Week 4 - Capstone

What Is? - D4G Methodology

Presentation Preparation

This week, I focused on preparing for my presentation, which took place on Thursday. The presentation was a brief overview of my recent project activities. Fortunately, I had started putting together the slides in Week 3, so all I needed to do was copy and paste the information. My slides included the DEI Card, Abstract, Before/After HMWs, Plans and Aim, a slide with the D4G (Designing for Growth) Methodology, and my most recent timeline.

When I do presentations, I prefer to have notes to refer to, but I rarely stick to a strict script. This method helps me sound more natural while speaking and ensures I cover all the necessary information in the right order. After showing my slides to Diana, she suggested I add a slide about the tools I will use in the methodology. Her feedback was helpful and made me realise the importance of clearly outlining the tools and methods I plan to use.

Managing the Research Timeline

According to my timeline, I was supposed to focus on researching and gathering insights related to my new HMW this week. However, this task is taking longer than expected because there are many moving parts in my research that I need to consider. I haven’t started conducting official interviews with my peers yet and anticipate that I won’t begin until next week.

To keep things on track, I've been using the steps outlined in the D4G Field Book to map out my current stages. This has helped me organise my thoughts and plan my next steps. I’ve also written one or two questions about my new HMW—How might we design a tool or tools to guide conversations about religious topics in the workplace to encourage understanding and respect among all employees?—to ask my peers informally. These informal conversations will help me gather initial insights and refine my approach before moving on to more formal interviews.

Using Gibbs Reflective Cycle

Reflecting on this week, I see that starting the presentation preparation early helped reduce stress and allowed me to focus more on refining the content.

By using this reflective model, I realised that my timeline needs to be more flexible to account for unexpected delays in the research process. Recognising the complexity of my research and the time required to gather meaningful insights will help me plan my schedule better and set more realistic goals.

Moving Forward

For future projects, I plan to build in extra time for stages that involve gathering insights and developing new ideas. I will also continue to seek feedback from Diana to ensure my presentations and research plans are clear and effective. Using the Gibbs Reflective Cycle, I can evaluate each stage of my project, learn from any challenges, and adjust my approach accordingly.