Did I
hear this
correctly?
Bachelor thesis
Industrial Design Engineering
Fontys University of Applied Sciences
Arno Eiselt
Did I hear this correctly?
A thesis
submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of
Bachelor of Science in
The department of Industrial Design Engineering at
Fontys University of Applied Sciences Venlo
written by A. Eiselt
Supervisor: F. Hoolhorst Examinator: R. Killaars Representative: H. Rijpkema
Kerkrade, The Netherlands June 2018
STATUTORY DECLARATION
“I herewith declare that I have composed the present thesis myself and without use of any other than the cited sources and aids. Sentences or parts of sentences quoted literally are marked as such; other references with regard to the statement and scope are indicated by full details of the publications concerned. The thesis in the same or similar form has not been submitted to any examination body and has not been published. This thesis was not yet, even in part, used in another examination or as a course performance. Furthermore I declare that the submitted written (bound) copies of the present thesis and the version submitted on a data carrier are consistent with each other in contents.”
Signature
Name:
PREFACE
The graduation project and the associated thesis are part of the final semester of the course Industrial Design Engineering at the Fontys University of Applied Sciences in Venlo. Over the span of five months the student will gain work experience within a chosen company to further build his study related skills and competencies. The student will be challenged with developing a solution for a specific problem in the shape of a product. This will be accomplished by applying the knowledge and expertise gained during the course of the study program. The purpose of the thesis is to investigate, document and analyze the steps taken by the student during this period, which include design, development, and manufacturing.
Working on this project am I, Arno Eiselt, bachelor student in the 8th and final semester of my study program. I have been interested in technological advances, the possibilities they bear and their involvement in the health and care sector. One key aspect that fascinates me is behaviour changes and motivation to use a certain product or service. Being a music enthusiast and hobby musician as well as regularly visiting music venues and festivals, I know out of first hand of the dangers and risks recreational noise exposure can bear and I have personal interest to finding a solution for preventing preliminary hearing impairment among young adults. The internship at Cube presented itself as a perfect opportunity to further extend my knowledge concerning this socially important topic.
I would like to thank Anja Köppchen, Rob Vermeulen and Nina Mathia Simons for their guidance, insights and coaching sessions. My further gratitude goes out to Guido Stompff who is a great source of information concerning design thinking methods as well as providing a unique angle to problem solving in general. I would also like to thank Dr. Ir. D.J.W.M. Scheijen and Frans De Jong who have provided me with valuable insights and background information about the topic and helped kick off this project. My fellow students at Cube have earned my gratitude throughout the course, as they have always been available for providing feedback and critical remarks about my work. And last but not least I would like to thank Frederik Hoolhorst for being my coach and mentor, accompanying me along the way of my final semester at the Fontys University of Applied Sciences Venlo.
Music is being consumed by more people on a daily basis than ever before. Recreational noise exposure is the cause for a variety of preliminary hearing problems in young adults. Main factors are the use of earbuds as well as headphones and visiting venues such as festivals or clubs where, although limited by law to 103 Decibel, the sound waves generated by the loudspeakers can damage the hearing organ permanently. While the most effective solution would be turning down the volume or wearing hearing protection, various factors discourage young adults to make use of the solutions.
During the course of the project, desk research has been conducted, the target group has been interviewed, surveyed and observed to determine what these factors are and what can be done to educate them or to produce a solution to prevent the issue.
Based on the gained insights about the target group and their motivations, five concepts were generated, which provided a solution approach for different sub-problems. Two concepts were evaluated according to previously established requirements and wishes and subsequently chosen for further elaboration.
It was discovered that bad user experiences with ear plugs that provided a muffled sound quality and an uncomfortable fit, were the main reasons for people not to protect their ears regularly. Additionally, the image of hearing protection had to be improved to expand acceptance among the target group, and motivate use. Designing a new product was not seen as an ideal solution to this problem, as many different types of earplugs exist already, however, non providing the user experiences necessary to satisfy the users.
The final concept aimed at providing custom molded hearing protection at festivals, as it had been discovered, that a lack of knowledge about the different types of hearing protection was the major causes for this type of ear plugs to not being recognized as valuable option even though they deliver an optimal sound quality and comfortable fit. In addition its selling points, high price and a lengthy production time made this form of hearing protection even less accessibility to the target group.
Therefore the concept resulted in the reevaluation and redesign of its production process. Through modern intraoral scanning technology and cost effective rapid prototyping technology it is possible to produce custom molded ear plugs for a fraction of the usual costs and in a fraction of the usually required time.
