps to get you started. The tool uses “weeks” as a reference point –if months or days better suites your timeline, go ahead and change it.

This tool can be used in combination with the Persona tool.


3. Journey Map/Storyboard

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A. Journey Map Sample Tool C. Storyboard Tool

D. InstructionsGather your project team. Use sticky notes to brainstorm key touchpoints/activities that willoccur once your project is implemented. Whatwill services look like? The storyboard can be used to support walk-through experiences as well as simply mapping them.

B. InstructionsGather your project team. Use sticky notes to identify touchpoints/activities in your current service model and note whether those touchpoints are positively or negatively experienced by target customers. Use the results to prioritize elements of your prototype.


POWERPOINT PROPOSAL

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We are solving problems & building a new kind of ecosystem. Experiment

meaningfully, learn deeply, share generously.

#WAFLab

Kristin [email protected]@kristinwolff

Thank you!#workoutloud #futureofwork #socinn #socent #civictech#innovation #jobs #gig #portland #diy #hack #policy #cities #ideas #lab #community #story #socap #future #leadership #WEadership #tech #art #economy #socialgood #photography #publicspace#entrepreneurship #crowdsourcing #shareconomy#chocolate

When I’m not on the road, I can be found at Hatch, a space for visionaries and realists working for a better world.

"what if we tried..." practical prototyping for tinkerers, inventors & on-the-ground...

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