Copenhagen School of Design and Technology

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Design, Business, and Technology 2: Understanding Users (EN)

2020/2021
Danish title
Design, Business, and Technology 2: Understanding Users (EN)
Study programme
Design & business
Type of education
Full time education
Level of education
Bachelor (top-up)
Semester
5. semester
Duration of the subject/module
6 Weeks
Ects
5
Programme elements
Compulsory
Language
English
Start time
Autumn
Location
Guldbergsgade 29 N, København N
Subject number
4156502
Responsible for the subject(s)/modul(es)
Rasmus Rahbek Simonsen ‏
Lotte Jensby ‏
Marie-Louise Lynge Jensen ‏
Nanna Kanneworff ‏
Helene Niclasen Jeune ‏
  • Purpose

    The purpose of this module is to give students a fundamental understanding of users based on data collection methods and cultural theory in the interplay between design, business and technology. Students are introduced to methods for investigating and mapping users according to their needs and values. Additionally, students will learn to recognise cultural, digital, and social patterns of behaviour in a specific context.
    The module highlights digital and social structures/relationships from a range of perspectives, concepts, and methods, which will subsequently be integrated into different exercises and discussions. Furthermore, students are expected to include the theoretical concepts and methods of the module in their own studies and analyses of qualitative and quantitative data.

    Based on an inquisitive and exploratory approach, students must collect data both online and in the field. In order to strengthen students’ analytical process, digital research tools will be introduced. The students’ exercises and research will culminate in a user profile, which may support the different specialisation cases that students work on concurrently.

    The instruction will consist of a number of webinars, educational videos and related exercises, discussions, desk research, and fieldwork.

    Knowledge

    The student will gain knowledge about:

    - culture, including knowledge of cultural and intercultural relationships in relation to market and user.

    - practice, applied theory and method in the business area.

    Skills

    The student will get the skills to:

    - select and assess practice-orientated and theoretical issues using a sociological focus and analysis of target group and market.

    - realise and communicate practice-orientated and design-related issues to partners and users.

    - communicate practice-orientated and professional issues and solutions within the business area to partners and users.

    - communicate practice-orientated and professional issues and solutions within the subject area of technology to partners and users.

    Competences

    The student will learn to:

    - independently enter into professional and interdisciplinary collaborations and thus gain a comprehensive understanding of the interrelation of the business elements.

    - handle complex and development-oriented design processes in order to realise value-adding products and / or concepts.

  • Type of instruction and practical application of learning objectives
    The instruction will consist of a number of webinars, educational videos and related exercises, discussions, desk research, and fieldwork.
  • Subject/module requirement for participation

    Academic requirement for participation
    None.

    Equipment needed to participate
    Personal computer with Internet access.

  • Exam

    The learning outcomes of the exam are identical with the learning outcomes of the subject(s)/modul(es)

    Prerequisites for access to the examination
    There is a prerequisite, which is stated when starting the module.
    Exam in one or more subjects
    Subject/module is tested with the following modules
    Type of exam
    Written examination
    Individual written home exam.
    Type of assignment
    The purpose of the examination in Design, Business, and Technology is that the student demonstrates fulfillment of the learning objectives within the subject areas design, business, and technology from the modules Design, Business, and Technology 1, 2 and 3 during the 5th semester corresponding to 15 ECTS. The learning objectives appear in the module descriptions for Design, business and technology 1: Value creation, Design, business and technology 2: User understanding, Design, business and technology 3: Process, design experiments and prototyping on KEA's subject and module catalog.

    The basis for the test is an individual written assignment, which is prepared on the basis of an assigned task description within the three common subject areas design, business and technology. The assignment description will be released at the end of Design, Business and Technology 3, after which the student has 5 days to prepare the written assignment.
    Formal requirements
    The scope of the written home assignment is 5 standard pages (+/- 10%).

    A standard page corresponds to 2,400 characters incl. spaces. When calculating the scope, footnotes are included, but not the front page, table of contents, bibliography and appendices. In addition, photos, illustrations and figures do not count. The title, the student's name, class, date and number of characters must appear on the front page of the assignment.

    Definition of normal page
    A normal page corresponds to 2,400 characters incl. spaces. When calculating the scope, footnotes and source references are included, but not the front page, declaration of confidentiality / declaration of faith and law, table of contents, list of sources (bibliography) and appendices. In addition, photos, illustrations and figures do not count.

    Reference system used
    Source list, source references and citations must be handled according to the Harvard Referencing System.

    Special requirements for the reference list
    In the assignment, you must refer to the theories and methods that you apply. You must ensure that the reference list (bibliography) contains all the theories and methods that you use in the assignment and that you refer to the correct materials, cf. the curriculum. For example, you must not refer to a teacher's presentation, but must refer to the original source from the curriculum.

    Appendix
    Appendices are placed according to the reference list and should only be included if the student refers to it in the assignment. An appendix is ​​materials that the student makes available to the reader, but which do not belong in his full excerpt in the assignment. Attachments can be - but are not limited to - interview transcripts, questionnaires, statistical summaries, hard-to-access documents, etc. An appendix must bear the appendix number, title, explanatory text and any references. For several appendices, the student must make an appendix overview. Each new appendix starts on a new page.
    Individual exam or group exam
    Individual
    Exam languages
    English
    Duration
    5 study days are given for the preparation of the assignment.
    Permitted exam aids
    All.
    Available exam aids
    None.
    Type of evaluation
    7-point grading scale
    Examiners
    Internal censure
    Exam criteria
    The test is assessed on the basis of the specific learning objectives that appear in each module.
    Deadline for submission
    At the end of the semester. Date and time are announced on Fronter and in Wiseflow.
    Re-examination and re-examination due to illness
    As an ordinary test and according to current rules, cf. the curriculum.
  • Preliminary literature list
    This is a preliminary literature list. A final literature list will be provided in connection with study start.
    The curriculum is published on Fronter at the start of the module.
41
hours of teaching
96
hours of preparation
The figure shows the extent of workload related to the subject divided into different study activities.

In the subject Design, Business, and Technology 2: Understanding Users (EN) you will receive 41 hours of instruction, which corresponds to 55 lessons (1 lesson = 45 min.) and 30% of your total workload for the subject.

The teaching primarily consists of the following activities: group work, internal lecturers, exercises.
The preparation primarily consists of the following activities: watching video tapes from class, collecting empiricism, reading the curriculum.

Read about KEAs Study Activity Model

*KEA can deviate from the number of hours if this is justified by special circumstances