Rubric for communicating a proposed solution

A well-communicated solution should have these qualities:

• Motivation. The pitch explains, in terms understandable to a lay user, what the app does and why its features help address the framed problem.

• Concrete interaction. The sketches show the essential elements and transitions clearly enough to understand how someone would use the app. Low fidelity is appropriate at this stage.

• Coherence. The pitch, sketches, concepts, and user journey describe the same solution. The journey connects a stakeholder’s situation and motivation to actions and an outcome.

Common pitfalls:

• A feature list without a case. Features sound plausible but their relationship to the problem or stakeholders is unclear.

• Ambiguous sketches. Important interactions are missing, or the reader cannot tell how to move between screens.

• A walkthrough without a user. The journey lists clicks but does not explain why someone would take them or how the result helps.

Competency levels:

• Deficient. The submission does not communicate an understandable solution or a plausible way to use it.

• Emergent. The general idea is understandable, but gaps or contradictions between the pitch, sketches, and journey make its use or value uncertain.

• Competent. The pitch, sketches, and journey give a clear, consistent account of the solution. A reader can understand its essential interactions and how they address the stakeholder’s problem.

• Expert. The account makes the value of the solution particularly compelling by revealing an important connection between the stakeholder’s situation and a design choice. Carefully chosen details explain the idea with unusual clarity, without relying on visual polish or marketing claims.