Critical Thinking and the Way Forward

Week 12 is upon us. Glad that it is here, but also glad that I made it a point that I would keep up with the deadlines as much as I can. I remember Module 2 was exceptionally stressful, 2020 vibes aside. This week’s theme is very similar to that of Week 4 for of this same module. As we reach the end of the project, we are to evaluate the success and failure points of the project, how can it be improved and implemented, and of course mention any “future plans” for the project, if applicable.

The Importance of Evaluation

This post is very similar to the one of Week 4, with the exception that this time we are evaluating a project that has a client brief, as opposed to a self-initiated project. That said, the evaluation of a project should not consist of a eulogy of how well the project went and an excuse to pat yourself on the shoulder, but rather a critical exercise to help identify what indeed went well, but also address the problem that arose, including processes that could be improved, better time management and better use of resources that are available.

As discussed in the concluding lecture of this module, critical evaluation also helps in gauging the effectiveness of a project. The evaluation can take two forms:

• Personal: Talk about the learning experience; how the project impacted you as a designer; did you enjoy working on it etc.
• Business oriented: Identify opportunities in the project that can be applied to other potential projects as well as threats that can hinder processes and outcomes in the future.

Varying Metrics

An important point that was mentioned in the lecture was that of different metrics. As projects and clients vary, so should the evaluations and feedbacks. As projects vary in scale, there is not ‘one-size fits all’ approach to this. In some cases, the clients may have a more active role in the design process, hence frequent feedback is given along over the course of the duration of the project. More importantly, the true success of a project is found out when it comes to client attrition. If the clients are happy the first-time round, they will come back.

Metrics may also vary depending on the length on the project. In the case of prolonged projects, it is often the case where many parameters change in the project, which may result in digressing from the original goal of the project. This means that it is important to seek frequent feedback from the client as well as peers.

Concluding

As the theme of this week suggest, it is about evaluating the project of the past eight weeks and put everything together in the presentation. Prior to this I should go through the final outcome just in case and make any necessary adjustments to further improve the final outcome and also devise an ‘plan of action’ that sums up implementation ideas, possible promotions and also developments.