A1: Mapping and Critiquing the Problem
Making Digital Impact, Spring 2024

Due Date: 16 September 2024 at 11:59pm
Length: 2000 words + infographic
Weight: 40%
Submission: Submit your assignment as a Word or pdf document to Turnitin on Canvas
(You will only be able to make one submission, so please ensure your infographic is
included within this document)

Milestone Task: Please note that your interview transcript will be due to Canvas on 2 September,
2024.

Brief:
You will produce a technical report that explores a social problem of your choice. Your goals are to:

a) define a problem scope where a technological innovation could feasibly make a difference
AND
b) justify why this is a problem worth solving.

You must interview a stakeholder within this problem space, and incorporate the results/findings from
your interview into your report.

You will also incorporate three-five scholarly references to support your argument and demonstrate
your understanding of the key concepts covered in this subject. (Please note that Medium and NxtStep
articles are not considered to be scholarly references).

While you may touch on 2-3 current or proposed technological solutions to your problem, the main
focus of this assignment is on mapping the problem, so do not spend too much time discussing
solutions – that will be your task for A2.

Problem Scope + Rationale
In your report, you should articulate a problem space of your choice. A good place to start is by
thinking of social issues that you care about and are interested in.

You should outline the scope of your problem with reference to external research. Remember that
correctly identifying the scope of your problem will allow you to make a stronger argument justifying
why this is a problem worth solving. For instance – ‘world hunger’ is problem scope that is far too
broad; there is no one technological solution you could come up with in twelve weeks to reasonably
address this problem. However, you could potentially focus in on one aspect of this problem to
generate a more feasible problem scope.

In your rationale, you should think critically about what makes this a ‘problem worth solving.’ You
might consider explaining the problem; describing the space/context of the problem; who this
problem impacts and how/why; and, what technological solutions currently exist and why they are
deficient/could use refining.

Interview
You are required to conduct an interview – either verbal or written – with one expert or relevant
stakeholder in regard to the problem you have identified. While you may choose to keep your
interviewee’s name anonymous, you must supply enough identifying information in your report to
make clear the person’s relevance to/expertise on your problem.

Interview ethically: make sure you inform your interviewee about the purpose of the interview, and
obtain their active consent if you will be recording the interview

It is your responsibility to secure an interview with a relevant stakeholder/expert well in advance of
the A1 due date, so start planning this early on in the semester. The transcript of your interview will
be due as a milestone task on Monday 2 September.

Technical Report Format
The technical report format is used to communicate key information clearly to a general audience.

You may use an executive summary, contents page, subheadings, dot points, graphs, visuals and
appendices in order to communicate the information required in this assignment.

References
You should aim to reference three-five academic sources, at least some of which refer to the readings
and concepts covered so far in this course. You may also choose to do further research to incorporate
academic sources that are not on the syllabus.

All references should be cited correctly using APA style as per this guide
https://www.lib.uts.edu.au/referencing/apa

Infographic
You must visually convey information about your problem, drawing in thoughtful design and layout
to convey the main facts about and components of the problem. Please refer to the online resources on
designing an Infographic.

The infographic should be approximately the size of one A4 sheet of paper, with font that is clearly
legible at this size. You may design your infographic using any software you prefer. Some popular
software for producing infographics include Canva and Miro.

Extensions and Late Penalties
Extensions will only be granted in accordance with the FASS Student Study Guide for serious and
documented cases of illness and misadventure. Extension requests must be submitted before the
assignment due date, and must include valid documentation to support the request. Work
commitments, competing assignment deadlines, and technological difficulties are not valid reasons
for extension requests.

Extension requests for a maximum of one week should be emailed to your tutor with appropriate
documentation as evidence for the request. Extension requests of more than one week must be applied
for externally through Special Consideration https://www.uts.edu.au/current-students/managing-your-
course/classes-and-assessment/special-circumstances/special-consideration

Late assignments are penalised at a rate of 5% per 24 hours.

Please refer to the FASS Student Study Guide https://www.uts.edu.au/about/faculty-arts-and-social-
sciences/study-guide for more details on these policies.

Academic Misconduct
Please note that submitting work as your own when it has been completed by someone else or
produced through AI software will involve investigation including: an additional oral assessment of
written content submitted; referral to UTS academic integrity; and, receiving a fail grade.

Marking Criteria:

Criteria Weight (%)
Clarity of written expression in report 20
Relevance of interview data/results conveyed in report 20
Integration and relevance of scholarly literature in report 30
Evidence of effective rationale and justification in report 20
Creativity and Clarity of Infographic 10