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Frontier Design: A Product Usage Context Method

Conference Paper · August 2006

DOI: 10.1115/DETC2006-99608

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 Proceedings of IDETC/CIE 2006
ASME 2006 International Design Engineering Technical Conferences & Computers and Information in
Engineering Conference
September 10-13, 2006, Philadelphia, PA, USA

DETC/DTM 2006-99608
FRONTIER DESIGN: A PRODUCT USAGE CONTEXT METHOD
Matthew G. Green Julie S. Linsey Carolyn C. Seepersad Kristin L. Wood
[email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected]

Manufacturing and Design Research Laboratory

Department of Mechanical Engineering
The University of Texas
Austin, Texas

Dan J. Jensen
[email protected]
U.S. Air Force Academy
Dept. of Engineering Mechanics
USAF Academy, CO 80840-6240

ABSTRACT: of design problems outside their experience and expertise. This

The need exists to develop foundational knowledge, methods, improved contextual understanding will lead to improved final
and tools to equip engineers in discovering, documenting, and designs. The primary contribution of this paper is the proposed
acting upon contextual information important for successful contextual needs assessment method, which significantly
product design. In response to this need, this paper addresses a extends the prior art of customer needs analysis by providing
gap in current design methodologies which inadequately explicit support for discovering, documenting, and acting upon
support accounting for contextual information. Adequately contextual information. Within this new methodology a half-
accounting for contextual information is especially challenging dozen context identification approaches are proposed, by far the
when the design context is frontier (unfamiliar) to the most significant of which is a generalized context questions
designers, as is often the case with high human-need projects. template (Appendix A). Summary results are presented from
Based on a classification framework, literature search, and extensive testing of the new method in a variety of design
empirical study, a contextual needs assessment methodology is situations.
presented to assist the designer in discovering and documenting In language, context adds to meaning. Elementary
the “how,” “where,” and “who” factors of the product context. language arts curricula teach young readers the life-long skill of
Experimental assessments and an application of the approach to exploiting “context clues” in order to determine the meaning of
an inventive product design provide both quantitative and new, foreign-looking words. Context also adds to the
qualitative measures of the usability, usefulness, and designer “meaning” or value a user perceives in a designed product or
acceptance of the proposed contextual needs assessment system1. From the perspective of customer satisfaction,
method. Additionally, anonymous surveys report equal or possible implications of a product include: delight, satisfaction,
greater perceived value of the new method for student design indifference, or disgust on the part of the user. The varying
projects when compared with the benchmark of well- levels of customer satisfaction depend upon the value or utility
established methodologies such as black box and activity of a product’s attributes, and value or utility depends in part
diagrams. These exciting results provide strong justification upon the context2. Since product designers rarely dictate the
for the widespread dissemination of the methodology in context surrounding products, it is necessary to understand and
education as well as in field practice. account for context in the design process.
In the following sections, the concept of context, as part of
KEY WORDS: Customer needs gathering, problem definition, the design process, is defined and a method for systematically
product definition, contextual design, service learning gathering contextual information, in conjunction with customer
needs, is described. This method is based on our previous
1. INTRODUCTION work (Green, 2005; Green, et al., 2006; Green, et al., 2004;
The central hypothesis of this research is that engineers 1
“product or system” is simplified to “product” from this point forward to
equipped with methods and tools for contextual design will enhance readability
show a measurable improvement in contextual understanding 2
Formally, Product Utility = f(product attributes, context factors) where
f() is a model of user preferences.
Green, et al., 2005) and includes a foundation from the results wheelchairs exported from wealthy nations are often not
of empirical product studies. We then present results from appropriate in the foreign contexts of developing countries. As
experimental assessment of the method. These assessments a result, the failure to satisfy customer needs often leads to
were performed at The University of Texas within the abandonment (Figure 1). Table 2 summarizes four examples
undergraduate and graduate design curricula. We also from around the world which require a specific mobility
demonstrate the utility of the method on the inventive design of product to fit the context. The left column pictures a unique
a novel classroom device for students in China. Both the aspect of each context, and the right column pictures a mobility
assessment results and the design application provide clear enabling product appropriate for each context. As shown in the
evidence of the method’s value. table, none of the solutions are the same as wheelchairs
commonly seen in the United States.
2. A FRAMEWORK FOR CONTEXT The importance of design context is evidenced both in
2.1 Definitions successful products with attributes that match context, as well
as in failed products which do not address critical context
The following definitions provide insight into the meaning of
factors. Barnes, et al. (2002), present data from a World Bank
context:
review of numerous programs that introduced improved village
Context: That which surrounds, and gives meaning to,
something else.3 cooking systems in a variety of countries. Out of 16 major
reasons commonly causing the failure (or success) of a stove
Context (a) The part of a text or statement that surrounds program, 8 of the reasons appear to be directly tied to how well
a particular word or passage and determines its meaning. context is understood and addressed (Table 15).
(b) The circumstances in which an event occurs; a setting.4
Context (a): the parts of a discourse that surround a word • Product attribute(s) – important product
or passage and can throw light on its meaning. (b) the characteristics such as volume, mass, operating
interrelated conditions in which something exists or cost, and convenience (characteristics often
occurs: Environment, Setting5 included in product specifications or a customer
requirements list).
Environment (a): the circumstances, objects, or conditions
by which one is surrounded5 • Customer [product] attribute preferences – The
customer’s preferences for product attribute values;
The first definition of context includes both surroundings e.g. a strong preference for mass ≤ 1kg.
and provision of meaning as elements of the definition. The
second two definitions separate these two aspects of the • Product [design] context – the collection of factors
definition, thus distinguishing a context definition very similar influencing customer attribute preferences
to “environment” from a context definition which carries including: product usage context, customer
linguistic implications. The word “environment” was context, and market context.
originally considered for this research; however context is
purposefully chosen here to capture both the reference to • [Product] usage context (PUC) – the application
surroundings as well as the acknowledgement that these and environment in which a product will be used
surroundings have an important role in contributing to meaning that may significantly influence customer attribute
or value. The definition of context used throughout this paper preferences.
is a blend of the four above: • Context factor – a single characteristic of a
Context – the circumstances and setting in which an object product’s usage context. For example, “usage
occurs, and which influence its value. frequency” or “product surroundings.”

In addition to the definition of context above, the definitions • Context scenario – a set of specific values for a set
shown in Table 1 are also important in the discussions that of context factors.
follow.
Table1: Context Related Definitions
2.2 Cases for Design Context: Mobility/Cooking Products
Healthwrights and the Hesperian Foundation have worked for
years to improve the quality of life for persons with disabilities
in developing countries. As part of this effort they have
published extensive self-help guides for community workers
and those they serve with prolific illustrations to transcend
language and literacy barriers (Werner, 1987; Werner, 1998).
One of the books in this series (Werner, 1998) notes that

3
http://www.swif.uniba.it/lei/foldop/foldoc.cgi?context Free On Line Figure 1: Wheelchairs Must Fit the Context to be
Dictionary Of Philosophy 3.0 Satisfactory (Werner, 1998)
4
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th
Ed. 2000, Houghton Mifflin.
5
http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary

