Assignment 7C

Trip Report

Due: Session 11

As a professional product designer, it is common practice to write a trip report after you have been to see a client or vendor. There are 2 main reasons to write a report:

• Refresh your memory of the events, and review what happened while it is fresh in your mind. If you review the events after they happen, you will remember them for longer, and will be able to use the information more readily for the duration of the project. You also document your experience in a manner that you can use at a future date to reference details as necessary. If it was worth the money to go on the trip, it is worth the effort to retain the information gained.
  
  
• Let other people know what went on. Typically you would give the trip report to anyone who was not along on the trip with you, such as your boss or other project team members. It is more efficient, both in time and money, to send team representatives instead of the whole team to every event. Sharing information after the event is what makes that work. You can also compare your trip report with other team members' reports as a way of reviewing the trip and getting other perspectives on what you saw.

A trip report should be 2-3 pages, including pictures, and contain the following sections:

Chronology/Description of What Happened during the Trip

Someone who was not on the trip should be able to get a sense of what went on. A couple of pictures are great as illustrations. Pick out the best ones, and drop the ones that don't show much if you weren't there.

Important Things that you Learned

What came up on the trip that had not been covered previously.

Customer Needs

• We are visiting people who are deminers and/or know about demining. Who exactly are these people, and what roles do they play in the overall community?
  
  
• What specific things do they find hard to do, are a pain in the neck, tedious, or take a long time? Look for "contradictions". Were there things that did not fit together, or were done, and then undone/redone later?
  
  
• Watch for, and ask about, things outside the obvious areas of metal detecting and probing too.

Product Ideas

Are there any new products you can think of (or were discussed) that would help address a need that you saw?

Feedback

What was good/bad about the trip? What should be retained/changed for next year? Was the trip useful?