Design Thinking for innovation Assignment - Reﬂection 

 Nothing in the world is heavier than an    empty heart . 

 ( S p e n d   s o m e   t i m e   w i t h   t h e   e l d e r l y . ) 

 Challenge : How to engage the elderly in a way that ensures they feel productive & not lonely ? 

 Loneliness is a killer . This is even more true for the elderly who are living alone . It   not only leads to frustration but is a root cause of spiralling mental as well as   physical health issues . The elderly , retired from their days jobs often “ feel   useless ” because society offers very few avenues to engage them thoughtfully /   meaningfully . Naturally they love their kids and grandkids , but their interaction   with the family is often reduced to occasional phone calls or video calls . They see   their grandkid ’s growing up from a distance and can not wait for that once a year   trip that will bring their whole family under one roof . The elderly have a whole lot   of knowledge , wisdom and pure affection to offer . The ideal way to engage them   is productively , so that it does n’t seem like charity or sympathy but rather a   reinforcement of their dignity and self belief . In a social construct that has already   determined a “ retirement age ” irrespective of the individual capabilities ( mental &   physical ) of person , this is a tricky challenge . 

 Design Thinking for innovation Assignment - Reﬂection 

 Selection : Learning Launch ( with a bit of other tools built in ) . 

 I think a learning launch is an extremely powerful tool to test out an idea . Ideas   that are evaluated in the real world with real people will always yield richer   learnings than the ones that are firmed up in boardrooms with strategic   discussions alone . The Module 4 videos were a great example that convinced me   on how to apply this tool to test my concepts . But I took the liberty to go a bit   further and build in elements of storytelling and visualisation into the mix because   people are dynamic entities and I believe a human touch ( storytelling ) with some   stimulus for imagination ( visualisation ) would give me an ideal test scenario . I feel   this approach helped me a great deal while testing my concepts and allowed me   to push my learning curve . 

 Application : Test 3 concepts on a set of subjects with a feedback loop across the board . 

 Identified some kind elderly couples in my neighbourhood and tested out 3   different concepts with them . Concept 1 was a virtual super network of   grandparents spread across geographies . Concept 2 was a club for the elderly   that doubled up as an affordable day care centre for kids . Concept 3 was a cloud   based platform where the elderly could engage needy children with stories ,   academics and life skills . While only one concept was tested on each couple , the   other two were also shared with them to get a comprehensive feedback on what   works best . 

 Insight : The body ages faster than the mind . 

 What a great learning experience this was ! I doubt any other tool than a learning   launch would have bee as enlightening . The elderly , while being a bundle of   abundant affection , have their own challenges that are biological in nature and   can not be solved by design thinking . Real limitations like mobility , familiarity /   comfort with technology and a depleting physical stamina are all too real and   can not always be overcome . While all 3 concepts were loved by each of the test   subjects , there were genuine apprehensions about their own ability to engage   with them owing to the aforementioned reasons . It forced me back to the drawing   board and relook at the challenge itself with a fresh approach that would address   these very pertinent issues . 

 Approach : Stick to what works best . 

 I would definitely stick to using the Learning Launch as my preferred tool . While   each tool has its virtues , there is no substitute for a hands on , real world test that   allows the concepts to go through the rigour of a thorough evaluation .    Furthermore , the beauty of this tool is that you can build in storytelling ,   visualisation and mind mapping as add ons to the learning launch . Why mess with   a winning formula ? 


EMAIL: 
ID_NUM: 
NAME_STUDENT: 
PHONE_NUM: 
STREET_ADDRESS: 
URL_PERSONAL: 
USERNAME: 

### Task: You are a PII (Personal Identity Information) Detection. Given a essays written by students, you have to identify ONLY the following:
NAME_STUDENT - The full or partial name of a student that is not necessarily the author of the essay. This excludes instructors, authors, and other person names.
EMAIL - A student’s email address.
USERNAME - A student's username on any platform.
ID_NUM - A number or sequence of characters that could be used to identify a student, such as a student ID or a social security number.
PHONE_NUM - A phone number associated with a student.
URL_PERSONAL - A URL that might be used to identify a student.
STREET_ADDRESS - A full or partial street address that is associated with the student, such as their home address.
### Input: Design Thinking for innovation Assignment - Reﬂection 

 Nothing in the world is heavier than an    empty heart . 

 ( S p e n d   s o m e   t i m e   w i t h   t h e   e l d e r l y . ) 

 Challenge : How to engage the elderly in a way that ensures they feel productive & not lonely ? 

 Loneliness is a killer . This is even more true for the elderly who are living alone . It   not only leads to frustration but is a root cause of spiralling mental as well as   physical health issues . The elderly , retired from their days jobs often “ feel   useless ” because society offers very few avenues to engage them thoughtfully /   meaningfully . Naturally they love their kids and grandkids , but their interaction   with the family is often reduced to occasional phone calls or video calls . They see   their grandkid ’s growing up from a distance and can not wait for that once a year   trip that will bring their whole family under one roof . The elderly have a whole lot   of knowledge , wisdom and pure affection to offer . The ideal way to engage them   is productively , so that it does n’t seem like charity or sympathy but rather a   reinforcement of their dignity and self belief . In a social construct that has already   determined a “ retirement age ” irrespective of the individual capabilities ( mental &   physical ) of person , this is a tricky challenge . 

 Design Thinking for innovation Assignment - Reﬂection 

 Selection : Learning Launch ( with a bit of other tools built in ) . 

 I think a learning launch is an extremely powerful tool to test out an idea . Ideas   that are evaluated in the real world with real people will always yield richer   learnings than the ones that are firmed up in boardrooms with strategic   discussions alone . The Module 4 videos were a great example that convinced me   on how to apply this tool to test my concepts . But I took the liberty to go a bit   further and build in elements of storytelling and visualisation into the mix because   people are dynamic entities and I believe a human touch ( storytelling ) with some   stimulus for imagination ( visualisation ) would give me an ideal test scenario . I feel   this approach helped me a great deal while testing my concepts and allowed me   to push my learning curve . 

 Application : Test 3 concepts on a set of subjects with a feedback loop across the board . 

 Identified some kind elderly couples in my neighbourhood and tested out 3   different concepts with them . Concept 1 was a virtual super network of   grandparents spread across geographies . Concept 2 was a club for the elderly   that doubled up as an affordable day care centre for kids . Concept 3 was a cloud   based platform where the elderly could engage needy children with stories ,   academics and life skills . While only one concept was tested on each couple , the   other two were also shared with them to get a comprehensive feedback on what   works best . 

 Insight : The body ages faster than the mind . 

 What a great learning experience this was ! I doubt any other tool than a learning   launch would have bee as enlightening . The elderly , while being a bundle of   abundant affection , have their own challenges that are biological in nature and   can not be solved by design thinking . Real limitations like mobility , familiarity /   comfort with technology and a depleting physical stamina are all too real and   can not always be overcome . While all 3 concepts were loved by each of the test   subjects , there were genuine apprehensions about their own ability to engage   with them owing to the aforementioned reasons . It forced me back to the drawing   board and relook at the challenge itself with a fresh approach that would address   these very pertinent issues . 

 Approach : Stick to what works best . 

 I would definitely stick to using the Learning Launch as my preferred tool . While   each tool has its virtues , there is no substitute for a hands on , real world test that   allows the concepts to go through the rigour of a thorough evaluation .    Furthermore , the beauty of this tool is that you can build in storytelling ,   visualisation and mind mapping as add ons to the learning launch . Why mess with   a winning formula ?
### Output: 