2 Copyright © 2006 by ASME

2.3 Benefits of Understanding Design Context
Engineers are often called on to design for frontier design The product definition step is critical for the success of any
contexts outside their experience and expertise. This situation new product, and particularly problematic for frontier design
occurs by default because engineers are a subset of society; contexts. An opportunity exists to increase the success of any
they design products to be used by children, remote villagers, product design process, particularly when addressing a frontier
the illiterate, and other groups typically not represented among context, through formalizing methods of discovering,
design engineers. Additionally, the importance multi-national documenting, and addressing the product design context during
companies place on positioning products in a global the design process. Numerous benefits are expected from
marketplace requires design for customers in other countries, discovering how context factors influence customer
cultures, and economies. Although most design engineering is preferences. An improved theoretical understanding of the
performed in developed countries, 86% of the world lives in a fundamental contextual influences on customer needs and
developing country (Mahajan and Banga, 2005). A special preferences will improve the success of the product definition
case of global design occurs when engineers in affluent phase in defining products that satisfy and delight customers.
societies create life-improving designs for use in high human-
need environments, such as the human-powered Freeplay Radio 2.4 The Design Context Framework
initially targeted at rural African customers. (A case study of In view of the need for improved contextual understanding, a
the Freeplay Radio design is given by Cagan and Vogel product design context framework is desirable for handling
(2002)). Another example is the “robust, fully articulating contextual information. Product design context refers here to
dental chair and battery-operated hand piece, all in a package the collection of factors influencing customer attribute
you can comfortably carry on your back” developed by the US- preferences. These factors may be divided into three categories
based Indigenous People’s Technology & Education Center (I- defined as follows (Table 3): (1) usage context factors cover
TEC) to enable dental care in remote regions (2005). One of the application and environment in which the product will be
the top business books of 2004, “The Fortune at the Bottom of used such as task frequency, weather and infrastructure; (2)
the Pyramid” makes the case that “the world's poor [are] customer context factors include consumer values, practices,
potential customers …” and that everyone will benefit when and demographics such as wealth and education level; and (3)
recognizing the market potential among the 4 billion people market context factors include aspects of competing products.
living on less than $2 a day (PPP) (Prahalad, 2004). Numerous More details of the context framework, as derived from product
opportunities exist for engineering designs to improve the empirical studies, are reported in (Green, et al., 2004; Green, et
quality of life on a global scale, many of which are in frontier al., 2005). Of these three major categories of contextual factors
design contexts. influencing a customer-driven product design process, usage
context often receives the least attention from textbook
Design Need Context Context-Appropriate Product methodologies. Benchmarking (Otto and Wood, 2001) is a
well known method to explore the market context, and
customer context is partially explored through currently
prescribed needs assessment methods. However, even these
methods with the addition of activity diagram techniques (Otto
and Wood, 2001) do not provide adequate support for
Meals Cooked Low to the Ground Enables Reaching the Pot accurately discovering, documenting, and applying usage
context information.
Category Sub-Category Sample Context Factors
• Application task
HOW
• Usage frequency
Application
• Transportation mode
Context
Steep, Hilly Terrain Enables Traversing Steep Terrain Usage • ...
Context • Infrastructure (e.g. energy supply and
(PUC) WHERE cost)
Environment • Weather and climate
Context • Maintenance and parts availability
• ...
• Physical Abilities
WHO
Customer • Skills and education
Customer
Context • Cost expectations
Narrow Doorways Enables Entering Doorways Context
• ...
• Features of available products
Market • Performance and quality of available products
Context • Cost of available products
• ...

Rocky Terrain Enables Traversing Rocky Terrain

Table 3: Product Design Context Categories

Product usage context (PUC) refers here to all factors

Table 2: Different Mobility Products for Different characterizing the application and environment in which a
Contexts (Werner, 1998) product is used that may significantly impact customer
preferences for product attributes. As shown in Table 3, PUC

3 Copyright © 2006 by ASME

may be thought of as one part of the larger definition of product difficult to use successfully. As part of this discussion, Norman
design context, which also accounts for customer context and gives significant attention to the interactions among objects and
market context. For the usage context of long-distance users, and offers design guideline “do’s and don’ts.” Many of
backpacking, for example, the remote outdoor environment is the difficulties in everyday things described by Norman occur
an important usage factor, which leads customers to choose from lack of proper accounting for the context of how and
products with different attributes than they might for a where the products will be used, and the context of who (and
domestic use. Table 4 shows examples of differences in usage with what capabilities) will be using them.
context which dramatically impact customer expectations of In “Understanding Your Users,” Courage and Baxter
product attributes. Table 5 illustrates how usage factors such as (2005) provide a how-to guide and case studies for “all of the
storage mode or transportation mode impact customer significant” requirements gathering methods relevant to user-
preferences for attributes such as volume and mass. centered design (UCD), a discipline for collecting and
analyzing user requirements. Although the book is oriented
Need (Product) PUC #1 PUC #2 Differences towards the software and web design professions, it is largely
Cook food Domestic Size constraint,
(Stove)
Backpacking
kitchen Energy supply applicable to other products.
Loosen/tighten nuts Space
Garage
Durability, Beyer and Holtzblatt (1998) provide an exposition of
(Wrench) station Mass constraint
Archive writing Allowable particle “contextual design” intended to improve the product
Office Clean room
(Paper) emissions development efforts of those in the human-computer interaction
Harvest crop
Rural village
Commercial
Maintenance,
Capital field. The book describes how Holtzblatt developed the
(Scythe/Tractor) farm
intensiveness “Contextual Inquiry field data gathering technique that forms
the core of Contextual Design and is now taught and used
Table 4: Examples of PUC Differences worldwide.”
Chen et al. (2003) advise that when tapping global
markets, multinational companies must be wary of
Usage Context Scenarios Affected segmentation errors on two extremes: attempting to standardize
Domestic Kitchen Attribute Preferences
Usage Factor Backpacking
the product for significantly different markets, or excessive
Storage Mode backpack room volume, mass
customization for essentially similar markets. A balance must
Transportation foot none volume, mass
Ventilation outdoor limited gas emission
be struck which properly accommodates real and important
Energy Supply user provided electricity energy accepted market differences, without unnecessarily foregoing the
Usage Duty light heavy operating cost economies of scale realizable through standardization.
Bayus (2006) provides an extensive review of the
Table 5: Sample Usage Context Factors and marketing, engineering, and industrial design literature related
Attribute Preferences Impacted to the theory and practice of customer needs assessment. He
maintains that in spite of great challenges, understanding
customer needs is possible and critical to the success of the
product development process.
3. LITERATURE REVIEW A chapter on international market research (Worcester and
Downham, 1986) notes that unfamiliarity with a foreign
Multiple texts describe formal product design methods (Cagan
country is a hazard faced by market researchers which can
and Vogel, 2002; Otto and Wood, 2001; Pahl and Beitz, 1996;
cause ambiguity and false conclusions. Common blunders
Ullman, 2002; Ulrich and Eppinger, 2004). These methods
originate from unstated assumptions which may differ from one
collectively recognize the importance of early stage design
country and culture to another.
which may be referred to as the “front-end” of the design
The literature reviewed here reveals a significant
process (Cagan and Vogel, 2002), “understanding the
opportunity for the development of tools and methods bringing
opportunity” (Otto and Wood, 2001; Ullman, 2002),
contextual information to bear on the product design process.
“clarification of task” (Pahl and Beitz, 1996), or the “product
For the purposes of engineering product design, none of the
definition” phase. This beginning phase is characterized by
methods were found to give adequate attention to exploring the
extensive information gathering, and is foundational to creating
fundamental contextual factors leading to customer needs and
successful designs.
product requirements, or an adequate framework for
Numerous authors reference the influence of context on
discovering, documenting, and correctly applying this
product design, and many explicitly express its importance.
information to a variety of design problems.
Clarkson, et al. (2004) report a large-scale study of the UK
health system to recommend a design approach to improve 4. CONTEXTUAL NEEDS ASSESSMENT METHOD
patient safety. They report that improving patient safety
requires an improved understanding of the context of the health 4.1 Types of Design Needs, Contextual Needs Assessment
care system. “Without a sound understanding – from a design Successful design requires an adequate understanding of the
perspective – of the healthcare services as a complex system of context of the design need, and attaining this understanding is
interacting organizations, professions, care environments, much more difficult for some design needs than others. Table 6
procedures and tasks … there can be no certainty that discrete itemizes three indicators to consider when assessing the
design solutions will contribute to patient safety” (emphasis difficulty of needs assessment. Low values of any of these
added). indicators (e.g. unfamiliarity, inaccessibility, and non-
Norman’s classic work (2002) enumerates a myriad of uniformity of the context) warn of a more difficult needs
design problems in “everyday things” causing them to be very assessment task. The greater the difficulty of the needs

