Assigned Friday, March 9
Due Wednesday, March 14, by 3:30 pm
Write a two to three paragraph problem statement for your project. Describe the current situation that needs to be addressed and the consequences of this situation persisting. State the problem gap between the way things are today and what they should be. Give examples of the consequences today of not addressing the problem, or conversely, what the potential benefits are.
Problem statements are relative to the design phase a project is in. For new projects entering the pipeline, problem statements are focused on the problem or needs the user experiences. It is tempting to make a general statement like "the improper use of visors leads to unnecessary injuries." However, it is important to be more specific, such as by further stating "reduce or eliminate fogging to decrease the occurrence of raised visors." Usually, a general problem statement can be followed with several more specific ones. For ongoing projects, problem statements are focused more on issues with the existing design that need to be addressed to progress the design through the phases and are naturally more specific. However, in some cases a design is not working, and it becomes necessary to return to the root user problem.
Document the two to three major deliverables or milestones you plan to achieve for the semester. Give the date and a short description of each milestone. These should be closely related to your problem statement. Plan to have these milestones coincide with the design reviews to the extent possible.
Identify who the champion for this project will be, could be or where one could be found if one cannot be identified. A champion is someone who really wants to see your project done that is not one of us. Healthy projects almost always have an outside champion or advocate identified early on.
Identify two or more experts associated with your problem area that you could talk with to get help. For each person, provide the name, title, institution, contact information and a sentence explaining why they are a relevant expert.
Email this write-up in plain text format to blinder@mit.edu. Bring a copy to class for discussion.