Over half a century of design.
Welcome
Founded in 1960, we are one of the world’s leading product design and development consultancies, operating globally from our campus in Warwick, UK. Since the early sixties we have helped a wide variety of companies design and develop market leading products that users still value every day, ranging from the Stanley knife to the Eurotunnel Shuttle.
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Today we focus on building long term relationships with large corporations in four market sectors: ‘Medical and Scientific’, ‘Consumer’, ‘Commercial and Industrial’, and ‘Transport’.
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Our History
In 1960 David Carter CBE RDI founded David Carter Associates (DCA) as "a multidisciplinary consultancy involved in designing products for mass production".
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Our Expertise
We add value by improving the success of product innovation. We do this through an intelligent approach to design, based on the transparent management of risk, informed decision making, true integration of disciplines and rigorous development processes. We believe that the outstanding commercial success of the products we help create is dependent ultimately on delivering exceptional value to our clients customers. We provide the right blend of strategic thinking and pragmatism to deliver our clients’ projects successfully.
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We balance the creativity and the technical discipline needed to achieve commercially successful product innovation. Every client is unique. To support our clients, we like to understand them, their place in the market and their ambitions thoroughly.
RB Scholl velvet smooth Electronic foot file Design research Industrial design Visual brand language Prototyping Packaging Production support
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Our Awards
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We have won over 80 international awards in the last 10 years.
Multi award winner
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multi Silver Award Winner
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winner 2015
Multi award winner
Stanley Caplan User-Centered Product Design Award
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Our People
DCA is a collection of over 140 extraordinary individuals. Intelligent, creative and thorough, our people make the difference to our clients’ projects. They combine to create a vibrant fusion of disciplines including mechanical engineers, electronics and software engineers, industrial designers, usability and interaction experts, researchers, strategists, prototyping technicians and specialist project managers. Each person is an expert in their own field, but has the curiosity, understanding and flexibility to reach
across traditional inter-disciplinary boundaries. Our organisational structures and team culture encourage this synergistic blending and integration of specialist skills. Our clients benefit not only from each individual’s depth of knowledge and experience but also from a team whose combined strength exceeds the sum of its individual members’ expertise.
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Our connected disciplines
Since our foundation a multidisciplinary philosophy has been the cornerstone of our approach to product design and development. There are no departments at DCA. Our studios, laboratories and workshops have different disciplines working side by side. Over fifty years we have developed an expertise in connecting and integrating the right disciplines, at the right time, in the right way to achieve success for our clients.
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Mechanical Engineering
Interaction Design
Design Research & Planning
Software Engineering
Prototyping
Electronic Engineering
Human Factors & Usability
Industrial Design
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DCA wins innovation award at CES 2018. LifeFuels new smart nutrition bottle launched at CES 2018 and became a CES Innovation Award Honoree for the second time. Designed by DCA for LifeFuels, this revolutionary smart nutrition bottle helps users understand how much water they should be drinking throughout the day and allows the user to prepare nutritional drinks on the go. Launched on 8th January at CES 2018, the world's largest technology show, LifeFuels has been
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awarded the CES Innovation Award Honoree 2018 for Sports, Fitness and Biotech. The system is made up of three parts: the bottle itself, the FuelPods and the LifeFuels app. The user selects three FuelPods, then inserts them into the bottom of the bottle. Using either the app or the button on the bottle, the user can dispense precise servings according to their taste and nutritional goals.
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Lifefuels Smart nutrition bottle Connected beverage maker Design research Industrial design Colour, material and finish Usability and HF Packaging Prototyping
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Linn Selekt DSM Network Music Player Interaction design Industrial design Colour, material and finish Usability and HF Prototyping
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Designing products that stand the test of time.
The passage of time has a significant impact on the products we interact with – some products are like fine wines, they simply get better with age (or at least we perceive them to), others become outdated, or redundant as time passes, or the signs of use make them tatty and undesirable. For many of us, some of the most cherished objects that we interact with are the oldest. They are perhaps the things that we have grown old with and formed memories around, such as a family table or a favourite mug. Others may represent specific events – such as a gift of a watch or an item of jewellery. Published on 21st November 2018 26
Other cherished objects may be viewed as just better, reminding us of simpler times. For me, this list
includes hand tools inherited from my grandfather and a watch from the 1950s. They may also include vintage furniture, motor cars or steam engines. These products often represent a simplicity, a focus on craftsmanship, and a commitment to use materials in a way that would be cost-reduced out of modern massproduction processes. The modern drive for connectivity and smart products has undoubtedly influenced the lifespan of products. Moore’s law tells that processing power doubles approximately every two years, it is therefore easy to see how products are soon left behind, particularly if the ecosystem they are connected to is keeping pace with the latest technology. This results in smartphones that were once state of the art, becoming almost unusable
The best classic cars are those that look like they could have rolled off the production line yesterday.
five, or so, years later – often not as a result of the product itself degrading, but simply their failure to keep pace with the systems that they connect to. A shorter product lifespan may be music to the ears of some retailers, as it allows more products to be sold. However, in many industries, such as public transport design or complex medical devices, products need to last for many decades in order to present a viable business case. Even where the business case does not demand it, an environmental conscience might. Furthermore, most product designers are also motivated to design things that will last – the cherished objects of the future. This then begs the obvious question – how do we design products that stand the test of time? To develop products that last, and continue to be appreciated, we need to understand the impact that the passage of time will have on them. Both at a physical level (the physical behaviour of the product), as well as an emotional one – the relevance that the product has to those interacting with it. Physically standing the test of time The best classic cars are those that look like they could have rolled off the production line yesterday. They represent a snapshot of the past – they have almost no sign of wear and no modifications. Conversely, our expectations for a period property are quite different. We expect these to have been modernised – retaining period features and charms, but embracing modern living and comforts (e.g. central heating, open-plan fitted kitchens, and en-suite bathrooms). From a physical perspective, there are two core approaches to managing the passage of time, (1) to design products so that they are resistant to changes due to time and the impact of wear, or (2) to design products that grow old gracefully, celebrating their signs of usage, and adapting to fit the changing context of use.
