Prototyping and Testing are the final two steps in the design thinking process. I have applied these concepts and prototyped a solution for a problem in the Design Thinking Action Lab course.

1. PROTOTYPE & TEST
Kavya Krishnan

2. IDEA : Tutor students via the Office of Accessible education.

3. The student has to
approach office of
Accessible Education
and meet with one of
the members to
personally enquire
about the listed
positions
There is no central
repository for
students
requesting to teach
and those who
want to be tutored
The employees at
OAE send a
request as and
when there is a
need.
If a tutor is not
currently available,
they do not help the
students in finding
one iteratively.
The hourly rate for
tutors is random
and there are no
background checks
performed on the
tutor
The student’s
feedback is not
documented.
The teaching
style, number of
hours are all left
at the behest of
the tutor
DRAWBACKS IN THE SYSTEM

4. SOLUTION 1: Web Portal that matches students and tutors

5. ARE YOU A
Student Tutor
Are You a…

6. Please fill out this form:
Name :
Graduate Degree:
Subject Preferences:
Number of hours/ week:
Attach letter of recommendation here:
Teaching Style:
MBTI Personality Type:
Submit

7. Based on the information you have provided the following are the current
student matches:
Please click on each profile to learn more about the student.
Student Profile 1
Student Profile 2
Student Profile 3

8. Student Profile 3:
Name :
Undergraduate Degree:
Subject :
Number of hours/ week:
Special Requests:
Learning Style:
MBTI Personality Type:
Select

9. Congratulations!! The student has been notified of your availability.
Please click on the following link to set up a meeting with your student:
http://www.when2meet.com/student
Please click on the following link to set up a meeting with the student’s professor:
http://www.when2meet.com/professor
For additional resources please contact:
oae@stanford.edu

10. If you feel that none of the students are the right fit given your teaching style,
we will keep your records in our database and notify you as and when an
opportunity arises.

11. SOLUTION 2: Career fair to recruit tutors

12. Congratulations!! The student has been notified of your availability.
Please click on the following link to set up a meeting with your student:
http://www.when2meet.com/student
Please click on the following link to set up a meeting with the student’s professor:
http://www.when2meet.com/professor
For additional resources please contact:
oae@stanford.edu
1. In this case, the students who require assistance are identified by the professors in the beginning of every quarter.
2. Once the students and the various subjects they need assistance with are identified, a career fair is organized by the Office
of Accessible education
3. There are booths corresponding to each subject.
4. Potential tutors submit their resumes along with their teaching styles and MBTT scores at those booths/subjects they are
interested in teaching.
5. An official from OAE along with subject expert i.e. professor from the department reviews the resumes.
6. Selected candidates proceed to the interview.
7. In a week’s time decisions are made and each student is allotted a tutor.

13. TEST
I tested the prototype with Mia, a student who wanted to leverage her skills to contribute meaningfully to the society. Mia loves
teaching, so she was fascinated with the idea of tutoring at the Office of Accessible Education at Stanford. However, this
process of becoming a tutor was not a smooth one. My prototypes aim to improve this process. Following is the feedback I
received from her.

14. SOLUTION 1: Web Portal that matches students and tutors
+
? !
1. Thorough matching of the tutor’s skills and capabilities to
the student’s requirements.
2. The MBTT and teaching style and recommendation letter
serve as background check and add more credibility to the
process.
1. After the initial meeting of the tutor with the
student and professor, there are no frequent
checks for the quality of the lectures.
1. How can we be 100% sure that the matching algorithm is very
efficient in bringing together the right candidates.
1. A webex seminar tool could be used where a
professor can monitor the first lecture and
suggest ways in which the tutor can improve
his/her teaching quality. This will really help
the tutor for future teaching assistant
positions.

15. SOLUTION 2: Career fair to recruit tutors
+
? !
1. Since the process gives a lot of attention to detail, the best
candidates will be selected. Personally, Mia feels that it would
be a great advantage for TA/RA positions in the future.
2. The MBTT and teaching style and recommendation letter
serve as background check and add more credibility to the
process.
1. Some students might realize later on in the
quarter that they need help. The one-step
identification of weak students does not
mirror reality.
1. Not sure if professors will take time to identify students who
require assistance and also whether they would be available to
recruit such tutors.
1. Something should be done to eliminate the
involvement of professors in this design.