Reflection – Learning Launch

Challenge

Waste disposal in college campus has been one of major problem I had to deal

with.One must think of this as very trivial challenge for design thinking. A simple solution to this challenge is to install waste-bins all over university campus. Although one might be tempted to end discussion with simple solution, this problem, I believe needs more thought. I am from Kerala,India.Here people tend to dispose waste on public grounds, litter empty juice cans,toffee wrappers, plastic bags on road.This is a sociocultural problem which could not be solved by installing waste disposal bins.Students are not interested in finding one and disposing instead of littering. Littering also leads to pollution,outbreak of seasonal diseases etc. We needed to find much better solution for this issue.

Selection

I choose learning launch as a design tool for this challenge.Learning launch is a

small experiment that tests an idea in real environment or a real market place.It follows the principle of fail cheap and fast instead of building large scale plans and failing incurring huge losses.I think learning launch is an amazing design for this challenge as it helps us in finding flaws in our plan and perfect it.We could track how students respond to a solution and this gives us a chance to improvise.

Application

First our group of student committee brainstormed for exact problem we face.

Years of conditioning to throw waste around public places was one of them.So interest should be generated among student population in proper waste disposal.We created survey forms,passed it around faculty and students to inquire about the reluctance in using normal waste bins, what would spark interest in using them,how they feel while using one and while not using a waste bin, etc. A lot of responses were received and analyzed.

We decided to create an IoT based waste bin and test one in most crowded place

in campus.It had automatic opening system. A mobile app was made specifically for this and people were awarded points based on amount of waste they disposed. Students could track their points with that mobile app.Every week a winner was selected and awarded special titles.

Response from student community was mind-blowing.At first only very few

students started using it.Then number of students grew rapidly.Winner series became a hit and competitions became high.Since that one bin became success we decided to implement the same in different parts of campus.As a result of these efforts campus became waste free and much more beautiful than before.

Insights

Even with this idea we never expected this outcome.Interest shown by students

were really good.More than the interest in the product what shocked us was sheer support by faculty,students in realizing this project.A positive change in very few people’s outlook could be projected outwards and gradually it can change the entire society.These waste bins were installed only inside campus, but people started using waste bins even when they are out somewhere else.More students came with ideas to

improvise these.We thus succeeded in creating a new positive outlook among student community which supported proper waste disposal methods and recycling.

Approach

Learning launch was a very good technique to use for this particular challenge.

But all the data collected from students and faculty were analyzed collectively by our student committee and every member focused on what they found to be a very good idea. This resulted in loss of many other ideas and factors which were ignored by majority members.Also in this method opinion of one member can influence opinion of other.So I would combine it with mind mapping technique.In mind mapping we could arrange all the data extracted into various groups and then displayed. Every member would not down what they find interesting and at the end these suggestions can be pasted on a board and can be easily analyzed.In this way we can ensure that every member is equally given a chance to present their opinions without influence of anyone else. This can result in much better idea generation and brain storming sessions.

