Universal Product Design- Unit 2: Discovering the Market Need
Brian Donnelly
Design Consultant
Former Associate Professor,
Department of Design and Industry
San Francisco State University
San Francisco, California, USA
Introduction
The following module serves as the second phase of a one semester (15 weeks x 6 hours/week.) intermediate level product development course taught at San Francisco State University The first phase is presented in another posting, Universal Product Design - Unit 1: Breaking the Stereotypes. Work on this unit should be initiated after completion of Unit 1. The course, which is described on this site in a separate outline, directs students through a development process that begins with acquiring a deeper understanding of market opportunities and the potential of using universal design as one of a series of guidelines to maximize chances for successful commercial product development. The process continues with a series of activity modules that include in-depth user centered research, concept ideation, prototyping/user testing and concept finalization. Historically, several students in the class have carried their project through to the completion of a provisional patent application. Two examples of the diverse array of student projects are depicted below.
Credit: Arvind Gupta, Student
The right hand side of the photo shows a side view of a young boy seated on the edge of a park bench holding a closed food container He is wearing a vibrant blue hooded ski type jacket and gray colored sweat pants. The photo is shot looking down at him. His head is tilted down looking at the container so that we see the side of his face. He has two hands holding each side of the closed food container. The cover is translucent green and the bottom is translucent orange. You primarily see the top of the container. The shape of the container is an organic smoothly curved surface. The size is similar to that of a large shallow Tupperware container. The color of the container changes with changes in temperature to provide a visual cue regarding the temperature of its contents. The juxtaposition of the very old woman next to the young boy emphasizes the universal nature of the product.
Credit: Student: Charles Floyd - Winner 2003 IDEA Student Award
Unit 2 Goals
- Provide students with skills in the area of observational research and competitive product analysis.
- Further establish a foundation from which a student can identify a market need or desire that can be satisfied through the pursuit of a product development project that offers the student inspiration and motivation.
The term product as used in this course includes both physical products- the keyboard, the hammer, the bike, the cell phone body and virtual products- the Web site interface, the screen menu for a DV camera, the information architecture for an Internet appliance….
The activities described in the preceding pages are designed with a great deal of flexibility in mind. Although written for product development, instructors in related fields of design such as architecture, graphics and environmental design can rename categories for their particular use.
Activity # 1
In this activity, students are going to be organized into groups that form a variety of “family groupings” with a diversity of ages, genders and abilities. (While there are many more variables that distinguish people, these three variables seem to be enough to contend with. You will set up some basic organizational structure but you want to leave room for students to come up with imaginative profiles for the characters that will become part of this activity. Once the “families” are organized they will be assigned different group experiences. (For example one family will be going on a camping trip, another trip to the shopping mall). The objective for this activity is to inspire each group to generate an exhaustive list of all the activities that each family member will engage in as they embark on their respective outings
Instructor Preparation: Before class, organize a series of cards equal to the number of students in class. (3X5 index cards work well). In the top left corner place a colored sticker or a colored mark that corresponds with the age groupings in the chart below. Come up with a mix of cards so that there are a reasonable number of adults and a good combination of other ages.
Example:
Module 2 Figure 3: Chart for age groupings
| Infant | 1 month to 1 year | Yellow |
| Toddler | 1 year to 2 years | Dark Blue |
| Preschooler | 2 years to 6 years | Dark Green |
| School age | 6 years to 12 years | Orange |
| Adolescent | 12years to 20 years | Purple |
| Young adult | 20 years to 40 years | Red |
| Middle aged adult | 40 years to 60 years | Light Blue |
| Young-old adult | 60 years to 80 years | Lime |
| Old-old adult | 80 years and beyond | Magenta |
For the next part of the activity, use the chart illustrated and described below to create the cards that will establish the family groupings of people with diverse abilities. (See card sample below .) In advance, divide the cards into diverse groups (minimum 3 people per family with the largest group at 5 maximum.) Place a number in the upper right hand corner to identify the group. Place the cards in a box and have students randomly select and get together with the students with the same group number. In the lower right hand side of the card you should have included a table (you can print this out) with a list of abilities.
Students should rate their level of ability with:
0 = Full Ability/No disability 5 = Severe Impairment. In
the upper section they should record a name for their character (real or
fictitious). In the center area they should write a few sentences to describe
the person - what sorts of things they like, favorite foods, activities
etc.
I often ask each student to very quickly introduce “himself” or “herself” to the entire class- it can result in some humorous moments…
After the groups are formed you assign each one to a group experience. Some examples include:
- A trip to a shopping mall
- A camping trip
- Trip to a museum
- Trip to a baseball game
- A day at home
- A vacation flight to Hawaii
Provide each group with some large sheets of paper. They have 40 minutes to come up with a detailed list of all the activities each family member would engage in as they move through a 12-hour period from 7 a.m. till 7.p.m. Suggest that they write the names of each person along the top horizontal edge. Along the left vertical edge place the time in 12 one hour increments. Now as a group, encourage them to get crazy and as detailed as possible with as many activities they can think of that the various characters would engage in for each of the different 12 hour slots.
At the end of 40 minutes have the groups stop. Take a few moments and have each group read out some of the more interesting or surprising activities.