Article by Dr D. Jenkins Research Lead Human Factors and Usability
Patina is a word used commonly in design circles; it is used to describe the, often visual, signs or use and wears on a material’s surface.
Think of the much-loved leather sofa or, or perhaps a pair of jeans, that look better after being used and appreciated. Or perhaps more fittingly, the pair of shoes (or slippers) that, not only look better but actually mould to our feet – becoming more comfortable. A traditional wok is another good example. Not only does the product look better after many hours of use, the food actually starts to taste better when prepared in a well-used and well-cared-for wok (part of the reason non-stick versions are often avoided). However, the idea of visual signs of use (patina) can be highly subjective. It may be celebrated for an intimate object such as items of clothing, however, they may be less well received for a communal object such as a train. Interestingly, the idea of physical change as a result of usage does not necessarily translate directly to digital services. At an emotional level Engagement with a product typically comes from developing an emotional connection to it. This emotional connection may be formed in a number of ways. Its value may be linked to the way it was acquired (or first encountered) – creating a connection to someone involved in that process (a gift from a loved one) or a moment in time (a purchase on a special holiday or trip). Alternatively, its introduction may represent an investment in time and resources. The ‘IKEA effect’ is a cognitive bias in which consumers place a disproportionately high value on products they have, in part, created (See Norton et al 2012). This phenomenon is well researched and understood, but it is limited to the start of the experiential journey. Just like our relationships with people, not all strong bonds are formed upon first meeting. Others are formed based on gradually building trust. Others still stand the test of time almost through attrition, because they adapt to fit changing requirements and needs – they remain relevant by changing their value proposition to fit the given environment and context. 27
At a systems level At a systems level, the whole idea of developing a relationship with a physical object may be called into question. In many markets, it could be argued that we are moving away from a connection to products towards a connection to experiences or brands – physical objects simply have too many constraints to adaptation – limiting their ability to remain relevant. Continuing with this argument, any given artefact (or product) is simply an embodiment of the brand that can be replaced or upgraded. For example, we may build a very strong and meaningful connection to a particular brand of smartphone, but be very happy to trade in our current model for the latest and greatest version every year or so – as the relationship is more with the service than the artefact itself. That said, it’s fair to say the counter-argument against this disposable-culture is growing stronger. Environmental concerns are becoming far more mainstream. Furthermore, the role of the physical artefact in a meaningful relationship is becoming far clearer. In our haste 28
to embrace the clear advantages of the new, digital aspect of a brand ecosystem, we were, perhaps, too keen to disregard the merits of the lasting relations with physical highlycrafted objects – and the multisensory experiences that they bring. It is argued that these physical relationships are key to lasting engagements. This can be evidenced by large brands, such as Google, Amazon, and now Facebook, who once lived exclusively in the digital world, investing in developing physical products. The physical assets representing not only a multi-sensory experience but also a commitment to an ecosystem. Doing it… So how do we design physical products that remain relevant and have the potential to become the cherished objects of tomorrow? The simple answer is that “it depends…” the most appropriate solution will be dependent on the specifics of the project and the context of use. However, it’s fair to say that it will involve a consideration at a physical, emotional, and a systemic level.
Accurately predicting the future requirements of a product requires predicting the future. While we may not have a crystal ball, we do have structured processes to anticipate future use. There is much that can be learnt from looking back and exploring the variability of use in the past (over time) as well as exploring the variation in use today (between use cases). Where products are relatively simple and have experienced little change in their use (such as hand tools), perhaps the simplest option is to look back in time and emulate the qualities of the cherished objects of the past. A return to more traditional materials and manufacturing techniques may create niche but viable business propositions – as long as the value, over much cheaper mass-produced alternatives, can be communicated. We are currently seeing a resurgence of more traditional tools such as brass razor handles that offer an alternative to single-use devices. For physical products, that experienced greater variability in the ways that they are used, to stand the test of time, they need to remain
Investing in early interaction prototyping can help reduce the UX changes later in the formal design development process.
relevant as the world around them changes. In most cases, this means adapting. Products that change their value proposition based on their environment and context of use; have the potential to create a greater level of engagement. Just like the sympathetically modernised period home, they perhaps retain the charms of a particular era or aesthetic but remain relevant to any given movement in time.
even repaired with ease over time (by opening the casing and inserting new ‘cartridges’, each of which has been designed as a product in their own right). This results in a product that is flexible to the user’s requirements and to new technologies that will become available as time progresses.
Explicitly considering future use, and adaption, at the time of design is critical to this process. By understanding the past, current and future variability, along with far less transient human values, products can be developed that remain relevant.
On a digital level there are six customisable ‘smart buttons’ that adorn the front of the product and feel like piano keys beneath your fingers. These smart buttons can be programmed to perform a range of functions based on the user’s requirements allowing personalisation more common with a digital app while retaining a physical connection to the product.
Our recent work with Linn on the Selekt DSM Network Music Player is one such example of this.
The result is a product that has been designed to last, at a physical, an emotional and systemic level.
The product has considered the passage of time in two main ways. At a more physical level, the product has been designed to be fully configurable, modular and upgradable. Allowing new functionality to be added at point of purchase, or upgraded and 29
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Interaction Design
Our multidisciplinary approach delivers product interactions across integrated physical and digital platforms. In an increasingly connected world, new challenges have emerged in delivering compelling user experiences. Our multidisciplinary approach delivers product interactions across integrated physical and digital platforms that are simple, intuitive and a delight to use.
co-ordinated product experiences. Whether extending products with digital touchpoints or developing interactions for embedded hardware, we use an integrated approach to create future facing concepts and develop these through to production.
