Applying engineering design thinking to redesign the UC mobile app with Dr. Nora Honken — from empathy surveys to a working prototype presented at the Undergraduate Scholarly Showcase.
As a College of Engineering and Applied Science student, I strongly believe that cultivating an engineering mindset is crucial for success in the field. This mindset encompasses critical thinking, problem-solving skills, and the ability to develop innovative solutions. The Foundation of Engineering Design Thinking experience offered me a valuable opportunity to apply my engineering skills in a research setting. Working alongside Dr. Nora Honken and a motivated team, our primary goal was to enhance the UC mobile application using engineering design thinking processes. We followed five key steps: Empathize, Define, Ideate, Prototype, and Test.
During the empathize phase, we surveyed UC students to understand their challenges and identify areas for improvement. This feedback guided our definition of the problem, including issues like a slow interface, limited features, and inconvenient buttons. Through ideation and collaborative design, we created a wireframe prototype that addressed these problems and showcased the reimagined UC mobile app.
This research opportunity allowed us to demonstrate effective application development using engineering principles, highlighting the importance of an engineering mindset. The project personally had a great impact on me as I learned the application of engineering principles in research and app development. I was able to achieve an engineering mindset and apply design thinking principles effectively.
Our team participated in the Undergraduate Scholarly Showcase where we demonstrated a video presentation highlighting the engineering process that was employed to develop the application, and what could be learned from this research opportunity.
Video demonstration of the prototype