Biomimicry Lesson

Biomimicry Scoping Part 1

Lesson Objectives

• Walk through the necessary steps of the Scoping Phase

Scoping

• Occurs Before the actual design

• Sets a vision for the design team while addressing possible challenges

• Unites the stakeholders in a project

• The end product is a Design Brief: A Written explanation outlining the background, stakeholders, context, goals, & constraints

Background

• Helps explain a problem people may not be familiar with

• A summary of the problem and how it affects people

  • Should include a brief History of whatever you are looking at

• Describe the negative impact the problem has on people

Stakeholders

• A stakeholder is any person with an interest or concern in something

  • Can be direct or indirect

    • Internal: a person who uses the end product

    • External: A person who is affected by the use of the end product

Example of Internal & External Stakeholders

• A hospital is creating a new computer system to make it easier to read and share computer records between doctors

  • The Doctors are Internal Stakeholders because they will use the product daily and want it to achieve specific functions

  • Patients are External Stakeholders-They may not use the system themselves, but they have an interest in seeing that it works correctly

Multiple Select

Select all the aspects that should be included in a scoping Brief

• Background Information

• Stakeholders

• Context

• Goals

• A first draft of your design

Multiple Select

A town is building a new school. Select all the people who would be internal stakeholders in this project.

• Students of the school

• Teachers of the school

• Parents of students at the school

• The Village the school is in

• The neighboring school

Dropdown

​

Select answer

stakeholders do not use a product directly but still have a vested interest in the end product and ​ should be​

Select answer

in a design brief.

Creating Context

• The context of a project determines the boundaries in which it has to succeed

  • Understanding your context is essential to the success of a project

• Looks at more than the end product

  • Who will be the end user?

  • Where does this product fit into time and space?

    • Is it appropriate for the location and the time?

  • How much will it cost?

Integrating Biomimicry Thinking

• By including biomimicry thinking in the scoping process, you set out to design and fit in with nature instead of imposing on nature

• You set the expectations for what your end product should do and how it should fit in with the rest of the world

Integrating Biomimicry Thinking

• Biological Perspective

  • A well-adapted biological strategy must meet the functional needs of the organism in the context in which it lives in order to contribute to its survival

• Human Design Perspective

  • A well-adapted Design must meet the functional needs of the design challenge in the context in which it must exist in order to contribute to its success

Identifying Function

• Function: What you want your design to do

  • Not what you want it to be

  • Requires verb thinking

• The first function you identify may not be the ultimate function

  • The 5 Whys of Design

    • Asking why until you hit a function that can not be broken down any further

      • Creates new ideas for innovation

The 5 Whys Examples

• I want to create a light bulb. Why?

  • To Produce Light.
    
    

• I want to design an office building. Why?

  • To bring workers together. Why?

    • So they can directly talk to each other. Why?

      • To Improve our communication as a team

Questions for Integrating Biomimicry Thinking

• There are key questions in biomimicry that help establish context

  • What "ecosystem" does your design reside in?

    • How to adapt to the here and now

  • What is the design's "Sun"?

  • What Niche will you fill

    • How will this niche be different from existing designs?

  • What could cause a disturbance in the end design?

Multiple Choice

Which of the following is not a reason establishing context helps in biomimicry design?

• It helps to decide the if a design is appropriate for the location it is being applied

• It helps you focus on an End Product early on

• It sets expectations for what the end product should do

• It can establish boundaries you need to work in

Multiple Choice

What do the 5-Whys help you do?

• Determine end users and stakeholders

• Establish a complete context for your design

• Determine what is the best solution for the time and place you are looking at

• Determine a Primary Function for your design

Multiple Choice

Which of the following is not a part of establishing context?

• Your Budget

• Your Location

• Your End User

• Your Timeframe

• What has been done before

Organizing Your Goals

• Some questions need to be asked before you begin your design process

  • What are your "Must Haves"

  • What are your "wants":

  • What are your "Nice to Haves"

Must Haves

• What are your "Must Haves": Without these the project is a failure.

  • Things that are required to make your project work

  • Legal requirements

  • Safety Requirements

Wants

• The things that you want to do, but are not deal-breakers

  • Can be based around how your function operates

Nice to Haves

• Small extras to consider while working that may not be feasible, but you want them considered during the design process

  • Tend to be added in after a first evaluation phase

Constraints and NoGo's

• Some projects have things that absolutely can not happen for the project to be a success

  • Can be a variety of things (financial, time, size, etc.)

• These are a good list to have in order to check your design for failure points during the evaluate phase

Open Ended

Look at your Function Taxonomy in your lab manual. Identify three possible main functions for the problem you and your group are tackling.