Our team combines interaction, graphic and industrial designers, researchers, electronics hardware and software engineers to develop
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DCA Fuse Smart consumer unit concept Industrial design Interaction design
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Connecting your physical product in a digital world. As some of the most innovative digital brands launch physical products, how can more traditional, physical brands get connected, add value and stay relevant? On a recent visit to a friend’s house, I was proudly introduced to his new ‘virtual assistant’ called Alexa. Alexa is the personification of the artificial intelligence behind Amazon’s smart speaker Echo. Alexa has a growing number of daily tasks she can help you with, for example telling you about the traffic on the way to work, or more importantly for Amazon, helping create a shopping list online. On this occasion, I was interested to understand what kind of personality Alexa had, so I posed the question “Alexa, do you like Apple?” She responded without hesitation “companies that begin with ‘A’ are awesome”. I was taken aback at the witty, unexpected response and began to wonder if Alexa was someone at the other end of a phone or I had significantly underestimated her artificial intelligence. Article by Nick Mival Director Originally published in Marketing Week
Published on 3rd November 2016 36
The launch of Google Home this autumn sees the battle for the smart-home personal assistant market hotting up. It also clearly demonstrates the desire of these once digital brands to gain a dominant physical presence right
at the centre of our homes. With these digital super brands getting physical with us, how should more traditional, physical brands and manufacturers design their connected products? Why connect? We all want to create a stronger relationship with our consumers. An excellent foundation for this relationship is an ecosystem that offers value based on a continuous two-way dialogue of data. As both Amazon and Google have established, a connected physical device can play a key role in this ecosystem. However, its centrality, prominence and physical permanence also makes it one of the more difficult parts of the system to implement. Code can easily be updated, physical components are less flexible. In the vast majority of cases, a connected device will take the place of a non-connected device in an existing system. As such, it is important to understand how the connected device could add value and change things for the better. To do this we start by establishing the purpose and the performance of the system that the device inhabits. This then forms a baseline benchmark to assess the proposed changes against. The metrics used to assess the performance of the system will change depending on the application; however, they will normally include descriptions such as eff ectiveness, efficiency, safety,
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inclusiveness, satisfaction, and flexibility. If the introduction of a connected device is not expected to impact these performance metrics, the value of the product can be quickly called into question. It’s also important to track them all in parallel to ensure the optimisation of some doesn’t negatively affect others. How to connect At DCA, we have developed a ‘layer cake’ to clarify the options for how to connect products and devices (see below). We have found it a powerful tool in establishing and validating the specification of a new connected device proposition before diving into the development work. Each layer can be considered as analogous to a step in the process of verbal communication. The choices made in each layer will be driven primarily by the device’s functionality and the environment in which it will operate. These decisions will determine the device’s complexity and hence its size, cost, power consumption and development timescale. The top layer is the Application layer. Here, the high-level decision on what you want to say must be made – what information should the device transmit, maybe orientation or temperature? In some cases, it will be acceptable and desirable to use existing apps to send, receive and process the data. In others, bespoke applications will be favoured. In the next layer, Interoperability, the decision to make is which language to speak – such as English, French, WeMo or SmartThings – or which ecosystem to buy into. There are many languages to choose from, each with their own characteristics and strengths, including those created and supported by technology giants such as Apple (HomeKit), Samsung (SmartThings) and Google (Weave). There is also an opportunity to develop bespoke languages,as Honeywell has done with its EvoHome system. Moving further down our ‘layer cake’ in the Data Transfer layer, a protocol must be decided upon
(akin to deciding what words to use and which sounds to make). Bluetooth and Wi-Fi are the most widely known, but other alternatives, such as Z-wave or ZigBee, offer an interesting alternative if bandwidth requirements are low as the cost of such systems may be much lower (though additional infrastructure, such as a hub, may be required). Finally, at the base of our diagram (the Physical layer), the way of making sounds – for instance with a mouth or a loudspeaker – is analogous to the decision between wired and radio communication. For simplicity, the diagram (left) focuses on radio communication, as this typically off ers the greatest convenience for installation, but there may be cases where a wired connection is preferred (for example because of concerns over stability, security or interference). The experience Lastly and defi nitely not least, for consumers to engage with your connected product the multisensory experience must be right. As Alexa answered my mischievous question, she ‘turned’ and looked at me via the intensity and direction of a blue ring of light. Her tone and response was warm and playful. I was creating a relationship which I enjoyed. If you’re designing a lawnmower that helps you understand your garden or a hairbrush that tells you about your scalp, make sure you have the right multidiscipline team of researchers, designers, and engineers (mechanical, hardware and software) who understand both physical products and digital systems. Then you can craft and deliver a relevant experience that criss-crosses seamlessly between the physical and the digital worlds. Physical product brands and manufacturers have never before had the opportunity of building such a close and continuous relationship with their customers. New ecosystems of services can be built through an open and continuous dialogue of data. If you haven’t already, it is probably time to take the opportunity. 39
GSK My Quit Quit smoking wearable device Advertising and visualisation Colour, material and finish Insight and strategy Industrial design Interaction design Prototyping Usability and HF Visual brand language
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FiveAi Roof mounted sensor and camera mounting and enclosure for autonomous vehicles. Mechanical engineering Industrial design Prototyping Testing and evaluation Production support Virtual Reality
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Research and Strategy
Deciding which direction to take a design, or even what to design next, often proves one of the greatest hurdles in product development. Research and Strategy at DCA exists to inspire and inform these decisions, providing the cultural and user insight on which to build great product strategy and designs. Practised by a team with diverse experience we use a range of tools to build robust data and rich stories. No two projects are the same. We go wide and we go deep, gaining intimate knowledge of the relationship between people, brands, products and their environments.
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It's about people
Brands are built when they create products with soul and relevance. For this to happen we believe you should design everything for someone, not just something for everyone. We help achieve this by understanding the people we are creating products and services for. We explore their aspirations, lives and the influences which form their agendas and create their value hierarchy.
