Integrated Design

Integrated Design was a required core course for the Harvard MS/MBA joint degree program, co-taught with Krzysztof Gajos (SEAS) and Alan MacCormack (HBS). The course addressed how to teach seamless integration of finding a meaningful project direction and integrating software, hardware, and data design prototyping to prove the concept to others.

The advanced course provided comprehensive education across all new product design stages: idea generation, concept development, detailed design, prototyping, testing, and data-driven decision integration. The program emphasized how design teams generate and utilize data while managing extreme uncertainty, particularly when problem and solution spaces remain poorly defined or unbounded.

Phase One consisted of three 2–3 week Integrated Design Sprints, each containing educational goals, lectures, theory summaries, case examples, and new design challenges. Phase Two applied learning to substantial self-defined projects while navigating realistic professional challenges.

Technical tools included Solidworks, Sketch, Adobe suite, UX/A-B testing software, R, Python, JMP, Firebase analytics, NLP APIs, and project management platforms. Physical prototyping covered 3D printing, laser-cutting, circuit board fabrication, soldering, and soft material techniques.