Today’s lesson is all about researching and how we can conceptualize a solution from it.
“In the beginner’s mind, there are many possibilities, in the expert’s mind there are few.” – Shunryo Suzuki, Zen Master
I found this quote very interesting, initially derived from 初心 which means ‘beginner’s mind’ in Japanese. It explores the predefined mindset of advanced studying and features how our studying level might precondition us to have an unconditional vision. Sometimes we have to let go of these perspectives and have an open and straightforward mind, exactly like a beginner.
Disruption in Healthcare
Disruption is a new term for me, so when Paul mentioned it I was a little lost.
As technology develops, many pain points subside in traditional healthcare technology. Big data companies look to bridge a gap between clinicians and patients ultimately to innovate, produce and refine a better outcome technologically wise, so much so that these new products revolutionize the way the industry works and it cannot simply survive without them.
An example of this would be ‘Apple Health’ – in which it has provided a ‘sharing tab’ to share your information with the doctor, although this hasn’t took off yet, this is Apple’s futuristic approach to revolutionize the way we communicate and share our health with doctors. I can see this becoming a prime factor of health-related communication in the near future.
On the topic of Apple, we have seen a rapid shift of direction in a lot of their products, with their new smartwatches putting a strong emphasis on health-related technology and services. With their newest addition, ‘blood oxygen reader’ – reads blood oxygen to diagnose and manage any irregularities in the heartbeat.
What other disruptions are there?
- Electronic health records – Documentation/Ease of access
- IoT – Big data
- AI & Machine learning
- Virtual Reality – Relaxation, etc.
- Wearables – Heart rate monitor/fitness apps
- 3D printing – prosthetic limbs, etc.
Researching the ‘Raw’
Sometimes asking the most important questions is often the most simplistic question in order to actually begin conceptualizing a foundation towards the intended project.
An example Paul used is about festivals in Ireland:
Broad
- How many festivals are there in Ireland?
- Where are they located?
- How many people attend each festival?
- What’s the fee? £500, £1K, £2K?
- What kind of audience?
Audience
- What’s the demographic?
- What do they like? (What do they hate?)
- What do they read?
- Where do they shop?
- What do they spend?
Needs-Driven Design
Before actually furthering my research into a chosen topic. I must ask myself a few questions to see if my potential product is useful in the real world. For this example, I will use an app that I have conceptualized during last week’s research that includes using motion sensors on both Apple Watches & IPhones to detect extreme and erratic movements to detect car crashes/event.
The questions:
Does this need to exist?
- I feel like this is an important feature to have in any daily accessible device as it can prevent death in some instances. However, the more I look at it the more I think instead of this being a whole app revolved around this one feature it will most likely be an additional software feature of the new iPhone.
What user needs are you solving?
- Make drivers/sports feel confident and comfortable incase any incidents occur.
What user goals are you helping to satisfy?
- Providing a sense of security for the user.
My own example above shows the importance of asking these simple yet fundamental questions as they help verify the validity and usefulness of a product. In my case, I found that my suggested app should either remain as a side feature or just be implemented into the device. Below Paul shows a great example of this in the real market using seg ways.
“It’s never too early to involve users and test your assumptions. The later you leave user research the more expensive it is to fix the things you’ve built.” This quote is extremely important when designing new products. It MUST be designed around the user. As seen with the segway example, the view of the designer is not always the view of the world.
Task – Find your own health centre’s website and see if you can find:
- Opening hours
- GP’s registered with practice
- How to book an appointment
- How to order a prescription
(add Miro board talk about … etc)
Discovery Research
“A discovery is a preliminary phase in the UX-design process that involves researching the problem space, framing the problem(s) to be solved, and gathering enough evidence and initial direction on what to do next. Discoveries do not involve testing hypotheses or solutions.” – Maria Rosala
What does this mean?
Before rushing to any propagation, we as designers need to acknowledge and capture problems, while not necessarily finding the absolute solution we can weigh the problem and opportunities to make important decisions for the future.
The discovery involves:
- Understanding of users
- Understanding of the problems to be solved and of the opportunities
- Shared vision
Using the double diamond diagram shows a visualization process to understand the users at each stage of development.
What research might this involve?
Exploratory Research – Invistage questions not previously been studied in depth.
Stakeholder Interviews – Interested ‘participants’ discussing useful advice about your chosen product.
Workshops – Collaborative sessions used to solve problems and enable progress on a particular challenge. (group work)
Conducting Competitor Analysis:
As at this stage of my studies, I have conducted plenty of product competitor analysis, I really enjoy conducting this type of research and using different online tools to innovatively capture target users, etc.
What does competitor analysis involve?
- Identify your business’s strengths and weaknesses.
- Understand your market.
- Spot industry trends.
- Set benchmarks for future growth.
Direct Competitors
Direct competitors are other companies that offer the same solution to fulfill my customer needs. An example of this is going back to my conceptualized app about car crashes/incidents. Apple is currently developing this technology for their devices which if I go with it then I can use them as a competitor.
Indirect Competitors
Also known as ‘substitutes’ this is when two or more companies offer different products to the same market to fulfill customer needs and demands.
What can I look at in this analysis?
- Strengths
- Weaknesses
- Content
- Design
- UX
- Opportunities
Task
For this class task, our group had to create a registration form using only the information that Paul had provided us.