4 Copyright © 2006 by ASME

assessment task, the greater the need (and benefits expected) assessment method presented in this section addresses design
for the methodology proposed here. problems falling in all four quadrants; however, the method is
most critical for the leftmost quadrants and particularly the
Familiarity Accessibility Uniformity upper-left quadrant.
How familiar is the design How easily can the design How uniform are the tasks
Application
team with the task to be team observe the task being across customers?
(What)
performed? performed? Environment Accessibility
How familiar is the design How easily can the design How uniform are the
Environment Low High
team with the usage team observe or experience environments the product
(Where)
environment? the actual usage environment? will be used in?
How familiar is the design How easily can the design How uniform are PersonaWarmth UT Assistive

Low
Accessibility
team with customer team directly communicate customer characteristics Design Technology

Customer
Customers
(Who) characteristics and with the customers? and expectations?
expectations?
Controlled UT Reverse

High
Table 6: Assessing the Difficulty of Adequate Interviews Engineering

Contextual Needs Assessment

Table 7: Frontier Contexts 2D Map

One additional indicator6 of needs assessment difficulty 4.2 Contextual Needs Assessment
which is not directly referenced above is the accessibility of
existing products that already address a similar design need and The generalized procedure for contextual needs assessment
context. Analogous products are useful props for identifying is shown in Figure 2 and detailed in the following sections.
customers, gathering needs, and gathering context. Significant The method accommodates the inclusion of traditional
departures from existing products may result in a customer base customer needs methodologies, but extends significantly
and usage contexts that are difficult to discover or predict. beyond these by formally incorporating contextual information.
The accessibility of design contexts may be mapped into a Although some iteration is important to the method, it remains
space with the dimensions of environment accessibility and a predominately sequential process.
customer accessibility, as shown in Table 7. Environment
accessibility (horizontal) is a measure of how feasibly the 1. Identify relevant contextual factors
design team may experience the environment in which the 2. Generate list of contextual questions to be answered
product will be used. Customer accessibility (vertical) is a 3. Gather customer needs and factor values
measure of how feasibly the design team may interact in an 3.1. Gather customer needs
3.2. Gather factor values
unencumbered7 way with the customers who will use the
4. Aggregate customer needs into weighted list
product. 5. Aggregate factor values into context scenario(s)
The map in Table 7 shows four quadrants, along with the
position of four product development scenarios to which the
proposed contextual needs assessment method is applied for Figure 2: Contextual Needs Assessment Method
validation and refinement. The “PersonaWarmth” design
example is a personal warming device for university students in
China. Although interviews are conducted with students who Step (1) calls for identification of as many of the relevant
have expertise in this environment, access to the actual target contextual factors as possible. This is no small task, so
customers and environment are both extremely limited, and so multiple supporting techniques are provided for this step in the
the design need falls in the upper-left quadrant. Shown in the following section. Step (2) is more straightforward to
upper-right quadrant, the “UT assistive technology” case study accomplish, and involves translating each factor identified in
is a graduate course involving the design of enabling devices step one into the form of one or more questions. For example,
for high school students with physical and mental disabilities. the factor of “energy supply” becomes “What energy sources
Although the design teams are able to experience the usage are available for use?” and “What are the costs of available
environment and interview experts (teachers), communication energy sources?” Step (3.1) refers to any of the established
with the students who will use the devices is often extremely needs elicitation techniques such as interviews, focus groups, or
limited due to their impaired communication abilities. The in some cases questionnaires (Otto and Wood, 2001; Urban and
“controlled interviews” study, in which participants interview Hauser, 1993). In cases without accessibility to a comparable
an experimenter posing as a villager in need of an improved physical product, these techniques may be modified to
cooking system, is placed in the lower-left quadrant since data interview customers with their imagined products. If suitable
was accessible solely through an interview with the simulated customers are inaccessible, secondary sources of customer
customer. Study participants testing the proposed methodology information must be used with caution. Step (3.2) involves
had little or no experience with the environmental context. The answering the questions generated in Step 2 through customer
“UT Reverse Engineering” example in the lower-right involves interviews (ideally, appended to the end of each customer needs
the reverse engineering of everyday products used in the U.S. interview) or research. It is possible that the factor values
The design teams are generally able to interview actual users of gathered in Step 3.2 may lead to identification of additional
the products in the intended context. The contextual needs customer needs. Step (4) refers to standard needs aggregation
techniques such as affinity analysis. Step (5) involves
6 identifying the different factor values to be addressed by one or
Other difficulty factors are possible as well, such as design need
complexity and variability with time. more products, and is in essence a market segmentation
7
Examples of barriers include geography, language/cultural differences, decision based on context. The following sections detail each
and communication disability.

5 Copyright © 2006 by ASME

of these five steps, and Appendix A contains supporting Translate customer needs and product reviews into
templates. factors: Product reviews and consumer advisory information
can be used to identify customer needs, which in turn may be
4.2.1 Identify Relevant Contextual Factors used to identify relevant contextual factors. For example, the
It is useful to begin contextual needs assessment by need for a product to be “portable” may lead to identification of
forming a list of context relevant to satisfying the design need. the usage context factor of “transportation mode,” because how
The list should include factors covering the application, the product is transported will have a significant effect on what
environment, and customer contexts. However, it is neither product attributes will result in customer perceptions that the
desirable nor feasible to explicitly account for all contextual product is satisfactorily portable. This is even more effective
information related to a product’s design. The body of after customer needs interviews have been conducted and a
contextual information is large, and not all contextual more thorough and accurate needs list is available. This
information is of high relevance; therefore significant judgment requires executing the procedure in Figure 1 as an iterative
is required to predict the relevance of contextual factors. The process in which each interview potentially leads to
key is to identify factors that have a probable importance to identification of additional contextual factors, which are in turn
appropriately satisfying the design need. For a mobile pencil used as prompts in the next interview. An example of
sharpener, for example, the usage altitude does not meet the translating customer needs into context factors is given in
criteria of probable importance, the safety expectations of the Table 10. The need of “compact,” for example, indicates the
user may be important, and the type and characteristics of factors of “storage volume available” and “transportation
pencils used are clearly important. mode” should be determined, since these shed light on what
Contextual factors should also be listed with an product attributes (what volume and mass, for example) will
appropriate level of detail. The fact that the pencils to be satisfy the need of compactness.
sharpened are a combination of graphite and wood is of
probable importance to sharpener design, but these and other # Context Factor Question Prompts v2.0

characteristics might be captured more generally, for example, HOW: Usage Application
task (application, What specific purpose will product be used for?
by the fact that #2 pencils will be sharpened. Predicting the a0
function) How will the product be used?

appropriate level of detail also requires significant judgment. a1 task frequency How often will product be used?

