Synthesis and Clustering

Synthesis and Clustering mean almost the same thing. Synthesis is the combination of ideas to form a theory or system. Clustering is the task of grouping a set of objects in such a way that objects in the same group are more similar to each other than to those in other groups. In the ideation process, clustering comes prior to synthesis.

As mentioned by Professor Durlak last class, clustering is a brainstorming technique involves using tools such as post-its and drawings to group together similar ideas. It was intriguing looking at how Professor Durlak used the outside of a bus as an ideation and brainstorming wall. My and I used affinity mapping, also known as a cluster map for this purpose.

Affinity Map

First, we diverged and conducted individual interviews using the 5 Why’s framework to understand the real -world nuances of our selected problem. Next, in class we converged to join together the common issues that we faced. Below are the issues we pinned down:

1. Hard to talk About — we noticed some discomfort while speaking about loneliness as a topic
2. Relatability — we as interviewers, could draw incorrect conclusions from interviews since we were not able to relate to different situations
3. Acceptance — there was a fear of being judged and embarassment of accepting such problems among interviewees
4. Difference in action — different interviewees dealt with the problem in different ways, it is important to recognise every one of these methods.

After clustering, we built on each other’s ideas and moved on to opportunity framework and statements. Our opportunity framework was that ‘Students and Professionals need companionship because of the high-pressure lifestyle & distance from family and friends’ which led to the formation of the how might we statement — How might we alleviate the feeling of loneliness among this community?

Millennials and the Loneliness Epidemic

We went on to create insight statements that followed the framework ‘I saw this’ + ‘I know this’ = insight. My statement revolved around what I noticed during the interviews and research process:

I saw this: Reluctance and embarassment with talking about loneliness
+
I know this: Mental health is a sensitive topic
=
Make otherwise difficult conversations ordinary

The key point here is that the difficult conversations are not to be made easy or focussed on specially, they are to be made ordinary by removing the stigma. My team looks forward to further using synthesis to bring our thought together in a more concise way.

The plastic bottle exercise conducted in class further showed us who in our team is proficient with what kind of skills, we will make sure to use this knowledge while dividing tasks.