By Aruna Shekar, Senior Lecturer, Product Development, Massey University
The success of a product is determined in the market by its users. But it is too late to discover at the product launch whether the product will be attractive or not to them. Instead products should be initiated and developed in response to users’ needs or problems, well before they reach market.
One of the main differences between successful and unsuccessful products is the lack of understanding of users of the product. Product development can be clearly improved through a shift from the product to a broader view that includes the users’ needs, benefits and usage context. It is also important to take a holistic view that takes into consideration the product’s impact on society and the environment when the product is produced and disposed.
Traditional methods to investigate user-needs include focus groups and surveys, but other methods such as contextual analysis, task interactions, lead user analysis and ethnography are becoming more popular. They provide rich insights into user behaviour and usage conditions that can contribute directly to product design.
Take a pair of crutches, for instance:
To develop a new pair of crutches, we provided diaries to users for a week to note down their likes, dislikes and the problems they experienced (along with details such as time, place and tasks to be done). We observed, took photos and videotaped users going about their ‘normal’ activities using crutches. We gathered valuable information including identifying problems with crutches for youth such as: storage in theatres or classrooms (and the inability of crutches to fold); the crutch tips slip and are noisy; issues on gravel and so on. We also looked at different types of users and their requirements.
Sample crutches designed by students
Heard the expression ‘Form follows function’ in new product development? But ‘feelings’ should also be considered when developing products. Products need to relate to their end users, they need to evoke the right emotion and mood in the user. A product can be seen to be ‘mature or youthful, formal-informal, for fun or serious, rugged or soft. In the case of crutches, younger users preferred something that did not remind them of “hospitals or accidents, or being disabled”. They wanted something that looked ‘cheery and colourful, and suited their lifestyle’.
Some of these opportunities for improved features were gathered mainly by observing the product being used in its natural context. They clearly demonstrate how products can be designed with both the consumer and the end use in mind.