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Then, we craft relevant products that resonate by offering users an experience they value and enjoy. These user experiences create warmth and loyalty towards brands enabling them to flourish.
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GSK Aquafresh Kids Kids toothbrush Design planning Design research Usability and HF Industrial design Visual brand language Colour, material and finish Prototyping Production support
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GSK Aquafresh milk teether Teether for soothing and cleaning Design research Usability and HF Industrial design Visual brand language Colour, material and finish Prototyping Production support
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GSK Dr. Best Vibration Electrical toothbrush Mechanical engineering Industrial design Prototyping Packaging Production support
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Human Factors and Usability
We inform ideas and their implementation through a deep understanding of the relationship between people, products, and their environment. We integrate human factors and usability throughout the design process, adopting domain-specific regulations and guidance from ISO 62366. Emphasis is placed on moving beyond compliance to leverage the commercial benefits of more inclusive products and services that optimise system performance.
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Elekta Unity MR-linac system Design strategy and planning Human factors and usability Industrial design Interaction design Mechanical engineering Prototyping
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Note: Elekta Unity is a work in progress and not available for sale or distribution.
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The future of radiotherapy treatment. Millions of people worldwide benefit from radiotherapy every year, and the treatment cures more people than cancer drugs. Dan Jenkins and colleagues describe a project in which human factors played a critical role in the design of new equipment that delivers the therapy to patients. Every so often, an opportunity arises to design systems that are truly transformative. Often as the result of the introduction of a fundamentally new technology, these revolutionary systems allow new tasks to be conducted or they allow existing tasks to be completed in a new way. The design of new systems opens exciting possibilities for human factors practitioners. It also brings up concerns and challenges as it’s difficult to predict how a new 58
technology system will shape future work. Observing current behaviour on legacy systems provides just part of the picture. Elekta Unity, the first high-field MR-linac, is an example of groundbreaking technology because it overcomes the technical barriers that have hindered the integration of precision radiation therapy by combining magnetic resonance (MR) imaging with a linear particle accelerator for highly targeted, real-time radiotherapy. Fast moving, electrically charged particles are strongly influenced by a powerful magnetic field, so keeping them on track while near an MRI seemed like an impossibility before research found breakthroughs. It’s now a system that is being used by clinicians in healthcare institutions around the world.
The new MR-linac allows the exact location of tumours to be identified during treatment delivery.
The new MR-linac allows the exact location of tumours to be identified during treatment delivery. MR imaging provides radiotherapists with a much clearer description of the location of a tumour than is possible with more conventional computed tomography-based systems which use x-rays. What’s more, MR imaging is particularly adept at differentiating soft tissues making it especially relevant to tumours in the abdomen; the location of 65% of tumours. This increased confidence around the location of a tumour allows cancer cases to be treated with radiotherapy that was previously not viable because of the location of nearby critical tissue. The greater confidence in the location of dose delivery also opens the possibility of treating with fewer instances of higher doses. The right tools for the job Human factors practitioners have the skill and toolsets to help frame the design and its base architecture at the earliest stages of development where the objective is also to inspire and inform the design. Most explorations of human work draw on the same core data collection approaches: 1. O bservations in a naturalistic setting (the ‘real world’). 2. Observations in a lab setting (simulations or user trials). 3. Interviews. 4. Self-reporting. 5. Literature reviews. For revolutionary systems, observing and documenting current work (using descriptive models), or work as expected (using prescriptive models as described in standard operating procedures; SOPs),
only provides part of the picture. More formative tools, such as cognitive work analysis, are required to describe how work could be conducted. As such, there is much that can be learnt from using a range of different tools. When new tools are introduced to a discipline, there’s often the tendency to compare them to more traditional approaches, highlighting the limitations and weaknesses of these established approaches. While this is an important part of discussing the value of the new, it can result in a complete rejection of the old – akin to ‘throwing the baby out with the bathwater’. In practice, it’s often advantageous to draw on the relative strengths of each of these method types. In the case of Elekta Unity, a mixed methods approach was established that sought to learn from current work as prescribed using SOPs, work as disclosed via interviews, current work as done through observations, and future work as imagined using formative modelling, all at the earliest stages of the design process, seeking to maximise the value of the full toolkit. This involved drawing from the same core sets of data collection approaches and analysing them with a diverse range of tools. The core data set was informed by studying several different areas: the current use of legacy equipment, Linacs using CT imaging across seven treatment centre visits spread across North America, South America and Western Europe; observations of over 360 patient treatment sessions; after-hours walk-throughs; over 50 stakeholder interviews; and extensive literature reviews. 59
Image credit: The Royal Marsden
The core methods used to process this data can be broadly segregated into descriptive and formative approaches. The descriptive approach Radiotherapy is typically a highly structured process that follows a well-rehearsed workflow. As such, Hierarchical Task Analysis (HTA) was a fitting backbone for the descriptive analysis. In the first instance, we used HTA to explore the variability in workflows, or work as done, by exploring the observed differences between treatment locations such as lung, prostate or breast, and geographic location, as well as treatment centre types, such as a large teaching hospital with many Linacs and a large radiotherapy department to regional cancer treatment centres with a single Linac and a small team. It soon became apparent that the variability was relatively limited. Where it did exist, it tended to be at the detailed ‘leaflevel’ of the task model or in the detailed ‘plans’ of the HTA. Given the limited variability and the relatively close match between 60
work as prescribed and work as done, HTA proved to be a valuable approach. The main advantage of HTA was its large range of extensions, such as Critical Path Analysis and Link Analysis. The core model provided a common task description that could be explored in greater detail.
the system, both from a physical, manual handling, perspective, using a tool called REBA or Rapid Entire Body Assessment, and from a cognitive level predicting opportunities for ‘error’ using TRACEr or Technique for the Retrospective and predictive Analysis of Cognitive Error.
The temporal nature of the task was explored by assigning average baselevel task times recorded from over 350 observations to each sub-task in the HTA. Critical Path Analysis was then used to identify areas in the task flow that offered the greatest potential for efficiency savings.