How long will product be used each time?

Table 8 itemizes techniques for identification of important a2 task duration

and appropriately detailed contextual factors. The techniques ...

WHERE: Usage Environment
are roughly ordered from the least to most resource intensive. Where and in what type of surroundings will product be used?
The following sections discuss each of these context factor e0 surroundings What characteristics of the surroundings affect what the product must be
like?
identification techniques in more detail. e1
weather/ What weather/climate will product be exposed to?
climate

environment Will product be exposed to any unusual substances or conditions?

e2
ruggedness
• Use context factor checklists, such as the template provided (App. A)
...
• Translate customer needs and product reviews into factors WHO: Customer Characteristics

• Translate black box model into factors c0 user

Who will use the product?
What user characteristics affect what the product must be like?

• Translate activity diagram into factors c1

user skills How skilled/experienced is the user with this task?
& education What is the user's education level?
• Translate available data (e.g. physical characteristics) and experiences c2 physical ability
Does the user have any physical conditions that may cause difficulty
performing the task? (strength, control, range-of-motion, vision).
• Identify functional family members, noting attribute distinctions What is the most complex product the user is comfortable using? Must this
user tolerance
c3 product be less complex?
for complexity
How long is user willing to spend learning the product?

Table 8: Context Factor Identification Techniques ...

Use context factor checklists, such as the template

Table 9: Partial Context Factor Checklist
provided (App. A): Various authors have proposed the use of
checklists and taxonomies to improve the effectiveness of
requirements gathering and application. Although these lists
are aimed at requirements identification, items which touch on
contextual issues may also be applied to identify contextual
factors for the purpose of contextual needs assessment. Table 9
shows a partial checklist for the purpose of identifying
contextual factors common to consumer products (the full
version, developed as part of this research, is in Appendix A).
The checklist includes generalized elicitation questions
designed for use in step 2 of the contextual needs assessment
methodology (Figure 2). The contextual checklist in Appendix
A is drawn from multiple sources: results of an empirical
product study (Green, et al., 2004; Green, et al., 2005), design
literature references to contextual factors (many indirect), a set
of customer interviews conducted to elicit contextual factors,
and results from application of the checklist in UT graduate and
undergraduate classes (Green, et al., 2006).

6 Copyright © 2006 by ASME

 Customer Needs Possible Context Factors Flow Type Input Flows Output Flows
• Electricity • Energy loss
Cooks well Energy • Human energy • Noise
Boils quickly Elevation, Ambient temperature • Gravity • Material deformation
Sharpen Pencils
Maintains simmer Operating time expectations • Pencil • Pencil
Portable Material • Battery -or- • Battery
• Hand &/or surface Separate Material • Hand &/or surface
Compact Storage volume available, Transportation mode • Shavings
Lightweight Transportation mode, User strength • On/off • Done or on/off
Low cost Information • Full
Low product cost User purchase cost expectations • Sharpening in progress

Low fuel op. cost User operating cost expectations

Reliable Table 11: Battery Pencil Sharpener Black Box
Tolerates weather Weather conditions, Durability expectations
Durable Usage roughness
Easy to use
Input Flows Possible Context Factors
Easy to start User complexity expectations
• EE • Cost and availability of energy sources
Easy to clean Maintenance time expectations Energy • Human energy • User physical abilities, Pencil type/strength
Large capacity Application task • Gravity • Possible high or low g environments?
Intuitive Controls User complexity tolerance • Pencil • Pencil: size, hardness, coatings
Safe
Material • Batteries • Battery: cost, availability, size & mass
• Hand &/or surface • User physical abilities, User skill, Surfaces
Low fire hazard Flammability of surroundings Information • On/off • User expectation of complexity & ease-of-use
Low burn hazard User skill, User safety expectations
Stable to cook on Available surfaces
Table 12: Translation of Black Box Flows into
Table 10: Translation of Customer Needs into Context Factors – Input Flows
C t tF t
Output Flows Possible Context Factors
• Energy loss • Cost of energy sources, Ambient temperature
Energy • Noise • Acceptable noise
• Material deformation • Pencil material characteristics
Translate black box model into factors: A black box • Pencil • Pencil: size, hardness, coatings
model graphically represents the energy, material, and Material •
•
Battery
Hand &/or surface
•
•
Battery: cost, availability, size & mass
User physical abilities, User skill, Surfaces
information (signal) flows entering and exiting a product. • Shavings • Disposal receptacles available
• Done or on/off • User expectation of complexity & ease-of-use
Because these flows signify interaction with surroundings, they Information • Full • User visual ability
may cue the identification of important contextual factors, • Sharpening in progress • User visual and hearing ability

particularly the environment (where) and human interface Table 13: Translation of Black Box Flows into
(who) aspects of the context. The success of this approach Context Factors – Output Flows
relies upon the ability of the designer to translate flows into
contextual factors. As future work, a classification may be
developed of contextual factors commonly associated with Translate activity diagram into factors: An activity (or
various types of flows in order to facilitate rapid and thorough process) diagram graphically represents the sequence of steps
completion of this technique. An example for a mobile pencil in the product life cycle from purchase through retirement (Otto
sharpener is shown in Figure 3, Table 11, Table 12, and and Wood, 2001). Because a well developed activity diagram
Table 13. itemizes each type of usage a product may experience, it can be
used to cue identification of context factors of the usage
application. Additionally, reference to the diagram can prevent
overlooking non-obvious steps when generating a list of
environmental and customer context factors. An example is
shown in Figure 4 and Table 14. For example, the table lists
item 1b (flow chain #1, second activity box) “Hold Pencil
(sharpen)” along with possible context factors related to the
sharpening activity. Holding the pencil depends upon the
user’s gross and fine motor control as well as how difficult the
Figure 3: Battery Pencil Sharpener Product pencil is to grip, thus indicating the designer may need to know
the context factors of “user grip & strength” as well as the
“pencil slickness.”

7 Copyright © 2006 by ASME

 shows historical reasons for the failure of improved village
S cooking systems in the left column, adapted from Barnes et al.
Purchase
(2002). Each cause of failure is accompanied in the right
column by a context elicitation question which is likely to avert
4 1 2 3
repeating the failure if it is adequately answered and accounted
Transport Remove
Old
Insert
Pencil
Remove
Shavings
Store
Sharpener
F Remove
Batteries for in the future design of village cooking systems. A variety
Batteries Cover
of data sources, including the experiences of team members and
experts, may be translated into relevant contextual factors in a
Unpackage Install Hold Empty Retrieve Dispose
New
Batteries
Pencil
(sharpen)
Shavings Sharpener similar way as the two examples given in this section.
Contextual Information
Remove Replace
Causes of Failure
Required for Success
Pencil Shavings
Cover The new cooking system does not:
… account for actual conditions of use and is What are actual conditions of use?
therefore uneconomical and inconvenient.
… resemble the traditional cooking system. What is the traditional cooking system?
Figure 4: Battery Pencil Sharpener Activity … accommodate large pieces of wood. What size and types of fuel are available?
Diagram
… improve a fuel supply problem. What size and types of fuel are available?

