Approach

Take prototypes into real-world customer contexts

We met with a broad range of internal stakeholders and spent significant time testing, and re-testing, multiple device prototypes in patient's homes. Learning about their lives and the ways in which the machine could be most seamlessly incorporated into their daily life.

Outcomes

• Established new patient-centered product design practices

• Patients were twice as likely to have a good experience at project conclusion

• Significant savings on device production costs

• Aligning Product Experience with the Mission
  As evidenced by their Mission, the company already valued the patient experience. Empathizing with the patient by literally seeing the patient experience with their product the company was able to truly value the patient-centered process.

• Creating a New, Sustainable Patient-Centered Process
  The process of working directly with patients to understand (and yes, even to measure) their experience helped the team to iterate on insights. Bringing contextual insights into the product team’s equation brought a focused and informed approach to their decision-making.

• Refining both the Industrial and the Interaction Design
  Traditional standards for interaction design weren't applicable for this patient population. The touch targets needed to be 3x larger than the existing mobile standards. Because of tremors or physical mobility issues, many patients found it difficult and frustrating to “touch” icons which would be acceptable on most typical interfaces. The screen needed a better angle and to be adjustable. The screen on the original device (and the prototype) was angled upwards. That is, it was designed to be used by a person standing at the device. In patient’s homes we observed patients in wheelchairs who couldn’t see the device screen when it was placed on a standard-height countertop. To make the device (at minimum) usable we needed to make significant adjustments to the screen angle. The door didn’t fold up or down — it retracted.

• Two Key Design Hypotheses were Proven Wrong in the Field
  Proving once again that a human-centered design process solves serious and costly problems before production. As we watched patients interacting with the door, it became apparent that the “fold-up” approach blocked the screen at critical moments and the “fold-down” approach … well, patients were just getting their sleeves caught on the door way too often. The result – a retractable, garage-like door which solved both issues.