The formative approach
Link analysis was used to time map the tasks in a spatial setting of a plan view of a typical treatment and control room. This revealed opportunities to optimise the layout of physical controls and objects that healthcare professionals and patients interact with, as well as the location of physical and digital information displays. The HTA model also proved valuable in evaluating the safety of
At a more formative level, tools from cognitive work analysis were used to explore how work could be conducted. Hierarchies were constructed to explore the relationships between the physical objects in the system such as new and existing technology, and the higher order systems values of efficacy, efficiency, safety, inclusiveness, satisfaction and flexibility. Decision ladders were used to describe how information across digital displays, documentation, staff interactions, the physical environment and the verbal and nonverbal patient cues was currently being used to guide treatment sessions and to explore how it could be used in the future. The flexibility,
Human factors helps frame, inspire and inform a design at the earliest stages of development.
variability and resilience of the system were also explicitly explored. Inspiring and informing design
Article by Dr D. Jenkins Research Lead Human Factors and Usability Malcolm Boyd Senior Sector Manager Medical and Scientific David Gilmore Director of User Experience at Elekta
The purpose of this detailed analysis was to inspire and inform the design of a vision for the future at the infancy of the project. This vision was created six years before the first patient was treated with the system; the intention was to form a basis for the detailed design that was technologically grounded and evidence-driven. Some of the notable features of the design, such as low table top or ‘couch’ that the patient lies on, were informed by anthropometric datasets and manual handling assessments of those assisting and positioning patients. Engineered safeguards were inspired and informed by ‘error’ predictions and carefully considered against their impact on system resilience. The approach also provided a detailed description of the information requirements of the system. This ensured that the right information was displayed, in the right place, at the right time, to the right people, in a suitable format that
complements information drawn from human interactions and the physical environment. The output was a three-minute video describing a vision for the patient experience for the future system, backed up by detailed reports. This formed the target for a fullscale development programme that resulted in the design of Elekta Unity, the world’s first high-field imaging MR-linac, that was used to treat its first patient in September 2018, ushering in a new era in the battle against cancer. Author affiliations Dan Jenkins leads the research team and Malcolm Boyd is a Senior Sector Manager at DCA Design international. See www.dca-design. com. David Gilmore is Director of User Experience at Elekta. The Elekta Unity project was awarded the 2018 HFES User Centred Design Award, a 2018 iF Design Award, and a 2018 Good Design Award. See www.elekta.com
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Chubb FX range A fire extinguisher handle set Usability & HF Mechanical engineering Industrial design Prototyping Testing & evaluation Production support
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Where brand meets product
We believe you should design meaning at every touchpoint. In order for brands to build relationships with users, they need to create holistic experiences. These experiences should reflect their needs and desires, be emotionally meaningful and add value to their lives.
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Through aesthetics, kinaesthetics and acoustics, we help the most enlightened brand owners harness and control all the senses to create products that integrate and amplify multi-sensorial brand experiences.
AB InBev Stella Artois glassware Glassware Design planning Design research Usability & HF Industrial design Visual brand language Graphic design Prototyping Production support
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Godiva G by Godiva Artisanal Chocolate Bar Design research Industrial design Prototyping
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RB Clearasil Perfectawash No touch face wash dispenser Design planning Usability and HF Industrial design Visual brand language Colour, material & finish Packaging Prototyping Production support
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Unilever Axe / Lynx Deodorant body spray Usability and HF Mechanical engineering Packaging Prototyping Testing and evaluation Production support
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gold
winner 2015
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Use sensory brand design to create multi-sensory experiences. Brands are failing to exploit the power of multi-sensory experiences to connect with audiences and help them onto the path of purchase. DCA Design's Peter Kay sets out how to achieve valuable 'sensory equity' Most brand owners today recognise the benefit of defining and applying a consistent approach to the aesthetic design of their products and packaging. The most enlightened brand owners also see the value of defining a considered multi-sensory experience for their products.
Published on 19 th Febuary 2015 74
We have all come to expect a satisfying clunk to the car door, a pleasing 'ker-lick' to the stereo control, and it is no longer only Volkswagen winning loyalty (and a considerable premium) with a few judiciously placed panels of soft touch material. The feel, sound
and even smell of a car's interior experience has defined automotive marques since long before they called themselves 'brands'. This distinctive sensory footprint now has currency not just in cars, but in everything: from hotels to whiskies; airlines to perfumes and even the world of FMCG. Imagine ketchup without the 'slap', Bisto without the 'Aaahh'. Yet, although we live in 'sensory times', many brands fail to exploit the power of a multi-sensory experience to engage audiences, and progress customers along the path to purchase. So if you don't already have a sensory equity like Alka Seltzer's 'plink, plink, fizz' or Schweppes' 'Schhhh', where do you start? Using the senses. First, the basics: we have five senses but do not use them equally.