… improve a smoke problem due to low-ventilation. What is location and ventilation available?
Item Item Description Possible Context Factors … accommodate design for manufacture needs of What are local manufacturing practices?
1a Pencil size, hardness, coatings; User abilities; User local artisans.
Insert Pencil
simultaneous tasks (free hands?) … use locally available materials (increases cost). What are locally available materials?
1b Hold Pencil (sharpen) User grip & strength, Pencil slickness
1c Remove Pencil … utilize mass-production of critical components. What local mass-production or import
capabilities are available?
2a Remove Shavings Cover User abilities, Clean-ness of surfaces
2b User abilities, Proximity of disposal receptacle,
Empty Shavings Table 15: Historical Reasons for Failure of
Clean-ness of surfaces
2c Replace Shavings Cover User abilities Improved Village Cooking Systems
3a Storage mode, Storage space available, Humidity,
Store Sharpener
Extraneous substances
3b Retrieve Sharpener Surrounding aesthetics (easy to find?)
User fine motor coordination, User tolerance for
4.2.2 Generate List of Contextual Questions to Be Answered
4a Remove Old Batteries
complexity, Proximity of disposal receptacle
User fine motor coordination, User tolerance for The next step of Contextual Assessment involves converting
4b Install New Batteries complexity, Cost and availability of energy supply,
User operation cost expectations
each context factor identified in step one into the form of one or
Sa Purchase User first cost expectations, surrounding aesthetics more questions. The generalized context questions template
Sb Transport Transportation mode, Transportation frequency provided in Appendix A lists context factors along with
Sc Unpackage generalized context questions as a starting point. The purpose
Fa
Fb
[same as 4a]
of these elicitation questions is to guide the design team in
Dispose Disposal/recycling facilities.
discovering the contextual information needed for the design
Table 14: Translation of Activity Diagram into process. Usually these questions will be asked directly in
Context Factors multiple interviews with customers or experts; however, some
or all of the questions may best be answered by the team
through research. Regardless of how the information is
Translate available data (e.g. physical characteristics) gathered, the questions serve to direct the gathering process and
and experiences into factors: One type of data which may be
indicate when the needed information has been found.
translated into factors is human characteristics data. For
Table 16 shows an example of converting context factors into
example, the Cambridge inclusive design website8 (2005)
elicitation questions for use in an interview (based on an earlier
provides data on percentages of the population with varying
version of the template in Appendix A and sampled in Table 9).
levels of physical and cognitive abilities. Lists such as these
can serve to prompt different contextual factors to consider. 4.2.3 Gather Customer Needs and Factor Values
The Cambridge list includes: Locomotion, Reach & Stretch, The third step of the contextual needs assessment method
Dexterity, Vision, Hearing, Communication, and Intellectual consists of traditional customer needs gathering followed by
Functioning. In this instance the data also provides a useful context factor value gathering. A variety of well-established
rating scale for each factor, providing ready-made context customer needs gathering techniques such as those discussed in
factor values. For example the vision scale includes values of: the literature review may be used. One of the most effective
“not applicable,” “can’t recognize a friend nearby,” “can’t techniques for rapidly gathering customer information for a
recognize a friend across the room,” “full vision capability,” vague product design need is to conduct one-on-one customer
and additional points in-between. This is an example of using a interviews (Otto and Wood, 2001). If possible, these
semantic scale to elicit the context factor of user visual ability. interviews should include actively observing the customer
The use of a semantic scale is also discussed by Otto and Wood using a similar product in the actual design context. When this
(2001) in Chapter 4, p. 129 for the elicitation of customer is not possible, adaptations may be made such as verbally
expectations of product “feel.” asking the customer how the design need is currently satisfied,
Causes of past product failures is another valuable type of and what is liked and disliked about the current solution. The
data to aid in identifying relevant contextual factors. Table 15 “voice of the customer” should be recorded throughout the
8 interview, and translated into positively phrased, form-
http://www.eng.cam.ac.uk/inclusivedesign/index.php?section=data&page=excl
usion_calc independent customer need statements.

8 Copyright © 2006 by ASME

 Context Factor Elicitation Questions (Customized from Template) Context Elicitation Questions ..
Interview #1 - Notes Interview #2 - Notes #n
Factor (Customized) .
HOW: Usage Application HOW: Usage Application
How will sharpener be used? What will the sharpened Task How will sharpener be used? Sharpen pencils at Sharpen pencils while
Task (application, function)
pencils be used for? (application, What will the sharpened home teaching at school
function) pencils be used for?
Task frequency How often will sharpener be used?
How often will sharpener be Home (once every few 5-10 times a day
Task duration How long will sharpener be used each time? Task frequency
used? weeks)
... How long will sharpener be Get it sharp (a few Get it sharp (a few
Task duration
used each time? seconds) seconds)
WHERE: Usage Environment
...
Surroundings What type of surroundings will sharpener be used in?
WHERE: Usage Environment
Weather / climate What weather/climate will sharpener be exposed to? What type of surroundings Desk in bedroom Elementary teacher's
What is the cost and availability of various batteries? Surroundings will sharpener be used in? desk Note: only one
Energy cost and availability brick wall.
[Note: ask customer perceptions, but research as well.]
What weather/climate will Indoor, climate Indoor, climate
... Weather /
sharpener be exposed to? controlled controlled
WHO: Customer Characteristics climate
no ac in summer
User Who will use the sharpener? What is the cost and Easy (HEB); Easy (HEB);
Energy cost availability of various reasonable cost reasonable cost
How familiar is the user with sharpening pencils? and availability batteries? [Note: ask, but
User skills and education
What is the user's education level or age? research too.]
Physical: strength, control, Does the user have any physical conditions that may ...
range-of-motion interfere with sharpening? WHO: Customer Characteristics
... Who will use the sharpener? Me - 20 year old Teacher + a variety of
User
female UT student elementary kids
How familiar is the user with Very familiar w/ Some familiar, some
Table 16: Conversion of Context Factors into User skills and sharpening pencils? What is electric sharpeners; not; elementary
education the user's education level or college education education
Elicitation Questions age?
Physical: Does the user have any No No
Gathering context factor values (often qualitative) is strength,
control,
physical conditions that may
interfere with sharpening?
simply a matter of obtaining answers to the context elicitation range-of-
motion
questions generated in step 2 (Figure 2). The possible ways to ...
gather answers to the factor questions closely mirror customer
needs gathering techniques. For most contextual questions the Table 17: Recording Context Factor Values from
most effective technique is to perform multiple one-on-one Interviews
interviews as described in the previous paragraph, and conclude
the needs interview by running through the questions list and
4.2.5 Aggregate Factor Values into Context Scenario(s)
obtaining answers in the “voice of the customer” to any
questions that remain unanswered. The questions do not Aggregating context factor values (often qualitative) into a
necessarily need to be asked if the answers have already single scenario involves summarizing the range of responses
become obvious during the needs interview. It is important to across multiple interviews for a given factor. The summary
complete the freeform interview first before asking the values of each factor can be expressed as a single value (fuel
questions in the list, in order to avoid biasing the customer in supply = $1/L), a range (fuel supply = $1-2/L), a list (rural =
such a way that needs are not accurately elicited. The template $1/L, city = $2/L), or an inequality (fuel supply ≥ $1/L). Each
in Appendix A provides a format for recording this information of these record types may also be qualitative (e.g. surroundings
from multiple interviews. Note that due to the iterative nature = bedroom, surroundings = small to medium bedrooms,
of needs assessment, the growing list of customer needs may be surroundings = bedroom, classroom. A scenario is composed
used to generate additional context factors as the process of a list of summary values for all factors. The design team
progresses. Table 17 presents an example of recording values may choose to place most or all of the range of values found
for context factors (shown in the four rightmost columns) for into a single scenario to be addressed by one product. On the
the battery pencil sharpener example. For example, the values other hand, in many cases it is useful to identify distinct
determined for the second context factor of “task frequency” scenarios (Green, et al., 2004; Green, et al., 2005) and address
are “once every few weeks” and “5-10 time/day” for interviews only a limited number of the scenarios with a single product.
#1 and #2 respectively. This decision is a part of market segmentation based on
contextual information. Table 18 shows an example of forming
4.2.4 Aggregate Customer Needs into Weighted List a single scenario from the interview data. For example, the
The traditional customer needs aggregation techniques second context factor of task frequency received responses that
discussed in many references will work well within this ranged from light to heavy usage duty. This is captured in the
contextual needs assessment method. See for example Urban boxed column as “from 2/mo to 200/mo.” Such a large range
and Hauser (1993). Otto and Wood (2001) propose either the may indicate a multi-product offering is more appropriate if
use of an affinity diagram by the design team, or a customer- achieving the higher usage frequency is found to significantly
sort method which results in a co-occurrence matrix allowing compromise the cost or other product attributes.
hierarchical clustering of needs. Importance weightings should
5. METHOD APPLICATION AND ASSESSMENT
be assigned to each need. Two techniques for deriving these
weightings are from interview data or a follow-up questionnaire 5.1 Application: PersonaWarmth Product
asking customers to rate need importance (Otto and Wood, An inventive design case study illustrates the application of the
2001). contextual needs assessment methodology. The case study
illustrates key insights derived from the application of the
methodology to design for a frontier design need.
Need and Customer Definition - Mission Statement: The
product need is defined as a: “portable, personal hand warming

