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Annabel Journal Entries:
Week 1:
This week started off with brainstorming ideas to solve the problem the group identified: the understimulation of children’s toys and over-reliance on instant gratification. Next, I brainstormed a few ideas to solve the issue with the help of a decision matrix. Once we decided on PuzzleIt, I conducted all the research needed for its psychological implications. I spent a few hours compiling these sources into the justification for PuzzleIt and why it is an important innovation. I also found a few potential competitors for PuzzleIt and compared their products to ours. I feel the group performed very well this week and next week I would like to try and reduce the already minimal time the team spent sidetracked so we can perform at the highest of standards. At this time I have no feeling that the physical product needs to be improved, but that might change next week as we begin producing our first prototype.
Week 2:
This week started with developing the logo for PuzzleIt. I played with a few colors, fonts, images, and orientations to finally come up with the sleek, simple, and playful design the team wound up using. I chose the colors because I wanted them to emulate childhood, happiness, and youth. The next task I took on was creating the target user survey and the survey for experts to acquire feedback on our current product and business model. This was a bit of a learning curve for me because I had never made a survey like this before, but my teammates were very helpful in steering me in the right direction. I think these surveys will be very helpful in aiding in the development and improvement of the PuzzleIt company. As a group, I think we improved our drive to stay on task and got sidetracked much less often than the previous week.
Week 3:
This week I was tasked with sending out the target user surveys, expert surveys, researching previous solutions to unserstimulation, and thesis statement. This week was challenging for multiple reasons. Firstly, finding 100 parents to participate in the survey was eye-opening because it made me realize how few people I actually engage with on a day-to-day basis. It also pushed me out of my comfort zone because, I am typically a bit shy, so being confident when asking people to participate was difficult to overcome. The expert Survey was less difficult to execute, and the results were very helpful in steering the product in the best direction. Finding previous solutions was beneficial to our product needs research because we found out what people really want and what truly needs to be improved from the older way of fixing understimulation in children. The only issue among the group this week was a bit of a decline in communication and a bit of being sidetracked.
Week 4:
This week I was tasked with collating the data acquired from the expert surveys, updating the profile of our ideal customer, writing the abstract, and observing the end user. To collate the data from the expert surveys I used GoogleSheets and made easy-to-read graphs and charts to express the data we acquired. Then to update the profile of our ideal customer I reviewed the data from our Target User Survey and used that data to reshape our perception of our main target pool of customers. To write the abstract I simply synthesized the different aspects of the PuzzleIt company. This week was pretty calm in comparison to last week and I think the team worked well and stayed on task. Though Shaia was away from 3 ⁄ 5 of the week, he made an effort to complete his tasks on time which is admirable.
Week 5:
This week I was tasked with formulating our entire research paper and aiding in the script writing for our commercial. Writing the research paper was pretty simple because I had already done all of the elements, all I had to do was compile them. The script writing was also pretty simple because the group had an easy time agreeing on the contents of the script. The group dynamic this week was a bit strained because the other group members are very close friends and sometimes they drift off talking or having fun. Other than that the week was simple and easy to do despite also having a short week.
Week 6:
This week I was tasked with writing the acknowledgements and designing the outline for our poster board. This week was very relaxed and the group dynamic was very good. We all worked together well this week. We also worked on our elevator pitch together as a group which went smoothly. I am looking forward to next week when I will be able to put together the poster board.
Week 7:
This week was very calm as my other two team members were on a field trip for the entirety of the week. I was very pleased with the amount of work I was able to complete this week and the progress I made on the poster board. I painted and printed out all of the images and really was able to dable in my artistic side which I do not often get to do, so it was very fun. I also began practicing my portion of the presentation with flashcards and by April 22, I hope to be reciting the presentation completely from memory.
Week 8:
This week I completed the poster board and, along with my teammates, filmed the elevator pitch and commercial for PuzzleIt. Those tasks were quite straightforward and clam. The group ran into a bit of an issue when I discovered a fault in our modules and their logistics. While it took some convincing, we worked out the kinks, and came together very nicely as a team to complete all of our tasks despite the setbacks. Shaia, especially put in a lot of effort and was very commendable. Next week we go on spring break, and then come back for AP exam week, so I am expecting the week we get back to be a bit hectic.