Design 1

In contrast to analyses, design proposals are generative, expansive, and creative description of an idea for a new information system or how an existing information system might change. But rather need to be highly descriptive about what they are proposing and why the proposal would improve some aspect of the world, and for whom.

Like the analyses, they may come in many forms. The most common form for design proposals in practice is a written document with figures and diagrams. But there are many other forms you might use, including explanatory videos, explanatory diagrams, comics, and more. There is no length requirement or limit for these. For essays, ~1,000 words should be enough to convey a concept, but other media will vary in their length. Focus on the rubric, not the length.

Public examples of design proposals are harder to find than arguments, as most of this work happens internally in organizations, written by product managers and designers. But there are some. For example, consider this animated design proposal for the future of urban transit, which weaves together infrastructure proposals with integrated information systems that facilitate travel planning:

The Future of Urban Mobility Links to an external site.

You can also see an example that I wrote below, as a followup to my essay on book bans in Analysis 1.

A good design proposal will have all of these elements:

• An articulation of the problem with some information system in the world, articulating what the impact of that problem is and on whom. It should substantiate that the problem exists, providing evidences and arguments to articulate the problem.
• A description of proposed design and why you believe it would address the problem, with any supporting diagrams or sketches to help clarify the concept.
• An analysis of the potential downsides of the proposed design, particularly on who it would not help, or who it would potentially harm. Think about the diversity of human values, abilities, languages, resources, practices, and communities, and you'll be sure to find people for whom your design will not work, or is even a threat.

How can you go about envisioning a design? We'll discuss design throughout the class, but generally you'll need to 1) deeply understand how some information need is currently supported in the world, 2) ideate (i.e., brainstorm) alternative ways to meet that information need, and 3) select an alternative to describe and critique in your proposal.

You can do this alone or in groups. Groups will get the same grade on their submission. If you choose to do something in a group, we strongly recommend no more than 2 or 3: it's hard to coordinate contributions from that many people. You can form or disband groups as you please, for any of your work, without notifying us. The first time we will know about it is when you submit, because it should have all of the group member's names on it (though you will submit individually). 

When you submit your lab section TA will read yours and provide detailed feedback. They'll also give it a score from 0 to 4, on this scale. Design proposals may be strong in one column but weak in another; TAs can grade on tenths of a point to reflect this, using their own discretion to judge how well each was met and how to weigh each in relation to the specific proposal's goals. 

When to submit

The only deadline is Friday before finals week, 5 pm. Nothing submitted after that will be graded.

However, I highly encourage you to submit something (nearly) every week. After each Thursday at 5, the TAs will assign peer reviews, and grade any submissions from students who've completed their peer reviews. So each Thursday is another attempt to get a higher grade on an analysis or design submission. Think of those Thursdays as your deadlines. You only have 10 of them.

Examples

See our growing list of examples.