9 Copyright © 2006 by ASME

device for university students in China.” For the purposes of market of university students in southern China, where
this case study, the scope is limited to the primary market classrooms are not heated.
(university students in China), leaving exploration of secondary
markets for future work. The possible use of phase-change 1. Gather background information: name, personal description,
materials and correctly identifying and meeting context-specific most familiar solution, experience in China
needs are both avenues for creative design. 2. Explain design scope: portable personal hand warmer for
Chinese University students
Context Combined Context Interview #1 - Interview #2 -
Factor
Elicitation Questions
Scenario Notes Notes 3. Ask for typical uses of such a product, then prompt from list
HOW: Usage Application
How will sharpener be Sharpen pencils at Sharpen pencils at Sharpen pencils
4. Simulated articulated use interview with the “most familiar
Task
(application,
used? What will
sharpened pencils be used
home and at school home while teaching at
school
solution”
function)
for?
How often will sharpener From 2/mo to Home (once every 5-10 times a day
5. Like/Dislike/Suggestions-style interviews on most familiar
Task frequency
be used? 200/mo few weeks) solution plus two products from the family
How long will sharpener Get it sharp (a few Get it sharp (a few Get it sharp (a few
Task duration
be used each time? seconds) seconds) seconds) 6. Ask any remaining unanswered questions from customized
...
WHERE: Usage Environment
context questions template.
What type of Desk in bedroom; Desk in bedroom Elementary
Surroundings
surroundings will elementary teacher's teacher's desk Table 19: Adapted Interview Procedure
sharpener be used in? desk (lack of Note: only one
mounting walls) brick wall.
What weather/climate Indoor, climate Indoor, climate Indoor, climate
Weather / will sharpener be exposed controlled, but controlled controlled Heat Adequately Safety
climate to? possibly no AC in no AC in summer
summer Heat adequately/actively 5 Safe - low risk to user 5
What is the cost and Easy (HEB); Easy (HEB); Easy (HEB); Heat long-lasting (pref. day) 3 Safe appearance 5
Energy cost availability of various reasonable cost reasonable cost reasonable cost Heat distributed (fingers) 3 Child-proof 3
and availability batteries? [Note: ask, but Heat continuous 3 Secure container 3
research too.]
Heat adjustable 1 No flame 1
...
WHO: Customer Characteristics
Heat consistent 1 Environmentally friendly 1
Who will use the College students, Me - 20 year old Teacher + a Heat instant-on 1 Safe accessories (e.g. fuel) 1
User sharpener? elementary teachers, female UT student variety of Un-encumbering Unexposed 3
elementary students elementary kids Wearable 3 Operation
How familiar is the user Mixed familiarity; Very familiar w/ Some familiar, Un-encumbered grip 3 Customizable (detach fingers) 1
User skills and with sharpening pencils? range from 2nd electric some not;
education What is the user's grade to college+ sharpeners; elementary Flexible 3 Dual function (e.g. hot drink) 1
education level or age? college education education Easy/Ergonomic interface 3 Easy to find 1
Physical: Does the user have any No, not normally. No No – not usually. Easy to carry 5 Reliable 3
strength, physical conditions that Some students Easy to store 3 Durable 3
control, may interfere with might, but teacher
range-of- sharpening? can assist them. Compatible w/ lifestyle 3 Limited accessories 1
motion Portable Low-maintenance 3
Compact 3 Maintainable 1
Table 18: Combining Factor Values into Context Attachable - in use 1 Rain & snow compatible 3
Attachable - off 1 Low Cost
Scenario (Pencil Sharpener Example) Fits pockets 3 Low-cost 5
Lightweight 3 Re-usable 3
Setup & Usage Aesthetics
Easy to use 3 Aesthetically pleasing 5
Existing products analogous to the design need are Convenient to use 3 Stylish 3
researched, and many are purchased for exploration and use Easy/simple to setup
Fast setup
3
3
Trendy
No smell
3
1
during interviews. These products are representative of Easy to re-energize/re-use 3 Interesting device 1
chemical, solid fuel, liquid fuel, battery, and re-usable Automatic operation 1 Compatible (no leaks) 3

crystallizing warmers. Exploration of these products reveals

Table 20: PersonaWarmth Customer Needs List
certain key attributes, such as the danger of the fuel warmers,
the minimal heat of the battery warmer, and the short duration
of the crystallizing fluid. # Question Prompts Combined Context Scenario
HOW: Usage Application
Contextual Needs Assessment: In order to gain a clear How will hand warmer be used? To keep hand warm while: Writing, riding bike, bus,
understanding of the design need including the need context, a1 What will the person be doing?
How will they be using their hands?
classroom activities, walking, sports. (Also, see activity
list)
the contextual needs assessment methodology presented in a2
How often will warmer be used? North: on walks 4-5x/day * 5 days/wk
(Times/day? Days/week?) S: up to all day (possible for sleep too), 5-7 days/wk
Section 4 is customized for this case study. The first two steps How long will warmer be used each time? N: just walks (5-10 min)
(Figure 2) are to “Identify relevant contextual factors” and “… a3 Continuously or enough to stay warm.
(Maybe less when sun is out - nice to have on/off).
list contextual questions …” Brainstorming categories a3a
What part of the year (and how much) will 3-6 mo
warmer be in use?
employed are the “How” (e.g. frequency, duration, tasks [RESEARCH] How much heat is needed? What Low temp ~30F, varying humidity.
a4
performed while using) “Where” (temperature & humidity, temperature?
How roughly will warmer be handled/treated? Reasonable care from older students, except if used in
energy supply, animals or insects) and “Who” (hand size, a5 Will the warmer be treated and stored gently? sports. (Children may be rough).
Storage in backpack or pocket.
softness preference, warmth needed) categories described a6
How will warmer be transported & how much? Usually in-use.
previously. The third step of contextual needs assessment, How much transport is usage vs. storage? Backpack or pocket.
How might customers transfer heat from warmer If active: must be wearable.
“Gather customer needs and factor values,” is implemented a7 to their hands? If walking, holding it is fine.