Take a break
Reconvene groups and distribute a large sheet of paper to each of the group members. Each group member should write down the name of their character at the top of their sheet. Ask them to divide the paper into four vertical columns. In the first left hand column write down the 10 most intriguing or challenging activities that their character engaged in during the 12-hour period. Leave enough horizontal space between each of the ten so the list extends from bottom to top of the page. Label the second column Degree of Difficulty. Label the third column: Current Product Solutions and label the fourth column Product Rating.
At this point you want the students to work as groups. Each member will
get a turn to have the group discuss his or her 10 activities. Under degree
of difficulty get each “family member’ to indicate the rate
of difficulty for them relative to their age and ability level.
0=impossible to accomplish task 5 = easy to accomplish the task
(I’ve placed space for five respondents that can be modified to suit
the group size- each group member is identified by a number- you could also
use initials.). It is interesting for students to realize how the ratings
will vary depending on variables such as age and ability level of the respondent.
In the third column let the group brainstorms any products or combination of products that they think could help a person successfully complete the task.
In the fourth have the group reach consensus on a rating number indicating
the degree to which each product or combination of products would accomplish
the task.
O = the product is a total failure 5 = the product looks and works great
Example
After groups have had enough time to work on their grids take a break. When the groups reconvene take a few minutes to have each group present a few of their more interesting and challenging listings.
What was Learned:
Students gained more experience in group work and thinking outside the box. The importance of considering the diversity of user needs, backgrounds and abilities is reinforced
As a result of this activity students have started to recognize some patterns that reveal activities that are problematic for a number of people and a lack of good product solutions for those activities. Consequently, many students will be getting close to identifying a project that they are both interested in and that has market potential.
Activity # 2 “Observing others: The key to user centered research”
For homework each student is to select his or her most intriguing activity. (It can come from the previous exercise or one that was identified elsewhere. Using a camera, video recorder or drawing they are to observe and document a minimum of five people engaged in the activity. The group of 5 subjects should incorporate some level of appropriate diversity.Credit: Charles Floyd: Student
On the right side of the composite photo is a slim, healthy looking older woman with short white hair standing in front of a kitchen sink. Her right arm is extended out; her hand is grasping a tall, single lever, chrome finish faucet handle. Her body is turned that we primarily see her front while her head is turned to look at the faucet and running water. She is wearing a white sweater with a narrow gray vertical band across the upper section.
Both images were taken as part of an observational research activity conducted in the development of the “Faucet Friend”. This is a simple water temperature safety indicator that is attached to the end of a faucet. The indicator changes color with water temperature variations in order to provide a safety warning that is especially beneficial for young children and older adults.
Credit: Len Gonzales and Troy Stevens: Students
Description: This color photo is a composite of three individual images of people using public interactive information systems that include an interactive gaming console and a public ATM machine. The image on the far left depicts a young man interacting with a game station. He is using in a wheelchair, has long hair pulled back in a ponytail and is wearing a beige colored sweater. The image is photographed from the back so you only see the top handles of the chair and his back. In his hand he is holding a game controller, which is connected back into a wall with a small wire cable. The display screen in front of him is wall mounted high above his head at a fixed height and does not pivot so it is obvious from the image that the young man has to look up from his seated position. This position looks like it would be very uncomfortable for a wheelchair rider after a short viewing period.
The middle image shows two young men standing, each in front of a game console mounted at their eye level on the same wall structure as used in the first image. Both men are photographed from the rear so that you see their backs and the fronts of the display screens. The young man standing to the left is Caucasian with brown hair and a long ponytail and wearing a pale colored short sleeve shirt and green trousers. The young man to his right appears to be Asian. He is wearing a dark sports jacket with blue jeans and wearing a dark colored backpack supported by straps on both shoulders. You can see his hands on the controller as he plays with the interactive game.
The third image on the far right of this composite photo shows a young Hispanic man using a wheel chair and reaching high up to insert an ATM card into a horizontal card swipe slot in an interior ATM machine. It is clear from the photo that he is straining to reach the card slot. There are two black colored ATM machines located side by side and the young man is interacting with the ATM that is located further back in the image. The image is a three quarter perspective, shot from behind so you see his side and back with his right arm and hand extended out to insert the card. The ATM stands up vertically on a carpeted interior floor. The young man is wearing a burgundy red sweater with blue jeans. His wheelchair is a sports model with a blue color metal tube frame and black wheels with chrome rims and spokes; the seat and back are black vinyl.
Students are to prepare a 10-minute in-class oral/ visual presentation where they provide a detailed explanation for each of the following questions: Students should use images to the greatest degree possible with their responses
If possible the student can also try and interview the users to gain feedback to these questions.
What was Learned
The in-class presentations offer students an opportunity to understand the importance of observational research and develop the skills to use this process as an effective product development tool.
As a consequence of the research presentation and class feedback, the vast majority of students will have finally discovered a project that interests them. They also tend to have a sense of what projects may have some commercial potential. For those students who are still "searching" for the best project, they have (as a result of module 1 and 2 activities) a mechanism for discovering a project that will work for them.
What is Next
Following the completion of Unit 2, each student is required to submit a detailed design proposal for his or her project. This document includes items such as:For more information contact Brian Donnelly at bfdon@pacbell.net.
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Citation: Donnelly, Brian (2003).Universal Product Design - Unit 2: Discovering the Market Need ©. Retrieved (Enter Date), from Universal Design Education Online web site: http://www.udeducation.org/teach/course_mods/donnelly2.asp
