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THE COURSE
MS&E430 is taking on a new form this year as one of the experimental courses being created by the d.school (officially the Hasso Plattner Institute of Design). Since the d.school is just starting up and is committed to pioneering innovative design techniques, this year's class is at a particular moment of opportunity. Projects done by students in this course will radically influence the practice of design for real world businesses as well as lend insights for a future "empathy lab" that will be a centerpiece for the d.school.
This is a project-based studio course in which students from a variety of disciplines work together in small teams on a quarter-long design project. It attempts to answer the question, “how do you support the innovation design process in a complex world with tangible, real world solutions?”.
Students in this course will:
- design and prototype technologies, processes, and products to support the creative work of designers
- uncover user needs through advanced ethnographic methods and develop deep empathy with users throughout the whole design process
- create innovative solutions with compelling stories and appropriately relevant technologies.
- develop and reflect on experiential prototypes and gain experience with video prototyping
- work intimately with an experience design team from a wide variety of potential sites including IDEO, Google, SFMOMA, eBAy, Apple, Design that Matters, etc.
- gain deeper expertise in the design process driven by empathic understanding, interdisciplinary teams, and tackling complex problems
Experience design is on the forefront of contemporary design practices and the evolution of dynamic methods are increasingly important for designers as products and services are becoming context sensitive, temporal, multi-sensorial and social. This class provides the opportunity to contribute to this rapidly growing field and make an immediate and long-term impact.
PREREQUISITES
The course is primarily intended for Masters level students. We are looking for students from many relevant disciplines, including computer science, product design, management science, communication, education, and business. There will be limited enrollment in the course so that we can work directly with each team. Students will be selected to assure a balance of disciplines on the teams, and should have a basic background in their discipline (e.g., CS247, MS&E280, ME313, ED229a, etc.). Strong preference will be given to students who have taken ME377: Experiences in Design Thinking in Winter quarter.
CLASS FORMAT
You can expect a dynamic class that is constantly changing as you work collaboratively on the projects. It is a prototype that, with your input, we will seek to adapt and support your needs as the projects progress. We wholeheartedly look forward to working with you to assess and provide feedback on your experience as the course goes along.
Logistics: MS&E430 meets Monday and Wednesday, 3:30-5:15 in Birch (the temporary home of the d.school, on the corner of Campus Drive and Panama). The course will include a weekend workshop and some Thursday evening sessions that will combine fun (and food) with course content. See below for a schedule of additional dates and times so you can plan ahead. Each team will be given space to work and meet in the d.school building, and can use it as a resource throughout the quarter. There will be a course website and blog for ongoing communication and knowledge sharing with your team and the teaching team.
Grading: Grades will be based on your team project, with 1/3 based on the deliverables during the quarter and 2/3 based on the final assessment of both the design process and the project. We will also factor your individual contribution to the team and final individual reflection and team assessment, which can move your grade above or below the team grade.
Note for CSMS HCI students: This course will be limited enrollment. If there are not enough spaces for all of the interested CS students (since we want a mix of backgrounds), students in their last year of the program and with an HCI concentration will get priority. The requirement for MS&E430 can also be satisfied by taking other courses, such as Computer Supported Cooperative work that Prof. Hinds is teaching in the Spring, MS&E386. Check with Prof. Winograd for approval.
THE TEACHING TEAM
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Prof. Pamela Hinds Terman 424 phinds@stanford.edu (650) 723-3843 office hours Wed 2-3 |
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Prof. Terry Winograd Gates Bldg 3B-388 winograd@cs.stanford.edu (650) 723-2780 office hours Tues 10-12 |
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Meg Lee d.school Fellow Birch mvlee@stanford.edu (650) 248-4038 |
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Tone Bratteteig |
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Uri Geva d.school lecturer Birch uugeva@stanford.edu |
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Susie Wise Teaching fellow, Education Wallenberg, 4th floor swise@stanford.edu (415) 308-6451 |
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Kathy Lee Doctoral student, MS&E Terman 430 kathyjl@stanford.edu |
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Talia Brodecki Course Assistant brodecki@stanford.edu (650) 906-1829 |
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Julian Gorodsky |
Coaches: You will also be supported by team coaches
from industry who will work with each team throughout the
quarter to provide relevant insights and on-going feedback
Directions & Parking
Are you visiting the d.school for the first time? This map shows the location of Birch (the current home of the d.school), and the closest parking lots.