according to the adapted procedure shown in Table 19. The

data collected are the basis of step four, “Aggregate customer Table 21: PersonaWarmth Context Scenario –
needs into weighted list” (Table 20) and step five, “Aggregate “How” Factors
factor values into context scenario(s)” (Table 21 through Concept Generation: Following functional modeling and
Table 24). The context scenario for this case study is very other process steps, concept variants are generated based on the
broad, and as the design process progresses it becomes clear product design context provided by Tables 20-24. These
that the target scenario should be reduced in scope to a primary concept variants are decomposed into individual function

10 Copyright © 2006 by ASME

solutions and entered into a morphological matrix format which warmth simultaneously while taking notes. It has exciting
serves as the basis for further idea generation. Figure 5 shows potential to economically fill an important gap in current
a partial set of the PersonaWarmth Concepts. product offerings. In addition, it is compatible with the current
infrastructure and procedures of a product currently used in the
WHERE: Usage Environment
Chinese university context, which increase the chances of new
What type of surroundings will warmer be used Outside, dorm, classroom.
e1 in? Clasroom – plain, cold, drafty. product success.
Will there be flammable materials present? Paper, clothes, backpack
e1a (Fire hazard is a concern)
What weather/climate will warmer be exposed Snow, varying humidity, windy, some rain.
to? Windy? Rainy? As low as -30F (N China).
e2 What temperatures and humidity will it be Some concern for snow & rain proof.
exposed to (average & extremes?)
Will warmer be exposed to any unusual None thought of.
e3 substances or conditions?
e3a Will there be any insects or animals present? No animals, some insects.
e4 How much space is available for using warmer? Easy to hold. Fit in pocket or backpack (usually room).
How much space is available for storing warmer? Little but adequate space for small product.
e5 (Transit & at home). May store under bed or on shelf.
How will warmer interact w/ the surrounding College students: colors, simple, elegant, small.
e6 aesthetics? Unique style important. Feel good on skin.
What kind of styling is desired? Easy to hold … maybe exercise while holding. CV1: Hand CV2a: Glove CV2b: Glove
CV0: Datum
Scent and sound “aesthetics”? Important to not smell (or at least good). Dynamo Rubbing Friction Stretching Friction
e6a Little or no noise; esp. in classroom.
(Some students enjoy scent or sound).
How much ventilation is available during warmer Bus is confined.
e7 use? Try to minimize airflow in buildings, but not sealed well
How confined are the places of use? Concern over CO problem with stoves.
What is the cost & availability of maintenance & Must require minimal maintenance (perception=few part
e8 parts?
What is the cost & availability of possible energy Electricity affordable; but intermittent and no heating
sources? elements allowed in dorms. Gas not perceived well.
e9 (e.g. human, battery, gas, electric, biomass) Batteries cheap but poor quality.
Water inconsistent, though hot drinking water OK but CV3a: Phase Change Grip
costs.

Table 22: PersonaWarmth Context Scenario –

“Where” Factors

WHO: Customer Characteristics

Who will use the warmer? Chinese university students. [children, everyone if
Age range (hand sizes)? affordable]
What is the user's education level? Smaller hands.
CV3b: Thermal CV4: Flameless CV5a: Battery
How familiar is the average user with active Students familiar with electric kettles. CV5b: Battery Grip
heating elements? Mass Heat Glove Burn Glove
How familiar with any hand warmers (gloves, Students: mostly gloves, water bottle-type devices, some
heavy socks, etc)? active warmers. Students may be acclimated; may not
think to try something new, though current generation is Figure 5: PersonaWarmth Concepts
interested in new/western things.
Does the user have any physical conditions that
may make it difficult to perform this task?
What is the most complex warmer familiar to the Must be simple. (One respondent objected to the Jon-e). A prototype is developed from the concept (Figure 6).
user? Must this warmer be less complex?
How simple would you imagine it should be? Experimentation shows the prototype provides significant hand
Are there any cultural practices or expectations
related to this warmer?
Single child families; keeping up with neighbors.
Students financially depend on parents who may be
warming and is convenient to carry. The prototype is tested
conservative. Possibly higher cold tolerance. (Figure 6) in the vegetable compartment of a refrigerator to
About how much is the buyer willing to pay to
purchase this warmer?
$2-4
simulate a classroom with ~50oF ambient conditions and no
How much is the user willing to pay/work to
operate & maintain this warmer (per use or per
Very low - $0 is preferable.
$0.25-$0.50/wk or use (?)
wind. A thermocouple is held on the surface of the prototype
month)? with a small piece of insulation and a rubber band. Figure 7
About how much time is the user willing to spend <1-3 min.
to setup and operate this warmer? (Maybe more if it lasts all day). shows the temperatures recorded over time as the prototype
Desktop PCs left on, do turn off lights in PC lab. cools. The green rectangle represents the highly usable
How much additional material/equipment to Minimize. Match or lighter OK. Many men have lighters.
activate? Make use of other common products? window of the prototype when the surface temperature is
What is the most dangerous warmer familiar to
the user (burning)? Must this one be less
Some students may be concerned about safety if wearing.
College officials concerned with dorm safety.
between 120oF and 90oF, a range from the upper limit of
dangerous? How dangerous? usability to the lower limit which provides significant hand
warming. However, compared to a 35oF desk, even a 70oF
How long does the user expect warmer to last? Last through one cold season.

Table 24: PersonaWarmth Context Scenario – writing tablet represents a significant advantage, so the actual
“Who” Factors usable window for the prototype may be larger than shown.

Concept Selection, Modeling and Prototyping: Using a

Pugh selection process, the concepts of Figure 5 are ranked and
then refined to satisfy the product design context. Heat transfer
modeling of the system with different materials is also
performed. The result of this process is the development of a
“Hot Writer” concept, a tablet shell that is filled with hot
water9. This concept (based on the Datum in Figure 5, with
appropriate refinements) enables students to receive hand

9
Contextual interviews revealed that limited amounts of water hot enough
to steep tea are often readily available in the target usage context.

11 Copyright © 2006 by ASME

 undergraduate design methods course, a UT graduate course in
which students design and deliver products for persons with
disabilities, and a volunteer human study for the design of a
cooking device for African villages. Space limitations prevent
the reporting of all findings here (refer to Green, 2005 for
details); however, Tables 25-26 show the results for the UT
undergraduate design methods course.
In this undergraduate design course, teams of 4-6 senior-
level mechanical engineering students reverse engineer and
redesign consumer products, learning and applying various
design methods throughout the semester. As part of their
customer needs methods, the students implemented the newly
developed contextual needs assessment method. The students
were also provided with an Excel tool embodying the steps
presented in Section 4 (summarized in Figure 2).
Figure 6: PersonaWarmth Prototype Fourteen out of 20 design teams from the course
voluntarily submitted their contextual needs assessment data
for the study. Students from these teams were then asked to
complete an anonymous web-based questionnaire. The
Prototype Cooling Over Time (Tam b ~50F) response rate was 57 students, 61% of the class of 94. The
150.0 survey participants self-reported demographics indicate 84%
140.0 are male and 16% female with an average age of 22.1 (ranging
130.0
from 21-31) and an average GPA of 3.4 (ranging from 2.5-4.0).
120.0
Table 25 presents survey data rating the perceived usability
of the contextual needs assessment method. The data shows a
Temperature (F)

110.0
high level of agreement with all statements related to usability,
100.0
and neutral agreement on whether the method needs
90.0
improvement. Table 26 similarly shows a high level of
80.0
agreement for the perceived usefulness of the method.
70.0

60.0

Undecided
Neutral /
Disagree
disagree
Strongly

Strongly
50.0

Agree

agree
-20 0 20 40 60 80
Time Elapsed (min)

