Outline

Overview

This unit is an introduction to human-centred co-design and participatory methods, specifically in the context of future challenges of the type you will face in various domains of product, service, or technology design. You will learn co-design principles and practices through evaluating current cases, processes and systems. Through the analysis of real-world case studies, you will apply co-design and participatory methods to address the complex issues facing society. The unit will also introduce you to how design-led strategies can support human experiences or be used to improve technologies and processes. You will develop your skills by using design exercises to demonstrate the strategic and practical applications of such methods and approaches.

Unit details and rules

Academic unit	Design Lab
Credit points	6
Prerequisites ?	None
Corequisites ?	None
Prohibitions ?	None
Assumed knowledge ?	None
Available to study abroad and exchange students	No

Teaching staff

Coordinator	Naseem Ahmadpour, naseem.ahmadpour@sydney.edu.au

Type	Description	Weight	Due	Length
Assignment	Design proposal Visual report	40%	STUVAC	up to 30 pages
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Case study report Written report	30%	Week 04	1500 words
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Pop-up engagement reflective report Visual report	25%	Week 07	up to 6 pages
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Design proposal presentation Poster	5%	Week 13	A3
Outcomes assessed:
= group assignment ?

Assessment summary

Case study report: You will elaborate a case study report, documenting an analysis of 3 co-design cases. You will chose these from peer-reviewed and published research articles. Each article must be about the co-design of a specific digital product, technology-mediated solution or service. You will identify articles by conducting a search on Google Scholar or ACM digital Library. Instructions will be provided in class. Make sure you select appropriate full-length articles. Full length articles are normally between 9-10 pages. The chosen articles must communicate a co-design process involving stakeholder. All 3 articles must be linked to the given design brief.
Pop-Up engagement reflective report: As a group, you will run a pop-up engagement in line with your project and based on the given design brief. For this assignment, each member of the group will then create an individual reflection report on how the pop-up engagement went. For the assignment, submit a visual report (up to 6 pages) to outline in your own words: the design of the pop-up engagement, your role in the team, deployment and challenges faced in the field, main findings, and reflections on how to improve the design of the engagement should you have the opportunity to run it again. Following the instructions given in the tutorials, you will gain skills to carefully tailor designed activities that suit the project and the type of stakeholders you engage with. You should run a pilot test within your group, before launching your pop-up campaign.
Design Proposal: Based on the given design brief, you will conduct your main co-design project as a group and create a solution to address a real-world problem. In this assignment, you submit a design proposal to capture the process and outcomes of your project. Your design proposal should present a compelling account of your design. You will use your case study analysis and pop-up engagement from previous assignments as resources. You additionally conduct stakeholder workshops and develop a solution based on the given brief. This is a group assignment; you remain in the same group as the previous assignment.
Design proposal presentation: You will demonstrate how to persuasively pitch your group co-design process and final concept, through the application of visual communication techniques in a poster.

Detailed information for each assessment can be found on Canvas.

Assessment criteria

The University awards common result grades, set out in the Coursework Policy 2014 (Schedule 1).

As a general guide, a high distinction indicates work of an exceptional standard, a distinction a very high standard, a credit a good standard, and a pass an acceptable standard.

Result name	Mark range	Description
High distinction	85 - 100	Work of outstanding quality, demonstrating mastery of the learning outcomes assessed. The work shows significant innovation, experimentation, critical analysis, synthesis, insight, creativity, and/or exceptional skill.
Distinction	75 - 84	Work of excellent quality, demonstrating a sound grasp of the learning outcomes assessed. The work shows innovation, experimentation, critical analysis, synthesis, insight, creativity, and/or superior skill.
Credit	65 - 74	Work of good quality, demonstrating more than satisfactory achievement of the learning outcomes assessed, or work of excellent quality for a majority of the learning outcomes assessed.
Pass	50 - 64	Work demonstrating satisfactory achievement of the learning outcomes assessed.
Fail	0 - 49	When you don’t meet the learning outcomes of the unit to a satisfactory standard.

For more information see guide to grades.

Late submission

In accordance with University policy, these penalties apply when written work is submitted after 11:59pm on the due date:

Deduction of 5% of the maximum mark for each calendar day after the due date.
After ten calendar days late, a mark of zero will be awarded.

This unit has an exception to the standard University policy or supplementary information has been provided by the unit coordinator. This information is displayed below:

Penalties for late submissions: 5% of the awardable mark per day for submitted work, 10% of the awardable mark per day for in-class assessments

Academic integrity

The Current Student website provides information on academic integrity and the resources available to all students. The University expects students and staff to act ethically and honestly and will treat all allegations of academic integrity breaches seriously.

We use similarity detection software to detect potential instances of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breach. If such matches indicate evidence of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breaches, your teacher is required to report your work for further investigation.

Use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) and automated writing tools

You may only use generative AI and automated writing tools in assessment tasks if you are permitted to by your unit coordinator. If you do use these tools, you must acknowledge this in your work, either in a footnote or an acknowledgement section. The assessment instructions or unit outline will give guidance of the types of tools that are permitted and how the tools should be used.

Your final submitted work must be your own, original work. You must acknowledge any use of generative AI tools that have been used in the assessment, and any material that forms part of your submission must be appropriately referenced. For guidance on how to acknowledge the use of AI, please refer to the AI in Education Canvas site.

The unapproved use of these tools or unacknowledged use will be considered a breach of the Academic Integrity Policy and penalties may apply.

Studiosity is permitted unless otherwise indicated by the unit coordinator. The use of this service must be acknowledged in your submission as detailed on the Learning Hub’s Canvas page.

Outside assessment tasks, generative AI tools may be used to support your learning. The AI in Education Canvas site contains a number of productive ways that students are using AI to improve their learning.

