A blog by Mina Maazi I am a user interface designer and I worked as a service designer in my country before immigrating to study in Birmingham as a mature student.
I recently joined Lagom Strategy for a three-week internship. When I was selected for the internship, I told myself that this was a new learning opportunity. I put aside all my previous knowledge and experience and started this adventure with an open mind.
In my first week it was all about getting to know the Lagom team and the pojects that they were working on. I was buddied up with Emma who is a User Researcher. We had daily catch-ups that allowed use to catch-up on the project sessions I had observed each day and go through any questions I had.
As part of my internship, I was also assigned an example project to work on. The time with Emma each day also allowed Emma to provide me with feedback on this example project.
I also got to meet Victoria who is a Delivery Manager at Lagom. Victoria supports the team to deliver projects and works closely with the teams Lagom are delivering projects for.
Victoria and Emma were always available to support me and answered all my questions. They were patient and helpful checking I had understood fully.
I also got the opportunity to meet Stephen who is a Service Designer. I found this conversation really helpful. It confirmed that I am seriously interested in Service Design and this is the direction I would like to continue my career in, building on my previous experience.
Stephen and I talked about progressing in this field and he gave me tailored advice on how to progress my career. It was an enjoyable conversation.
In the second week, I continued to observe the projects teams at work. I observed the weekly stand-up calls the project teams held to review progress and resolve any issues. I also got to meet with Helen another Delivery Manager at Lagom. I learned how she patiently and masterfully leads the project team, keeps track of the timeline and handles any issues or problems so they don’t delay the project. This ensures the project runs smoothly, the work is done on time and to a high standard.
In the third week, I observed interviews Adam another of the user researchers conducted with end users. I saw the importance of user researchers really listening so they can understand and empathise with users.
I also got to attend the Lagom teams weekly Production call. The team used this call to discuss any new projects on the horizon and the progress of current projects. This meeting was really helpful for the team. At the end of the meetings, the team each shared something called their ‘hot topic’. They shared something they had learnt that week, or something they needed help with, or just a funny personal story, perhaps something topical from the news. Sharing these ‘hot topics’ created a a strong connection between the team.
In general, my favorite part for my internship was the one-on-one meetings with the different members of the team to learn about their roles. From Helen and Victoria, I learned time management. From Stephen and Liam I learnt about service design and how they design services to meet users needs despite constraints. From Emma and Adam, I learned how it important is for user researchers to be patient and have strong listening skills.
I take my hat off to the team and I want to thank them for the amazing three weeks.
