Designing with business in mind.
A University of Washington Human Centered Design and Engineering graduate project focusing on expanding the consumer market for hearing aids and increasing accessibility.
As a collaborator in a group of five HCDE students, I contributed to all aspects of this project including project manager, researcher, and designer as I ensured each member contributed appropriately to project deliverables, conducted market analysis and background research, and completed wireframes and user stories to accompany our product design.
This project resulted in wireframes for our product, a modern, feature packed hearing assistance device, as well as a clear business model and market strategy.
The goal of this project was to develop a product that solves a relevant problem that completes a business model including identifying our customer segments, value proposition, cost structures, potential revenue streams and more. This process is a result of the Business Model Canvas, and was a way to inspire design thinking using the User Centered Design process, while understanding the needs of a business.
Our client presented us with the concept of a product that would reduce the stigma around using hearing aids and other assistive technologies, and challenged us to create a fashionable and customizable device that would allow users of all capabilities and spectrums to use this device.
Our next steps were more business orientated as we conducted preliminary research into our main market competitors and what other entities were creating in this market space.
We found an interesting burgeoning market for audio enhancement devices that also functioned as consumer headphones. These products were in the middle of the medical grade hearing aids and high end wireless headphones. Recently, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) who regulates medical devices loosened regulations around their classifications of these assistive devices, which seem to have spurred the market to action.
Manufacturers from both the medical device market and consumer audio market were investing heavily into this new field of products which validated the market demand for our product, which encouraged further development.
Background research also provided us with an appropriate price point for our product which would allow us to be competitive and gain some of the market share occupied by more recognizable names such as Bose.
From our challenge to create an assistive hearing device that would cater to a wide audience, we knew we needed to incorporate not only fashionable design, but technology-centered features that would entice other users to purchase the product.
Our initial brainstorming created a list of over 15 features which we had to cut down to 7 to create our minimum viable product (MVP). Some of the key features included in our first production model were: frequency selection and modulation, customizable patterns and colors in a user design studio, noise cancellation and reduction, and a mobile companion application.
From these features we then created wireframes that would show the basic design and user flow of our companion application that would control the majority of features.
Though our project required a pivot from its original conception, we created a strong, competitive product in Sonus, a customizable, and affordable personal sound system.
This project represented a valuable learning experience through dealing with the universally acknowledged "pivot" and dealing with client visions and goals that do not necessarily align with market demand or what is feasible in a revenue generating product. This showcases the value of clear and constant communication with the client, as well as a willingness to be flexible and compromise to achieve a goal, without sacrificing integrity.
Additionally, this project taught me as a researcher that formal studies may not always be possible, but you must still be able to obtain some of the background information needed to continue. Less formal methods such as heuristic evaluations, market analysis, and background research may be used in lieu of user validation at some stages to get started on a product, but are not total replacements.