TOPIC 7.

FROM CHALLENGE TO PROTOTYPE

1. THE CHALLENGE AS A GOAL

It is important to set ourselves challenges and goals, as they serve as a source of

motivation and mark a path to follow.

An objective is the setting of a goal that we want to achieve. For example, wanting to
graduate this year, wanting to study abroad, or getting a place in a certain study
program.

There is a methodology, the SMART methodology, that is useful for defining them. SMART
is an acronym that refers to each of the characteristics that a good goal must have:

Specific. What do we want to achieve? Objectives must be specific, well-defined and

refer to concrete realities. If goals are not clearly defined, it will be more difficult to focus
efforts on achieving them and staying motivated.

Measurable (measurable). To know if we are achieving the goals, we must measure the
degree of achievement or the progress we make. This way we will be able to know if we
are progressing as planned and if we are close or far from achieving it.

Achievable. Goals should be set that are realistic and achievable taking into account
available resources and existing constraints. If we set ourselves goals that are too big or
difficult to achieve, we can become demotivated by not achieving them.

Relevant. The objectives have to make sense in all our projects and be coherent with
other goals and actions. If we don't know what we're working for or how it fits into the
whole, we'll lose interest in achieving it.
Timed. Goals must be time-bound and time-bound to meet them. If we don't, we may
very well have trouble organizing ourselves and concentrating the efforts needed to
achieve them.

Two concepts related to the achievement of objectives are those of challenge and
challenge:

A challenge is a goal that is challenging on a personal level, and that is why it is often said
that they are overcome. It is a source of motivation in the short term and helps us to face
the path in achieving our goal with greater motivation and desire.

A challenge, on the other hand, is a difficult or dangerous situation that we face.

Challenges are an opportunity to innovate, try new things, and discover new solutions.

Setting goals, as well as facing challenges and challenges, are a good source of
motivation and help us focus our efforts.

1.1 DESIGN THINKING AS A METHOD FOR ANALYSING CHALLENGES

One of the innovation methodologies we studied in Unit 3 was design thinking. As you
may remember, this methodology focuses on creativity and people's real problems and
needs.

For the design thinking methodology to be effective, the team must correctly define the
challenge it is facing, that is, move from the generic approach to a problem (for example,
how could we design a more sustainable city?) to the definition and concretion of a more
defined and limited problem (how could we promote the consumption of local products?
how could we reduce supermarket food waste?, etc.).

There are 6 stages of the design thinking process:

To define the problem, we must gather all the information about that problem: research
on the net, ask questions on the street, observe user behavior, observe the competition,
etc. If you remember, this is the initial phase of the design thinking method, called
"empathize", which preceded the problem definition phase, which is one of the central
parts of that methodology, composed of five phases in total, as you can see in the
following table.

We have to make the effort to look carefully around us, our city, our neighborhood or our
environment, to discover that there are real important problems to be solved. Identifying
and defining those problems is the first step to being able to solve them, a nd it is
everyone's responsibility to do so.

PRACTICE & ADVANCE

1.- Search for and watch the video on YouTube entitled "The meaning of life according to
the Hitchhiker's Guide to the galaxy" and reflect on how it could be related to what has
been studied in this unit about setting goals and achieving them. Put your ideas in writing.
Finally, come up with another title for the video clip that is representative of the content
you've analyzed.

2.- Search and read the following article by Connectingbrains on the Medium platform:

Summarize the message of the article in a paragraph of no more than 75 words.

Formulate a challenge for your high school and another for your neighborhood by asking
yourself the following question: "How could we...?"

2. AGILE PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT

Once we have a project or challenge underway, we need to manage it. There are two
methodologies we could use to manage our project:

Waterfall methodology: A linear system of work that requires one phase to be

completed in order to begin the next.

Agile development methodology: An iterative system in which members of a team can

work simultaneously on various phases of the project. It is a process that is configured
on the fly and that pursues the finishing and progressive delivery of the product.
In the waterfall methodology (left) there is only one process, which is linear and is only
done once, while in the agile methodology (right) there is a process or several processes
that can be repeated until the desired results are obtained.

