Principle Prompt Cards Add/remove

Purpose:

Stress test your solutions. Are your solutions following the principles of Universal Design, or are you leaving a market segment behind?

The overall purpose of the Principle Prompt Cards is to challenge your ideas.
The principles can be used to evaluate and reflect upon existing solution and early stage concepts for further iterations in order to accommodate a universal design process not excluding anyone.

Step by step Facilitating tips Materials needed Goes well with Download template (pdf)

Tips to include participants who are not able to:

See

If participants are unable to see, get another participant with sight, a helper or a facilitator to read each card out loud before discussing the relevance for the solution.

Think

If the ability to think is limited, keep discussions about principle cards simple and short.

If the facilitator has some preparation time before the workshop, choose the most relevant cards for the participants to let them focus on those instead of all principle cards.

Move

If participants can not move or control movements, make sure to have a partner to spar with that can do the writing on the post its. This could be a helper, documenter, facilitator or other group members. The participants should though still explain their own thoughts to not feel excluded.

Hold

If participants can not hold, make sure to have a partner to spar with that can do the writing on the post its. This could be a helper, documenter, facilitator or other group members. The participants should though still explain their own thoughts to not feel excluded.

Speak

If participants are unable to speak, the group should do a written discussion regarding the relevance of the card instead of a spoken one. For the presentation, present through sign language if an interpreter is present. If not, the presentation could be done through a manuscript or by looking at the post its.

Hear

If participants are unable to hear, the group should do a written discussion regarding the relevance of the card instead of a spoken one. For the presentation, present through sign language if an interpreter is present. If not, the presentation could be done through a manuscript or by looking at the post its.

Focus

If the ability to focus is limited because of time crunch, shorten down the time spent on the task. If the ability is limited because of distractions, make sure facilitators keep a calm and attentive attitude, and prolong time for looking at the principle cards.

If the facilitator has some preparation time before the workshop, choose the most relevant cards for the participants to let them focus on those instead of all principle cards.

Touch

If participants can not touch, make sure to have a partner to spar with that can do the writing on the post its. This could be a helper, documenter, facilitator or other group members. The participants should though still explain their own thoughts to not feel excluded.

Overview

Input

Concept proposals

Output

Evaluation on how inclusive/exclusive a concept proposal is.

Complexity

Moderate to complex

Time

Moderate to complex

Participants

2-15

Activity

Core abilities:

  • Needs to be capable of reflection upon the concept proposal
  • Needs to be capable of reflecting upon other examples of abilities given in the ability cards.
  • Needs to be capable of addressing what abilities the concept proposal does not live up to and create changes so that it does live up to different abilities (require complex thinking)

Step by step:

  1. Show the participants the Principle Prompt Cards, and give them a brief introduction to the cards.

  2. Divide the participants in groups of 2-3.

  3. The groups should go through the cards one by one and discuss if the concept proposal/ideas they have affects the principle stated on the cards. Ask the groups to hold on to the cards with principles not used in their current solution.

  4. Ask the groups to go through the Principle Prompt Cards that their design does not use and make them discuss/brainstorm how to make the concept proposal more inclusive. Write changes to the solution on post-its – one post-it pr change.

  5. Ask the participants to present their findings and new changes to their concept proposal.

When doing this method you should consider:

It is preferred that the groups of participants are formed based on the solution they have worked on. Do not switch up the groups if the different groups have worked with different solutions. It is a good idea to have the participants know the concept proposal really well before introducing the principle prompt cards.

More time might be needed if the concept proposals are complex and/or if it turns out that many changes have to be made in their designs.

If there is time it could be an idea to make the participants brainstorm about each princple card to let them expand their horizon of the ability before they compare their solution to the cards. This could open up their minds ensuring that they not only focus on the examples given on the principle cards but thinks beyond that. The examples on the principle cards are just examples, there are many more examples of each ability.

How the participants should brainstorm in this method is not specified but it would be preferred that you as a facilitator have determined a brainstorm method beforehand. You can either use brainstorming, brainwalking, negative brainstorming.

Materials needed:

A set of Principle Prompt Cards for each group
Pens
Post-its