Learning support

Simple extensions

If you encounter a problem submitting your work on time, you may be able to apply for an extension of five calendar days through a simple extension.  The application process will be different depending on the type of assessment and extensions cannot be granted for some assessment types like exams.

Special consideration

If exceptional circumstances mean you can’t complete an assessment, you need consideration for a longer period of time, or if you have essential commitments which impact your performance in an assessment, you may be eligible for special consideration or special arrangements.

Special consideration applications will not be affected by a simple extension application.

Using AI responsibly

Co-created with students, AI in Education includes lots of helpful examples of how students use generative AI tools to support their learning. It explains how generative AI works, the different tools available and how to use them responsibly and productively.

Weekly schedule

WK	Topic	Learning activity
Week 01	Introduction	Lecture (1 hr)
Week 01	Introducing assessment items, getting started on case study analysis	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 02	Creative methods for stakeholder engagement	Lecture (1 hr)
Week 02	Feedback on case study analysis	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 03	Guest lecture	Lecture (1 hr)
Week 03	Planning and piloting pop-up community engagement in class	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 04	Generative tools in explore workshops	Lecture (1 hr)
Week 04	Running your pop-up engagement	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 05	From data to knowledge: clustering and thematic analysis	Lecture (1 hr)
Week 05	Workshop on data analysis	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 06	History of co-design, matters of representation and positionality	Lecture (1 hr)
Week 06	Workshop on generative methods for explore workshops	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 07	Ethics of engaging with stakeholders: inclusivity and governance	Lecture (1 hr)
Week 07	Feedback on explore workshops	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 08	Guest lecture	Lecture (1 hr)
Week 08	Workshop on co-creation methods	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 09	Navigating the path to design requirements and co-creating solutions	Lecture (1 hr)
Week 09	Progress report and consultation with tutors	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 10	Co-evaluating design prototypes	Lecture (1 hr)
Week 10	Workshop on collaborative testing of design: requirements, ethics, experience	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 11	Ethical consequences of design	Lecture (1 hr)
Week 11	Workshop on collaborative testing of design: ethical assessment and journey mapping	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 12	Guest lecture	Lecture (1 hr)
Week 12	Feedback session	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 13	Final presentations	Lecture (1 hr)
Week 13	Final presentations	Seminar (2 hr)

Attendance and class requirements

Please refer to the Resolutions of the University School: http://sydney.edu.au/handbooks/architecture/rules/faculty_resolutions.shtml

Study commitment

Typically, there is a minimum expectation of 1.5-2 hours of student effort per week per credit point for units of study offered over a full semester. For a 6 credit point unit, this equates to roughly 120-150 hours of student effort in total.

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes are what students know, understand and are able to do on completion of a unit of study. They are aligned with the University's graduate qualities and are assessed as part of the curriculum.

Outcomes
Graduate qualities

At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:

LO1. demonstrate expertise in assessing the requirements of a design problem
LO2. understand methods for co-discovery and co-creation of design concepts in the different stages of a co-design project
LO3. understand how to co-create solutions that respond to stakeholder assets, values and needs
LO4. demonstrate proficiency in prototyping designs that address complex problems through innovative ideas
LO5. evaluate the performance and experience of a design solution
LO6. work effectively in teams and in an interdisciplinary context.

Graduate qualities

The graduate qualities are the qualities and skills that all University of Sydney graduates must demonstrate on successful completion of an award course. As a future Sydney graduate, the set of qualities have been designed to equip you for the contemporary world.

GQ1	Depth of disciplinary expertise Deep disciplinary expertise is the ability to integrate and rigorously apply knowledge, understanding and skills of a recognised discipline defined by scholarly activity, as well as familiarity with evolving practice of the discipline.
GQ2	Critical thinking and problem solving Critical thinking and problem solving are the questioning of ideas, evidence and assumptions in order to propose and evaluate hypotheses or alternative arguments before formulating a conclusion or a solution to an identified problem.
GQ3	Oral and written communication Effective communication, in both oral and written form, is the clear exchange of meaning in a manner that is appropriate to audience and context.
GQ4	Information and digital literacy Information and digital literacy is the ability to locate, interpret, evaluate, manage, adapt, integrate, create and convey information using appropriate resources, tools and strategies.
GQ5	Inventiveness Generating novel ideas and solutions.
GQ6	Cultural competence Cultural Competence is the ability to actively, ethically, respectfully, and successfully engage across and between cultures. In the Australian context, this includes and celebrates Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, knowledge systems, and a mature understanding of contemporary issues.
GQ7	Interdisciplinary effectiveness Interdisciplinary effectiveness is the integration and synthesis of multiple viewpoints and practices, working effectively across disciplinary boundaries.
GQ8	Integrated professional, ethical, and personal identity An integrated professional, ethical and personal identity is understanding the interaction between one’s personal and professional selves in an ethical context.
GQ9	Influence Engaging others in a process, idea or vision.

Outcome map

Learning outcomes	Graduate qualities
Learning outcomes

Responding to student feedback

This section outlines changes made to this unit following staff and student reviews.

Students wanted more space between early phases of the project, which is now implemented across lectures and tutorials.

Disclaimer

The University reserves the right to amend units of study or no longer offer certain units, including where there are low enrolment numbers.

To help you understand common terms that we use at the University, we offer an online glossary.

Current students

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Assessment summary

Assessment criteria

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Attendance and class requirements

Study commitment

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links

Media

Student links

About us

Connect

Current students

DESN3000: Co-Design and Participatory Approaches

Semester 1, 2022 [Normal day] - Remote

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Assessment summary

Assessment criteria

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Attendance and class requirements

Study commitment

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links

Media

Student links

About us

Connect