Controlling sensory interactions can create engaging brand experiences at every point in the user journey. David McCandless, in his book Information is Beautiful, cites research from Danish author Tor Nemetranders and describes the balance of the senses as 'sensory bandwidth' or 'processing power'. The majority of this bandwidth is taken up by vision. Sight occupies 10 times the bandwidth of touch, which in turn uses 10 times that of hearing and smell. Yet throughout a user's journey, all five senses are 'on' all the time; although at different stages, we are stimulated to give different senses more or less priority. Analysing the priority given at different sensory touch points in the consumer journey reveals opportunities for optimisation according to different balances of sensory dominance. Cultural codes. The power of visual appearance at the first moment of truth is well understood. Here semiotics help us use cultural codes and cues to read subtle messages through form, using the silhouette, surface transitions, colour and key features of the object to convey power, speed, elegance, femininity and so on. Budweiser's 'bow tie' can shows the power of using shape to differentiate the beer can from the standard form of almost all other cans. It does so in a way that links to the brand's previously under-utilised 'bow tie' icon, helping to re-establish it as a distinctive and relevant equity for the brand. This link is not just to the graphic icon, but its shape encourages us to follow the brand's call to action and 'grab some Buds'. As we move to the second moment of truth, our sensory priorities shift as more of our other senses come into play. Touch, sound, smell and even taste become more engaged as we pick up and begin to interact with objects. This is when the sensorial
'brand in the hand' truly comes in to its own. By carefully choosing materials, finishes and textures we can control our tactile responses, creating rich and meaningful interactions with the products in our daily lives. The inclusion of the soft touch material moulded into the sides of the Veet EasyWax device not only provides a functional benefit through better grip, but becomes a literal touchpoint through our finger tips, suggesting long-lasting smooth skin - the product's core benefit. This added sensorial feature also increases the luxury qualities of the product, enabling it to establish a premium proposition. Kinaesthetics. Messages delivered through all five senses can be harnessed to design the sensory experience of the brand. To these we would add a sixth property, kinaesthetics - the cognitive and physical reactions to movement that provide a dynamic way to explore sensory experience through products in use. Think of the effortlessly smooth and controlled glide of a 'soft close' kitchen drawer or the snappy response of the Motorola Razr when you pop it open. During the development of the new Lynx/ Axe body spray, a key challenge was to deliver a smooth, high-quality feel every time the pack was used, and to do so consistently throughout the product's life. To engineer this sensorial experience, we worked in close partnership with the packaging development team at Unilever's Deodorants Global Design Centre in Leeds. By exploring the feel of the opening and closing experience that we wanted to deliver, based upon a concept by Seymourpowell, we were able to define the exact kinaesthetic profile of this experience using tunable mock-ups. These rigs enabled us to measure the ideal sensory properties and test them in our lab, for example the release torque within the form factor, so that finally we could deliver this experience consistently and efficiently through high-volume, low cost components. 75
Use sensory brand design to create multi-sensory experiences.
So, how do we go about designing a multi-sensory brand experience? There are four steps you need to take: define it, create it, test it and apply it. First, define what sensory messages your brand wants to convey, and decide which senses to stimulate at what point in the user journey. Next, bring the sensory experience to life by creating prototype experiences; then test them with consumers, and finally apply it through a controlled production process to ensure that the experience can be consistently reproduced. Simultaneous focus In our experience, successfully realising sensory design requires a simultaneous focus on big ideas that bring the brand concept to life, and tiny details that make a difference to a product's sensory interactions and create relevant sensory experiences. We also consider other categories where these codes may be relevant, and look at what cues we can borrow. For example, to deliver a luxury experience in a mass-market personal care brand, we might borrow sensory cues from cosmetics or fine fragrance packaging. Article by Peter Kay Head of FMCG Originally published in Marketing Week
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And it doesn't start and end with packaging. Relevant sensory experiences include everything from the wobble of the shelfÂhanger to the click of the 'Order Now'
button. Every brand touchpoint conveys a sensory message, whether digital or physical. The question is how to prioritise, then what to control, coordinate, and leave to chance. Adopting a multi-sensory approach to brand design opens up a wealth of opportunities to influence the way people experience your products and packaging everyday. Controlling these sensory interactions can deliver an engaging and stimulating brand experience at every point in the user journey and create valuable equities for your brand along the way.
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Unilever Degree motionsense Deodorant stick Usability and HF Mechanical engineering Packaging Prototyping Testing and evaluation Production support
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How does your brand look?
Think of your product range as a family. Each product a different family member with both an individual character and a common visual DNA. Many brand owners now understand the power of 3D design for their products and packaging, and have defined their brand’s 3D visual brand language (VBL). This is sometimes referred to as a brand’s visual DNA. A 3D VBL defines a set of flexible guidelines and principles for the 3D expression of your brand.
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This helps bring both a consistent look and feel to a range of products, as well as differentiating them from their competitors, by conveying key messages about a brand’s values in a way which is immediately recognisable.
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RB Veet easywax Electrical roll on wax applicator Industrial design Visual brand language Colour, material & finish Packaging Prototyping Production support
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RB Veet spawax Wax warming device Usability & HF Industrial design Visual brand language Prototyping Production support
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RB Veet Easywax Electrical roll on wax applicator Industrial design Visual brand language Colour, material & finish Packaging Prototyping Production support
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RB Mortein (SBP) peaceful nights Electronic Insect Protector Usability & HF Industrial design Visual brand language Packaging Prototyping Production support
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GSK Sensodyne mouthwash Bottle and dosing cap Design research Usability and HF Industrial design Visual brand language Packaging Prototyping Production support
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gold
winner 2015
GSK Toothbrush Sensodyne toothbrush Design research Industrial design Visual brand language Colour, material and finish Prototyping Production support
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GSK Sensodyne daily care Low-cost toothbrush Industrial design Mechanical engineering Usability and HF Visual brand language
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Grand Prix 2019 Winner
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Colour, Material and Finish
The most subtle difference in a texture can alter the entire value of a product and in turn how a brand is perceived. The ability to specify and control the colour, material and finish of a product is critical to controlling the overall brand experience. Through an understanding of design trends and semiotics our design and research teams help develop an understanding of how different
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colours, materials and finishes (CMF) will be perceived by your users. We recommend the right CMF strategy to communicate your product qualities, but most importantly how CMF strategy can be implemented and controlled through production and use.
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Crafting the experience
In an increasingly connected world, new challenges have emerged in crafting and delivering compelling user experiences. Our multidisciplinary approach delivers user experiences seamlessly across physical and digital platforms that are simple, intuitive and a delight to use. Our team combines interaction, graphic and industrial designers, researchers, mechanical, electronic and software engineers to develop
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co-ordinated product experiences. From the finish of a moulding to extending physical products with digital touchpoints or developing interactions for embedded hardware, our integrated approach creates future facing concepts and develop these through to production.