The development of a business project according to the conventional method entails a

great effort to put the product on the market, but also a lot of uncertainty about the
results.

Agile development methodologies, such as LEAN STARTUP, propose a working method

in which we shift the focus from product to customer when developing products and
businesses. In this way, we prioritize knowing their true needs before designing a product
or service they don't want and adopt the philosophy of "fail fast, fail often" to provide the
user or customer with a minimum viable product that allows us to get their early
response and provides us with feedback to learn and retrace the design.

In the case of the lean startup methodology, the development phases are as follows:

1.- Design the business model. Describe how we are going to create value for the
customer. In this phase we will use tools such as the business model canvas, which we
will analyze in more detail in the next unit.

2.- Validate the business model. To do this, we will use the client development method.
In this phase, we will first validate all the business model hypotheses we have described
in the previous step and make the necessary changes.

3.- Design the minimum viable product (experiment). In this phase we will use agile
development methods (scrum, kanban, extreme programming, etc.) to design a
prototype with the minimum and essential functions that we can offer to customers or
users and allow us to check their interest in it.

2.1 PROTOTYPING
The prototype is the initial version of the idea of a product or service, process or business
model and allows us to check its usefulness, its operation and its viability. The prototype
can be made in different phases of the design process, whether to empathize, to think or
to show.

The most common prototyping techniques are the following:

 Sketches: sketches, diagrams, diagrams, or two-dimensional maps. They are

very useful in the previous design phases to "land" the idea and the more abstract
concepts.
 Mock-ups: physical or digital, they represent the structure of the product or idea.
 Videos: Scenes from a video clip that describe the functionality of the product or
service.
 Wireframe: A visual guide that represents the skeleton of the interface of a
program, application, or web page.
 Appearance models: These are product designs that have no functionality. They
are used to define the design and choose the finishes.
 Storyboarding: vignettes with drawings or images and a brief explanatory text of
the function or feature performed by the product or service.
 Rapid prototyping: Creating a similar product or part using technologies such as
3D printing, selective laser sintering, or CNC milling to test it quickly and cheaply.
 Scenarios: A representation of a situation or activity in which the user can use the
product or service and describes all the activities that can occur or be performed.
 Software prototypes: these are a simplified model of the system or application
to be developed.

There are many ways to prototype, from hand-crafted, artisanal media to sophisticated
digital modeling tools, and sometimes even multiple mediums are used simultaneously.

2.2 PROTOTYPE VALIDATION

The last phase of a design thinking process is to validate and test the prototype we have
created.

The objective is to show the prototype to our future client, who at the moment is
represented by the early adopters, after which we will find ourselves faced with three
possible actions:

A) Move to production.
B) Go back to a previous stage to redesign and improve features and functions based
on the feedback we have received.
C) Abandon the process.

We can use different ways to validate our business idea, such as the following:
 ➢ Interview with the client to check the effectiveness, feasibility and suitability of
the prototype.
➢ Verbal communication of the business idea through the technique known as
elevator pitch, which consists of presenting the idea in an impactful and fast way
(between 30 and 60 seconds, the time that a conversation in an elevator could
take – hence its name).
➢ Written communication through a flyer, a leaflet or an infographic.
➢ Creating a website with web design tools, such as Wordpress.
➢ Communication through social networks, forums or debates.
➢ Reward crowdfunding, which is a way to validate a prototype and find the first
buyers by posting the product or service on the internet even before it is
manufactured.
➢ Oral presentation with the help of graphic media is the most effective way to
get our messages to their recipients, and that is why it is one of the most widely
used communication methods to present ideas and projects.

It is very important to have agile and effective communication that gets the message
across of what we do and how we do it so that our project sees the light of day and can
be a good candidate to attract the interest of investors or funding.

3. RIGHTS OVER THE PROTOTYPE: INTELLECTUAL AND INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY

Once we've tested and validated our idea, and we're thinking about moving on to the
business model design phase, it's time to consider protecting the prototype. In this case,
we will be faced with two possibilities:

If we are the authors of a work of a scientific, literary or artistic nature, and we want to be
recognized and respected and to have full capacity and exclusivity in relation to its
exploitation, we are within the framework of intellectual property.

