And so it shall end.

7 months have passed. Just like that HIT Squad is officially done with Capstone.

To close out the semester, we thought we’d leave some reflections for the incoming class. Capstone was challenging for all members of the team and we heard lots of advice before it all started and took it into consideration so that our team would start off on the right foot. Our team was definitely imperfect, but thankful we learned from our mistakes with our specific crew. We knew capstone was going to be challenging from previous tales from past cohorts. Yet, to live it out day by day was a new thing for each one of us.

None of us knew one another too well, other than having overlapping classes here and there in Fall semester. Only Selin and I had formally worked together on previous projects, but in a much different capacity and scope of a project than this one. Given all of this, our team has 5 takeaways for future MHCI design teams.

Have empathy for one another — These 4 other people are going to help carry you to the finish line. Capstone is both a sprint and marathon. Personalities won’t always mesh and perspectives will always need to be clarified. Being slow to speak and quick to listen helps cultivate team awareness. Trust me, this is key when you’re exhausted and hangry.

Get to know your team as people — Similar to the one above, understanding the likes and dislikes of your team is crucial. Our team was great at working too much and to this day, still could have used more time just hanging out. Alas, I know that Ishaan loves his “bangerzzz” aka sick music beats, Jeong Min guaranteed needs some Starbucks prior to any meetings, Jia needs his time to zone in to think and ponder, and Selin loves taking quick breaks for tea. Picking up on everyone’s needs and quirks will help you see your teammates as human. We were also very fortunate to have wonderful faculty advisors who readily made time for us outside of studio, and would nudge us to do things outside of work.

Converge on the problem early — Capstone is 7 months, which is a pretty long time to work on a single project. With that, you have an incredible opportunity to make something tangible, and to get into the nuts and bolts of design to push it to a high level of fidelity. When you converge on the problem early, you’ll be able to work through those design details without hardcore sprinting at the end of it all.

Your capstone’s topic and industry isn’t everything — Listen, there are some fun, unique projects out there for Capstone. Our client was in healthcare IT and it wasn’t a domain all of our team had significant experience or initial interest in. What we did do was build and cultivate a passion for the topic ; healthcare isn’t always the most glamorous or flashy thing, but our team was and is passionate about solving problems. Don’t worry if your client or the problem space doesn’t immediately strike you as a space ready for nascent or cutting-edge technology. Design is about thinking about the big picture and working through problems. Treat this as such: with the proper attitude, you’ll be sure to make something good. We promise!

Make an agenda and game plan for everything — Embedded with this suggestion is to use the appropriate digital tools that help you get there. Whether it’s digital or physical, do something that helps your team stay organized and see the light at the end of the tunnel. Keep things in perspective at a weekly basis, monthly, semester, and so forth. If plans change, adapt to it and be flexible. I am one of the task-oriented individuals on my team and made that clear during spring semester. Articulate what goals and deliverables are at hand, and you’ll be able to run meetings more efficiently and see the progression of your team’s output.

Bonus pro-tip: Divide and conquer. No one person can do everything, nor should he or she do it all. Learn to let go of needing to make a decision all together. Break into smaller groups to work on separate items. This can’t be applied to every single moment of Capstone, but more often than not, our team trusted one another to do the right thing and run with it. During design crits, we’d reflect and piece things together, which made it so much smoother for us the past 7 months.

We hope these thoughts are not only helpful, but encouraging for future Capstone teams. Maybe it’s easier to say all these things on the other side…but I assure you, keeping these in mind will make more a slightly smoother spring and summer in 2019!

Now to end it all, here’s a haiku! :)

With great joy, we’re done.

8 months of pixels and fun,

Chorus has been sung.

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