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Tackling technical complexity
Over half the people at DCA are engineers. Mechanical, electronic and software. Great products don’t exist without great engineering. Seems obvious, but it is amazing how many consumer products are let down by poor engineering that lacks creativity, care and rigour. We specialise in products with a high level of technical complexity. This complexity may be due to very high volumes or simply a challenging specification.
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The integration of our engineering team throughout a project boosts both creativity and rigour. This ultimately achieves products with purpose and soul through beautiful aesthetics, elegant engineering and intuitive usability.
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Mamas and Papas Mylo 3 in 1 travel system Design planning Design research Usability and HF Mechanical engineering Industrial design Visual brand language Prototyping Production support
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Our role in your brand’s innovation
What next? Planning how to grow your brand through innovation is complex. Where should you innovate and how? We specialise in product innovation. It is often considered the most difficult and high risk area in which to innovate. But it has the potential of great ROI. Whether you are creating a new range of products or developing an artefact enabled service offering, we can help you deliver innovation. Over the last five decades we have successfully helped consumer brand owners deliver hundreds of innovative products. Our multidisciplinary team achieve this through a balance of creativity and an understanding of how to control risk. We provide a unique
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combination of knowledge in brand, people, design, and technology, combined with an understanding of the appropriate type and level of innovation that is right for your brand, your capabilities and the market timing. With this knowledge and a culture of iterative prototyping and testing, we can help you nurture new ideas through to robust, successful products.
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RB Air Wick essential mist Fine mist fragrance device Design research Industrial design Colour, material and finish Usability and HF Packaging Prototyping
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RB Scholl Pedi Perfect Wet & Dry Waterproof and rechargeable electronic foot file Design research Industrial design Visual brand language Colour, material and finish Packaging Prototyping Production support
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RB Scholl 2 in 1 corn express pen Manual footcare tools Design planning Design research Usability and HF Industrial design Prototyping Testing and evaluation Production support
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RB Scholl Gel Active Range of insoles Usability and HF Industrial design Colour, material and finish Prototyping Production support
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GSK Flonase Flonase nasal spray packaging Packaging Prototyping
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Mรถlnlyke Biogel Gloves Packaging Surgical glove packaging Design research Usability and HF Industrial design Packaging Prototyping Testing and evaluation
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Alternative Packaging Solutions (APS) MiniMist Long duration spray pump Mechanical engineering Industrial design Prototyping Testing and evaluation
APS MiniMist An innovative alternative to traditional aerosols. DCA has helped APS to develop MiniMist, a new spray device which provides a great alternative to traditional aerosols and other spray dispensers.
than aerosols whilst remaining cost competitive. MiniMist’s spray characteristics and visual design are easily customizable to suit different brands and product categories.
MiniMist is able to produce a continuous spray without any chemical propellants, resulting in a significantly lower carbon footprint
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Mechanical Engineering
To consistently deliver market leading products you need a world class approach to engineering. For us, this means employing the best engineers with a wealth of individual and collective experience. It means planning projects rigorously and applying individually tailored development processes during their implementation. It means using cutting-edge tools and techniques to develop and test our ideas. And it means integrating our engineering thinking, closely with
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our other in-house product development skill bases to deliver unified project results. World class engineering is at the heart of most projects we undertake and provides our clients with the highest probability of success, even with the most technically challenging developments.
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The multi-billion selling SoloStar ® pen injector is one of the world’s best known drug delivery devices. DCA partnered Sanofi throughout the development of SoloStar®, applying our rigorous evidencebased approach to all aspects of the design. The result is a device that delivers leading performance in almost every respect. With superior levels of safety and comfort, the pen is sophisticated, yet simple to use.
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Since its launch in 2007, SoloStar® has been adapted for use across a range of therapies and can now be found in almost every market around the world.
Sanofi SoloStarÂŽ Disposable insulin pen injector
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Design planning Usability and HF Mechanical engineering Industrial design Colour, material and finish Instructional design Graphic design Prototyping Testing and evaluation Production support
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Malvern Panalytical Zetasizer Ultra and Zetasizer Pro High-resolution particle sizing instrument range Industrial design Mechanical engineering Visual brand language Colour, material and finish Interaction design Usability and HF Graphic design Prototyping Production support
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Malvern Panalytical MorphologiÂŽ 4 and MorphologiÂŽ 4-ID Detailed automated imaging particle characterisation instrument range Industrial design Visual brand language Colour, material and finish Interaction design Usability and HF Graphic design Production support
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3M Versaflo M-Series Headtops Range of faceshields, hard hats and helmets with integrated respiratory protection Design planning Design research Usability and HF Mechanical engineering Industrial design Prototyping Testing and evaluation Production support
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Prototyping and Evaluation
Prototyping is at the heart of our business. Since our foundation we have always had extensive workshop and prototyping facilities in the centre of our studios. This enables us to explore, test and iterate concepts at increasing levels of resolution throughout a project and is a fundamental part of our product development and risk management processes.
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Virgin Virgin azuma trains Interior design Design planning Mechanical engineering Industrial design Prototyping Production support
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B/E Aerospace Premium business class seating Usability & HF Mechanical engineering Industrial design Interior design Prototyping Testing & evaluation
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Singapore Airlines First class interiors Seat concept designs Design research Usability & HF Mechanical engineering Industrial design Visual brand language
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Dandi Living Dandibed Compact studio bed Mechanical engineering Industrial design Prototyping Electronic engineering
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Designing for uncertainty.
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Making decisions about the future direction of a product or service is not easy. Not only does it require commercial acumen and technical ingenuity, but it also requires an element of prediction – determining how the product or service will fit the future user and market needs.
The pragmatic middle ground is to base decisions on a grounding of appropriate information, recognising when the information available is enough to progress for a given risk level. Perhaps more critically, the challenge is to ensure that the right information is sought.
