Albert Menjivar-Ayala

I was a part of the Paul Duke Gold team for the Gwinnett Water Department of Water Resources. We were approached by an issue concerning the Water Resources Department over the topic of an abundance of algal growth, most commonly known as an algal bloom.

As a member of this team, our role was to accomplish a part of the design thinking model every single day to advance our process of finding an adequate solution. Through the process of critical thinking and collaboration, we gathered information, planned each step, and thought of the best possible solution by following the design thinking model.

By following the design thinking model and completing each section, we received wonderful results from each step of the way. Our first step was to empathize with every living thing surrounding the lake area. We put ourselves in the shoes of the animals, residences, and business/institutions nearby. This gave us an idea of how to solve the problem , or at least on the constraints we might have to put on ourselves.That allowed us to define the real question of what our problem was, which in turn led us to our how might we statement, which was the basis for our idea process. We started to think about solutions that fit all the constraints while being slightly creative. Our progress stops there as we still have to test the water to ensure that we solve the problem without creating a new one.

This project has been beneficial to me as it better my understanding of how to create new solutions that will prove to be beneficial. The design thinking process had allowed me to find solutions more efficiently and it also allowed me to see things from a different point of view. This experience will allow me to work on bigger projects, and I can apply it to my daily life to make each day easier and less stressful.

Prototype Idea

Interview with park visitor

With luck, I achieved the opportunity to interview a person who has somewhat of an interest over the park and its conditions. The purpose of this interview to was gain a new perspective on how someone who typically goes to the park feels about what is happening and to understand how it affects not only them, but other people they possibly know as well.