Seminar 5
This semester served as the Discovery phase for my Bachelor’s thesis. Focusing on the wellbeing of digital nomads, I moved from initial hypotheses to validated data through field research and deep interviews. The outcome is a defined problem space and a solid foundation for the upcoming design solution.
Category:
Masaryk University
Author:
Pavel Danyi
Read:
5 mins
Location:
Denpasar/Bali
Date:
Jan 10, 2026
Reflection on Goals
and Priorities
What educational goals did I set at the beginning of the semester?
My goal was to create a project combining Service Design and the wellbeing of digital nomads. I started with a very strong and dark hypothesis: I believed that isolation and loneliness lead nomads to thoughts of suicide, and I wanted to design a solution (a workshop) to prevent this.
How did I evaluate my goals on an ongoing basis? Did they change during the semester?
The goals changed under the influence of reality and professional consultation. After a discussion with Alexander Kasal, I understood that I could not research "suicides" directly, but had to look for the causes specifically anxieties and triggers. My goal thus became more precise: instead of a quick fix, I focused on an honest Discovery phase to map out exactly what troubles nomads.
To what extent did I achieve my goals?
I achieved the goal of "completing the discovery phase and defining the solution context." I have data, a mapped terrain, and a prepared brief for the workshop (HMW questions), which serves as a solid foundation for my bachelor's thesis.
Challenges and obstacles
What problems or obstacles did I encounter?
The biggest challenge was working with such a heavy topic (anxiety, loneliness) and not letting it overwhelm me. It was also difficult to create a safe space during interviews about "fuckups" so that people would be honest.
How did I cope with this?
The non violent communication methodology helped me, as did advice from mentors regarding setting boundaries ("setting the container"). I realised my role isn't to be a therapist, but a researcher looking for a systemic solution.
What surprised me the most?
I was surprised by how much the "Instagram reality" of coworks differs from the actual feelings of the people inside. This confirmed that my research is heading in the right direction.
Personal progress and development
What specific knowledge or skills did I gain?
I gained complete training in field UX Research: from recruiting respondents to conducting sensitive interviews to advanced methods like Stakeholder Mapping and User Journey Mapping.
What progress did I make?
At the beginning, I only had a "feeling" that something was wrong. Now I have a validated problem, mapped processes, and a clearly defined brief. I moved from assumptions to data..
Emotions and motivation
What motivated me the most?
I was motivated by the "detective" work of verifying my hypothesis. I wanted to discover the truth behind the photos from the beach.
Did I ever feel overwhelmed?
Yes, the synthesis process was demanding; finding common denominators in all those stories of failure ("fuckups") was hard work.
Future and Improvements
What motivated me the most? What would I do differently next time?
I would plan my time better for the overall research.
What new goals do I want to set?
My goal is clear and follows up on this semester: to take the prepared HMW questions and, within my bachelor's thesis, execute the proposed workshop and come up with a service concept or product. This time, it will be about finding specific solutions with the people whose problems I have now mapped, using the structure refined with Tereza and the safety principles from Roman.