Figure 7: Prototype Surface Cooling Curve in a I understand how to gather

~50oF Test Environment information using the above 0% 2% 2% 81% 16%
method.
Influence of Contextual Information: One of the most I like using the above method. 0% 14% 28% 49% 9%
important outcomes resulting from the application of the
contextual needs assessment methodology in this original The above method does not
0% 24% 49% 22% 5%
need improvement.
design case study is the enhanced ability for appropriate need
identification and segmentation. The methodology enables The above method is not difficult
4% 12% 18% 58% 9%
to understand and use.
organizing the needs, identifying an appropriate market
segment, and scoping the mission statement. The knowledge of Table 25: Perceived Usability of Experimental
common tasks performed and classroom ambient temperatures Method
helped highlight the critical insight of the need in southern
China for a continuous heating solution which was un-
encumbering enough to enable the user to take notes. The
interviewees indicated that in northern China classrooms are
heated, indicating a personal warming product would be used
for very different tasks (walking instead of note taking) and for
much shorter lengths of time. The availability of very hot
water as a potential heating source is another piece of
contextual information which proved vital to achieving the
successful PersonaWarmth design shown. Finally, a better
understanding of customer expectations for cost, maintenance,
and ease-of-use guided design decision making.
5.2 Assessment Study: UT Design Methods Course
In addition to the product application of Section 5.1, the
contextual needs method was also assessed through: a UT

12 Copyright © 2006 by ASME

 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Undecided
Neutral /
Disagree
disagree
Strongly

Strongly
The work reported in this document was made possible, in part,

Agree

agree
by the National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate
Fellowship program, the University of Texas at Austin College
of Engineering, a grant from the National Science Foundation,
Using the above method he lped
me unde rsta nd the design need.
0% 4% 12% 66% 18% and the Cullen Trust Endowed Professorship in Engineering
I would consider using the above
No. 1. Any opinions, findings, or recommendations are those of
0% 0% 14% 68% 18%
method again in the future . the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the
Afte r using the above me thod, I do sponsors.
not still feel unce rtain about the 0% 14% 28% 46% 12%
design need.
REFERENCES
Using the above method will/did
he lp our re -design provide bette r 2% 5% 21% 47% 25% 1986, "Chapter 23: International Market Research," Consumer
custome r sa tisfa ction. Market Research Handbook (R. Worcester and J.
Our re -design will/would not ha ve Downham, Eds.).
been the same even without the 4% 19% 39% 32% 7%
above method. I-TEC Portable Dental System,
I am like ly to use the above
http://www.itecusa.org/pds.htm, May, 2005.
0% 2% 25% 59% 14%
method again in the future . Inclusive Design Homepage,
http://www.eng.cam.ac.uk/inclusivedesign/, October,
Table 26: Perceived Usefulness of Experimental 2005.
Method Barnes, D. F., K. Openshaw, K. R. Smith and R. v. d. Plas,
2002, What Makes People Cook with Improved
Overall, this study demonstrates that within an Biomass Stoves? a Comparative International Review
undergraduate reverse engineering setting, the contextual needs of Stove Programs, World Bank.
assessment methodology can be realistically deployed and well Bayus, B. L., 2006, "Understanding Customer Needs,"
received, and results in significant improvement in needs Blackwell Handbook of Technology and Innovation
assessment. Data analysis identifies eight new context factors Management (S. Shane, Ed.), Blackwell Publishers,
and eighteen question revisions to improve the generalized Cambridge, MA, forthcoming.
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students rated the contextual needs assessment methodology to Customer-Centered Systems, Morgan Kaufman
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the perceived value ratings given for well-established Products: Innovation from Product Planning to
benchmark methodologies such as a black box and activity Program Approval, Prentice Hall, NJ.
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methodology as usable and useful. Free response comments Multicultural Factors from Elicited Customer
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understanding of design problems outside their experience and Engineers, New York, NY.
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documenting, and acting upon contextual information Tools, and Techniques, Morgan Kaufmann, San
important for successful product design. A product design Francisco, CA.
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field practice. Green, M. G., R. P. K. Palani and K. L. Wood, 2004, "Product
Usage Context: Improving Customer Needs Gathering
and Design Target Setting," ASME Design

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APPENDIX A - CONTEXTUAL NEEDS ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS TEMPLATE10

HOW: Usage Application

# Context Factor Suggested Questions v3.010
a0 task application What specific purpose(s) will product be used for? How will the product be used?
a1 task function What major function(s) should the product provide?
a2 task quality What quality of the primary function is needed?
What is the current usage process?
a3 task process
How will product change the current usage process?
a4 task frequency How often will product be used?
a5 task duration How long will product be used each time?
a6 task quantity How much quantity of the product's output is needed?
a7 task rate At what rate should the product perform?
a8 task ruggedness How roughly will product be handled/treated?
transportation How often, how far, and in what way will product be transported?
a9
type & amount
a10 operator position What physical position will the user be in (standing, sitting, hands occupied)?
a11 cleaning How and where might the product be cleaned?
Table A-1: Questions Template – “How: Usage Application” Factors

10
To receive or share updated and customized templates, please contact the corresponding author ([email protected]).

14 Copyright © 2006 by ASME

 WHERE: Usage Environment
# Context Factor Suggested Questions v3.0
Where and in what type of surroundings will product be used?
e0 surroundings
What in the surroundings might influence what the product must be like?
surroundings How noisy are product surroundings? How much noise from the product is
e1
(sound) acceptable?
weather/ What weather/climate will product be exposed to?
e2
climate
environment What objects and substances will product interact with? Will product be exposed to
e3
ruggedness any unusual substances or conditions?
space How much space is available for using product?
e4
(when in use)
space How and where will product be stored?
e5
(storage) How much space is available for storing product?
aesthetics of What do the product surroundings look like?
e6
surroundings How should the product interact w/ the surrounding aesthetics?
maintenance & parts What is the cost & availability of maintenance & parts?
e7
cost & availability
energy availability What is the cost & availability of possible energy sources (human, battery, gas,
e8
& cost electric, biomass)?
Table A-2: Questions Template – “Where: Usage Environment” Factors

WHO: Customer Characteristics

# Context Factor Suggested Questions v3.0
Who will use the product? (Choose? Buy?)
c0 user
What user characteristics affect what the product must be like?
user skills How skilled/experienced is the user with the task?
c1
& education What is the user's education level?
Does the user have any physical conditions that may cause difficulty performing the
c2 physical ability
task? (strength, control, range-of-motion, vision).
user tolerance What is the most complex product the user is comfortable using? Must this product
c3
for complexity be less complex? How long is user willing to spend learning the product?
relevant customs Are there any cultural practices or expectations related to this product?
c4
and practices
cost expectations: About how much is the buyer willing to pay to purchase this product?
c5
(purchase)
cost expectations: How much is the user willing to pay/work monthly to operate this product?
c6
(operation)
cost expectations: How much is the user willing to pay/work monthly to maintain this product?
c7
(maintenance)
time expectations: About how much time is the user willing to spend to setup this product? To operate
c8
setup & operation this product? How valuable is saving time?
What product safety concerns does the user have? What safety features is the user
expecting? What dangers must be avoided?
c9 safety expectations
What is the most dangerous product familiar to the user? Must this one be less
dangerous?
durability How long does the user expect the product to last?
c10
expectations
Where and how might the product be purchased?
c11 purchase context
How would the buying decision be made (research, referral, impulse)?
Table A-3: Questions Template – “Who: Customer Characteristics” Factors

15 Copyright © 2006 by ASME

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