Co-evolving problems and solutions: The case of novice interaction designers in Botswana and the UK

This paper establishes that problem-solution co-evolution is observed in novice interaction designers in the UK and Botswana. However, in the majority of Botswana protocols we could see a new type of co-evolution, which we termed solution-problem co-evolution. Solutionproblem co-evolution uses ‘off the shelf’’ solutions to structure the problem space. Both types of co-evolution are described and discussed in this paper. The findings are drawn from the analysis of 18 (5 UK, 13 Botswana) 1-hour design protocols from two cohorts of students studying the same undergraduate Open University Interaction Design module, one in Botswana and one in the UK. Participants were required to complete a medical interaction design task under controlled conditions. We based our analysis on a coding scheme that was developed specifically for this protocol study. The coding scheme is based on Schön’s seminal work on reflective practice. It visually represents activities in the problem and solutions spaces.