Week 9: Trends and Issues in IT

Of all the takeaways I've received from this course, the idea of problem-solving is probably one of the most interesting conceptual shifts in the field. The idea that a field that originated as one focused on tools for learning has evolved into an innovative, systemic problem-solving field shows how truly impactful growth in IST has been. Of course, problem-solving design is not only a result of shifts in thinking about design processes, but also changes in models of design that allow for continuous problem-solving and improvement during the development process. It is essentially the farthest move away from a tool, something that can be applied in the same way repetitively, but instead acts as an agile innovative source focused on solving contextual goals and outcomes.

As part of that ever-improving process development, diversifying thought leaders and methodologies in the field can be linked to globalization. IST is not as well known or well-defined field all across the globe, but it is expanding and attracting students and professionals from all across the world. Interestingly, and appropriately, this diversification is not leading to unifying models or clarified ways of thinking that can be applied across the entire field. It is rather highlighting all the ways and fields IST can be utilized in, and expanding thinking and discussions around the process of design, the reasoning behind applying certain models over others, and the future of design.

Human performance improvement, or HPI, is the newest star in the field of IST. Like other expansions in the organizational environment, this new chapter is focused on holistic improvements, rather than reductivist, focusing on both the context in which HPI could be applied and the systemic context it will become a part of. Humans themselves are more a part of the picture, less cogs in a wheel and more of an intrinsic part of the design.