TIMELINE
1. Planning and Recruiting (2 weeks)
This stage is about meeting with stakeholders within the organization to understand and clarify goals for the project. From there we built a research plan that included the types of people we would talk with to gain inspiration, and specific names in the community to contact.
2. Interview and Observe (4 weeks)
Winnow began by listening to the experiences of youth from Oakland who have been struggling to connect with work. We reached out to youth inside and outside the Hack the Hood program to understand their experiences with school, work and training programs. Additionally, Winnow drew inspiration from the community leaders who work directly with disconnected and low-income youth by learning their philosophies, challenges and best practices.
3. Synthesize (1 week)
From the rich conversations with amazing youth and leaders, Winnow identified themes that describe the strengths and challenges for how the Hack the Hood program is reaching the youth they serve. It became clear that the power of Hack the Hood is the social support and learning that is skillfully integrated with the technical skills that students are seeking. This allows students to see Tech as more than just coding, it is an exciting opportunity for their careers and their communities. They start to see themselves as creators and contributors.
4. Identify Design Principles and Develop Personas (1 week)
Design Principles describe a successful solution. After learning about the strengths and challenges of Hack the Hood, and reaching out to other successful programs in the community, we identified patterns to describe the principles for bringing video into the classroom in the best way for disconnected youth.
Personas are tools to help designers, and in this case, video creators, keep the target users in mind during development. These personas are based on the young people we met and we hope they help keep the youth at the center of all decisions.
Personas are tools to help designers, and in this case, video creators, keep the target users in mind during development. These personas are based on the young people we met and we hope they help keep the youth at the center of all decisions.
5. Brainstorm (1 week)
Winnow led brainstorms with the Hack the Hood staff and volunteers from Google. We used the strengths and challenges heard from students and instructors to frame these brainstorms.
Brainstorm questions:
Brainstorm questions:
- How might we...
- Share the purpose-driven perspective on Tech?
- Create a rich and diverse portrait of the Tech industry?
- Extend the strong connection among youth and with instructors?
- Make more time in the classroom for learning soft skills?
- Expose more students to mentor stories and skills?
6. Develop Concepts (3 weeks)
The Concepts that Rose to the Top:
- Mentor Matrix: Reveal the Tech Ecosystem
- Spark a Paradigm Shift
- Demonstrate Soft Skills
- Capture Individual Stories: During and After the Program
- Recruit Disconnected Youth