If we are dealing with intangible creations related to industry, and we want to obtain
exclusive rights over them, we are in the field of industrial property.

Depending on the characteristics of the idea and the prototype, it will be necessary to
resort to industrial property rights or intellectual property.

3.1 INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

Intellectual property is also known as copyright. The owner of the rights involved is the
author and other beneficiaries.

All original artistic, literary or scientific creations expressed by any means or support,
tangible or intangible, current or future, are considered to be objects of intellectual
property. These may include books, pamphlets, speeches or reports, computer
programs, musical and cinematographic works, paintings, sculptures, architectural
projects and photographic works. Likewise, collections of works and databases.

On the one hand, intellectual property is a moral right. On the other hand, copyright is
also material rights, which grant the exclusive right to exploit the work by any means.

Intellectual property law, universally known as copyright, is essential for creators to be

able to make a living from their work and their work, and for related industries (music,
film or publishing, for example) to survive and create wealth. Digital piracy does not
respect that right and causes a lot of damage.

The Intellectual Property Registry is the public and official registry institution whose
purpose is the registration or annotation of intellectual property rights relating to works,
performances or productions.

3.2 INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY

Industrial property applies to industrial designs, trademarks, trade names, patents, etc.
Industrial property rights make it possible to decide who can use these elements and
how. Thanks to it, exclusive rights are obtained over certain intangible creations that are
protected as real property rights.

The Spanish Patent and Trademark Office is the public body responsible for the
registration and granting of the different types of industrial property.

In Spain there are several types of industrial property rights:

Industrial designs. They protect the external appearance of the products, which makes
them visually different from each other.

Trademarks and trade names. They protect graphic and word combinations that help to
distinguish some products or services from others in the market.

Patents and utility models. They protect inventions consisting of products and processes
that can be reproduced and repeated for industrial purposes.

Semiconductor topographies. They protect the layout scheme of the various layers and
elements that make up an integrated circuit, their three-dimensional arrangement and
their interconnections.

PRACTICE

3.- Search for and describe in writing several examples that may occur in reality of ideas
or prototypes that require the protection of industrial property or intellectual property.
4. THE USER AS CONSUMER: RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS

Although they are often used in an undifferentiated way, we have to distinguish between
the concepts of consumer, customer and user:

❖ Consumer: This is the person who buys a product or service.

❖ Customer: A customer is the person who usually buys in a commercial or public
establishment (regular consumer).
❖ User: is the person who habitually enjoys a service or something that is not related
to someone else, with limited access or use.

Prototypes are used to simulate the user's interaction with the product or service and
thus validate the user experience.

The rights and obligations of consumers and users are regulated by Royal Legislative
Decree 1/2007, which approves the revised text of the General Law for the Defence of
Consumers and Users. In current legislation, the following rights are recognized for
consumers and users:

❑ Right to correct information.

❑ Right to the protection of economic and social interests.
❑ Right to reparation for damages suffered.
❑ Right to representation, consultation and participation.
❑ Right to health and safety.
❑ Right to administrative and technical protection.
❑ Right to consumer education and training.

On the other hand, recently, in Royal Decree Law 24/2021, some important points of the
General Law for the Defense of Consumers and Users were modified:

• Guarantees: the warranty period is extended to 3 years, except for digital content
and services, which will be 2 years.
• Repair and after-sales services: Manufacturers must guarantee spare parts and
technical service for at least 10 years from the time the product is discontinued.
• Pre-contractual information in online contracts: the amount of information that
entrepreneurs must provide to the consumer when they contact the consumer is
increased.
• Breach of permanence: if a consumer decides to unsubscribe from a contract
before the end of the permanence commitment, they will be penalized for the
proportional number of days remaining until the completed commitment
acquired.
Knowing what we are entitled to protects us from potential abuse. Therefore, the
following are consumer obligations:

✓ Be informed and know what your rights are.

✓ Carefully read the advertisement and all the information provided, especially the
fine print.
✓ Reflect on the content of advertisements.
✓ Keep copies of any documents you sign and keep proof of purchase in order to
exercise your product warranty rights.
✓ Know the financing conditions whenever they are used.