INDEXTRACK: STRATEGYTRACK: CREATIVE

Subject ID

M03-M3_

UNCLASSIFIED
Module 03

M3 L1 Project Brief

Project Brief: The Workflow Velocity Test

Module: 3: Designing the Future: From Insight to AI-Powered Products Lesson: 1: The AI Co-Pilot: Augmenting Your Design Workflow

1. Objective

Your objective is to directly experience and quantify the impact of an AI-augmented design workflow. You will execute a defined design challenge twice: once using a traditional, manual workflow, and a second time using an AI-powered workflow. By comparing the two processes, you will produce a powerful case study that demonstrates the velocity and quality gains of leveraging AI as a creative co-pilot.

2. The Challenge

Your design challenge is to create a high-fidelity, single-screen mockup for a "Recipe Discovery App."

The screen should be for the main discovery feed and must include the following elements:

  • A prominent search bar at the top.
  • A section for "Featured Recipes" with large, appealing images.
  • A list of "Trending Categories" (e.g., "Quick & Easy," "Vegetarian," "Desserts").
  • A grid of recipe cards, each showing an image, the recipe name, the estimated cooking time, and a star rating.
  • A bottom navigation bar with icons for Home, Search, Favorites, and Profile.

3. Your Task

You will execute this design challenge in two separate, timed sprints. Ensure that the tools you use for each sprint are comparable in their core functionality (e.g., Figma for both manual and AI-refined design) to ensure a fair comparison.

Sprint 1: The Traditional Workflow

In this sprint, you will create the mockup using traditional, manual design methods. You are not permitted to use any generative AI tools for ideation or creation.

  1. Set a timer.
  2. Use a tool like Figma to create the design from a blank canvas.
  3. Manually draw all the shapes, create the text boxes, and lay out the components.
  4. Source royalty-free images for the recipes from a site like Unsplash or Pexels.
  5. Source icons for the navigation bar from a standard icon library.
  6. Stop the timer when you have a polished, high-fidelity mockup. Record your time.

Sprint 2: The AI-Augmented Workflow

In this sprint, you will create the same mockup, but you will leverage AI tools as much as possible.

  1. Set a timer.
  2. Use a tool like Midjourney or a similar image generator to create unique, appealing images for your recipes. Use prompts like: "a vibrant, top-down shot of a homemade pizza on a rustic wooden table, photorealistic".
  3. Use a tool like v0 by Vercel to generate the initial layout of the screen using a text prompt. Describe the screen and its elements in detail.
  4. Import the generated code or layout into Figma (or a similar tool) and refine it.
  5. Use AI-powered plugins or tools to generate placeholder text for recipe names.
  6. Stop the timer when you have a polished, high-fidelity mockup of comparable quality to your first sprint. Record your time.

4. Key Requirements

After completing both sprints, you will produce a concise report that analyzes the two workflows. The report must include:

  1. The Final Designs: Side-by-side screenshots of your two final mockups.

  2. Quantitative Analysis:

    • Time-to-Completion: The total time taken for Sprint 1 vs. Sprint 2.
    • Velocity Gain: The percentage increase in speed from the traditional to the AI-augmented workflow.

  3. Qualitative Analysis:

    • Process Differences: A brief description of how the two processes felt different. Where did you spend your time and mental energy in each sprint?
    • Idea Diversity: Did the AI workflow allow you to explore more creative ideas (especially for imagery) than the traditional workflow?
    • Quality Assessment: A subjective assessment of the final outputs. Is one significantly better than the other? Why?

  4. Conclusion: The Business Case: A concluding paragraph that summarizes your findings into a powerful business case for adopting an AI-augmented design workflow. If you were presenting this to a manager, what would be your core argument?

5. Format and Deliverable

  • Format: A single, well-structured Markdown document.
  • Deliverable: A .md file named Workflow_Test_Report.md.

7. Tips for Success

  • Accurate Time Tracking: Be meticulous about starting and stopping your timer for each sprint. Even small discrepancies can affect your "Velocity Gain" calculation.
  • Objective Comparison: Try to be as objective as possible when assessing the quality of the two outputs. Focus on design principles rather than personal preference.
  • Document Your Process: Take notes during each sprint about how you felt, what challenges you encountered, and what surprised you. This will be invaluable for your qualitative analysis.
  • Don't Over-Optimize: The goal is to compare workflows, not to create a perfect app. Focus on completing the task within the specified constraints.

6. Evaluation Criteria

Your report will be evaluated on the following criteria:

  • Execution (30%):
    • Did you successfully create two comparable, high-fidelity mockups for the "Recipe Discovery App" screen?
    • Did you strictly adhere to the specified workflow constraints for each sprint (traditional vs. AI-augmented)?
  • Quantitative Analysis (30%):
    • Is your time-tracking accurate and clearly presented for both sprints?
    • Is your velocity gain calculation correct and easy to understand?
  • Qualitative Analysis & Insight (40%):
    • How insightful is your analysis of the process differences (e.g., mental energy, creative exploration)?
    • Is your assessment of the final output quality well-reasoned and objective?
    • Does your conclusion make a compelling and well-supported business case for adopting an AI-augmented design workflow?

END OF TRANSMISSION

CONFIDENTIAL