F26 CS 449 / 649 Week 5

Lecture

• Translating needs to functionality
• POV and HMW
• JTBD + task analysis
• Feature ideation + assessment
• Slides

Studio Prep (P5)

• As a team, complete the following three steps to brainstorm a set of features for your app. You can do this in-person using real sticky notes, or online using Miro.
1. Preparation (Individual): Close your eyes and imagine someone from the target demographic for your application. What goal is they are trying to achieve? What are the obstacles that are in his/her way? (1 minute)
2. Provocation (Individual): Come up with ideas of app features that you think will help this person overcome his/her obstacles. Put one sticky note per feature. Include your name on the sticky notes. Write down as many features as possible. Do not judge the ideas that are popping up in your mind. (4 minutes)
3. Vote (Team): After everyone has contributed feature ideas, hold a team meeting to vote on the features. Without consulting with each other, each team member should put a star symbol next to 2 ideas that he/she likes the most. The number of stars on each sticky note indicates how much that feature is liked by the team as a whole. As a team, choose 4-5 features you all like best, and discuss why you like them the best. (5 minutes)
• In the design notebook, include (1) a screenshot of the Miro board from different team members, and star symbols indicating which features are most liked, (2) a writeup describing the list of 4-5 chosen features, why your team likes them the best, and the design argument for each feature.

Studio Activities

• D5: Brainstorm, Challenge and Concretize Features

To Dos (After Studio)

• Complete design notebook entry for D5: Brainstorm, Challenge and Concretize Features
• Conduct 2-3x more PO1a Interviews (and update your affinity diagram after each one)
• Add to your CH: Challenge Report notes after each interview
• P6: Prepare for next studio

Sources / References

For more information about the topics covered in lecture and reflected in the studio activity, see the following:

• 📖 Aurora Harley (Nielsen Norman Group): Ideation for Everyday Design Challenges (2017)
• 📺 Sarah Gibbons (Nielsen Norman Group): User Need Statements in Design Thinking (2019)
• 📖 Ramy Doss: From Insight to Action: Navigating POV, Behavioral, and HMW Statements in Product Design (2024)
• 📖 Rikke Friis Dam and Yu Siang Teo : Define and Frame Your Design Challenge by Creating Your Point Of View and Ask “How Might We” (2020)
• 📖 Maria Rosala (Nielsen Norman Group): Using “How Might We” Questions to Ideate on the Right Problems (2021)
• 📺 DAN Innovation Council: How Might We Statements - Innovation Champions (2018)
• 📺 BOI (Board of Innovation): How Might We Statement Builder (2019)
• 📺 Charles Warren: The Origins of How Might We... (2011)
• 📖 Clayton M. Christensen: The Innovator's Dilemma: When New Technologies Cause Great Firms to Fail, (ebook available with WatIAM login) (1997, 2016)
• 📖 The UX Research Field Guide: Jobs to Be Done (JTBD) in UX Research (2026)
• 📖 Suren Karapetyan: 5 Jobs To Be Done (JTBD) Framework Examples In Action (2026)
• 📖 UX at GitLab: Jobs to be Done at GitLab (2025)
• 📖 Maria Rosala (Nielsen Norman Group): Task Analysis: Support Users in Achieving Their Goals (2020)
• 📖 Scia Verma: Rapid Brainstorming with Crazy Eights (2021)
• 📖 Kara Pernice (Nielsen Norman Group): Charrettes (Design Sketching): ½ Inspiration, ½ Buy-In (2013)
• 📖 Dan Pilat aand Sekoul Kratsev, The Decision Lab: SCAMPER (2021)
• 📖 Prince Pal: Dot Voting (2022)
• 📖 Google Design Sprint Kit: Heatmap Voting