Project teams can fall foul of one of two clear traps when deciding on the future direction for a product or service. Some teams limit the information collected, in favour of relying on intuition – progressing the design without a clear understanding of risk, while others collect too much, delaying decision making in a quest for clearer, more unequivocal, information. In the latter, there is a risk that analysis paralysis can set in – where decisions can be repeatedly deferred as additional questions are raised resulting in further research.
While we cannot be certain of the future, we can make educated assumptions. Some assumptions will have high levels of certainty, others less so. Likewise, some assumptions will be critical to the design, others less so. Products stand the greatest chance of success if they are designed based on an explicit understanding of the assumptions that underpin key design decisions along with a description of their robustness and their criticality to the design. Furthermore, actively monitoring,
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Products stand the greatest chance of success if they are designed based on an explicit understanding of the assumptions that underpin key design decisions. and protecting, those assumptions plays an important role in increasing the likelihood of success.
assumptions that have significant sway on design direction and those with lower levels of certainty.
Assumption-based design
The process can be summarised as follows:
The approach we have been refining over the past few years and describe as Assumption-based design creates an explicit, and auditable, link between the information available, the assumptions that are made based on this information, and design recommendations.
Article by Dr D. Jenkins Research Lead Human Factors and Usability Rob Woolston Managing Director Malcolm Boyd Senior Sector Manager Medical and Scientific
1. Record information and insights collected 2. Record assumptions made 3. Link assumptions to information and capture a rating of assumption confidence
Understanding the links between information, assumptions, and design recommendations is critical. By linking assumptions to design recommendations, it is possible to understand which assumptions are more critical to the project, and which are less (or even irrelevant). Likewise, the information that is being used to direct future product recommendations can be explicitly highlighted.
4. Record recommendations made
When a rating of confidence is applied to the assumptions, the approach serves as a structured process for prioritising future research, focusing first on the
The type of information collected will be dependent on the type of product being designed. However, it is likely to include a mixture of factors that can direct innovation:
5. L ink recommendations to assumptions and capture a rating of recommendation confidence 6. Identify critical assumptions 7. Determine the required processes to confirm and monitor information and assumptions Information
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When a rating of confidence is applied to the assumptions, the approach serves as a structured process for prioritising future research.
Needs
Assumptions
• E xplicit stakeholder (end users, manufacturers, installers, maintainers, etc.) wants and needs
Assumptions are made based on the interpretation of one or more pieces of information.
• Latent stakeholder needs • M arket demands (e.g. regulatory requirements, cost models) Technology • Latest component availability • Current R&D pipeline • Predicted technological innovations and costings (extrapolation of trends) Category trends • D escriptions of current competitor products • I ntelligence around competitor pipelines (what they are talking about coming next) • Patent searches and landscaping Macro trends • Trends from parallel worlds (what is happening in other markets that tend to cascade down) • Broader trends (e.g. attitudes towards disposable plastics, views on cashless transactions)
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As an example, for a given product, a number of information sources (such as ‘voice of the customer’ data and competitor portfolio mapping) may indicate the importance of a connected version of a product, leading to an assumption that a connected variant would be critical to the design. We can be very confident about some of the assumptions that we make about a product or a service. Others can feel like little more than a guess. As such, it is important to have some way of capturing a description of their certainty, along with a link to the information source(s) used. This creates an auditable trail and allows assumptions to be revisited should the validity of an information source be subsequently questioned. Recommendations Recommendations can be treated in much the same way as assumptions.
We can be very confident about some of the assumptions that we make about a product or a service, others can feel like little more than a guess.
It is important to record what they are based upon, and the level of confidence in them. The adoption of a recommendation is likely to determine the importance of each of the linked assumptions and, in turn, the associated information elements. This may lead to further research to confirm the information. Continuing with the example of a need for a connected device, this is likely to lead to a recommendation to develop a connected variant of a product. However, it may be critical to re-test this assumption throughout the development process to ensure that the product being developed is indeed meeting the needs of the consumer. Improving the model Once all of the assumptions are listed out, and linked to recommendations and information, it is then important to understand which are the most critical to the success of the product or service. This allows critical assumptions to be monitored and a focus to be placed on the assumptions that are critical to product success. Critical
assumptions can then be tracked, protected and hedged. For example, if product success is linked to two core assumptions: that the product will have the lowest cost of goods (COGs) and that the cost will be a key driver in purchase decisions, then it may be critical to monitor competitor portfolios and innovation pipelines (e.g. patent searches) to understand if they are developing technologies or processes that may give them a cost advantage. Cost advantages can be protected by further reducing COGs through cost reduction exercises (making it harder for the assumption to fail). It can also be hedged by ensuring that the product has added value to consumers that would allow it to be a viable proposition even if the assumption were to fail (no longer the lowest cost on the market).
nature of the approach provides a clear audit trail for decisionmaking providing a more efficient, transparent, evidence-based process. This not only helps to guide product development, but it also helps to reduce instances of ill-informed decision-making and analysis paralysis. This is particularly relevant when initiating a product in the face of uncertainty. Rather than delaying project kick-off in pursuit of further information, this approach can be employed to start the project based on a clear understanding of the assumptions made, resulting in a specification that is refined over time and allowing timelines to be met, while still managing risk and uncertainty.
Conclusions Our experience is that assumptionbased design provides a highly structured approach to product and portfolio planning. The explicit 147
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DCA Odini Smart security camera concept Industrial design
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DCA Nest Airport stowage bed concept Industrial design
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DCA Blink Nesting bike lights concept Industrial design
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DCA Mersiv Immersive language learning concept Industrial design
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DCA Coastal Emergency beacon and buoyancy aid concept Industrial design
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DCA Korus Wireless modular microphone concept Industrial design
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Our Location
We work globally from our campus of offices, studios and workshops in the historic town of Warwick, UK. We are located in the heart of the UK with easy road, rail and air transport links. From Birmingham International Airport Travel time 25 minutes From London Heathrow Airport Travel time 1 hour 30 minutes
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Warwick London
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Helping clients achieve success through great product design.