In conclusion, making custom molded hearing protection available to everyone should generate a more customer friendly and superior user experience as compared to all existing solutions. Therefore subsequently reaching a broader mass by creating mainstream awareness and making it more acceptable due to its increasing spread. The image of ear plugs may take years to improve but providing the user with the tools which motivate him to protect his ears and especially continue to do so in the future, is the first step in reducing noise related hearing problems.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1 Introduction
1.1 The company and the client 1.2 Problen and objective 1.3 Project goals
2 Method and theory 3 Research
3.1 Organisations and Campaigns 3.2 Companies and their products 4 Data collection
4.1 The target group 4.2 Involving the visitors
4.3 Hearing experience and feedback 4.4 Hearing test and Interviews 4.5 Online Survey
5 Frames (concepts)
5.1 Generating ideas and framing 5.2 Frame 1 5.3 Frame 2 5.4 Frame 3 5.5 Frame 4 5.6 Frame 5 6 Concept evaluation 6.1 Concept choice 7 The final concepts
7.1 Common earplug types 7.2 Sound filter technology 7.3 Sound quality and comfort 7.4 Ist & Soll
7.5 Custom molded ear plugs 7.6 Available materials
7.7 Customer opinion 7.8 Solving the problem 7.9 The steps
7.10 Target group 7.11 Persona
8 Production and materials 8.1 Implementation
8.2 3D printing technology 8.3 Intraoral scanners
8.4 Digital design and printing 8.5 Cleaning and curing 8.6 Post-processing
8.7 Resouces (Cost and time) 8.8 Business model canvas
10 11 12 13 14 24 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 32 34 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 65
Ask
Imagine
Project
68 68 69 72 76 80 80 80 81 82 84 88 88 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 98 9 Prototyping 9.1 Epoxy casting
9.2 3D model and Photogrammetry 10 Results
10 Discussion & Conclusion 11 Appendix
11 The ear
11.2 Sound and the ear
11.3 Perception and hearing loss 12 Workshops
14 Survey
15 Concept evaluation
15.1 List of requirements and wishes 15.2 Choosing the right requirements 15.4 Evaluating importance
15.5 Projet management triange 15.6 Evaluating the concepts 16 3D printing characteristics 17 Sinus milieus
18 Technology acceptance models 19 References
Create
Appendix
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1: Research directions 24 Figure 2: Product range in relation to price 25 Figure 3 Generations and age 27 Figure 4: Visitor feedback 28 Figure 5: Summarized results 28 Figure 6: Grouped visitor results 28 Figure 7: Visitor experience 29
Figure 8: Interviewees 30
Figure 9: Hearing test results 30
Figure 10: Brainstorming 34
Figure 11: Framing 34
Figure 12: Logo 35
Figure 13: Prototype 35
Figure 14: Solidworks model 36 Figure 15: Detachable ear plug 37 Figure 16: 3D printed earplugs 38
Figure 17: Logo 39
Figure 18: Poster 39
Figure 19: Kesselring evaluation 40 Figure20: Constraint grouping 41 Figure 21: Concept choice 41 Figure 22: Chosen concepts 41 Figure 23: Concept phases 44
Figure 24: Foam tip 45
Figure25: Silicone segment tip 45 Figure 26: Custom molded tip 45
Figure27: Foam filter 46
Figure 28: Resistive tube filter 46
Figure29: Membrane filter 46
Figure 30: Frequency difference 46 Figure 31: Relation between sound, comfort and cost. 47 Figure32: Ist & Soll 48 Figure 33: Taking the ear impression 49 Figure 34: Impression scanning 49 Figure 35: Silicone injection 49 Figure 36: Post-production 49 Figure 37: Material strength 50 Figure 38: Customer contact points 51 Figure 39: Production steps 53 Figure 40: Lanto Aura 3D 58 Figure 41: United Sciences eFit 58 Figure 42: 3Shape Phoenix 58
Figure 43: Digital design process 59
Figure 44: Curing 60
Figure 45: Washing 60
:Figure 46: 3D printed shell, injected and final mold 60 Figure 47 Cracking of the shell 60 Figure 48: Applying lacquer 61 Figure 49: Sanding the ear plug 61 Figure 50: Silicone ear plugs with external filter 61 Figure 51: Silicone ear plugs with internal filter 61 Figure 52: Amount of pairs per season 62 Figure 53: All cost factors 63 Figure 54: Total cost and profit 63 Figure 55: Price differences 63 Figure 56: Production time 64 Figure 57: Business model canvas 65 Figure 58: 2K silicone putty 68 Figure 59: Application to the ear 68 Figure 60: Silicone impression 68 Figure 61: Silicone mold 68
Figure 62: Injected epoxy 68
Figure 63: Epoxy coating 68 Figure 64: Coated ear plug 69 Figure 65: Ear plugs and filters 69
Figure 66: Photogrammetry 69
Figure 67: Colmap 69
Figure 68: Meshmixer 69
Figure 69: Meshlab 69
Figure 70: Solidworks modelling 69
Figure 71: Preparation in Cura 69
Figure 72: Ultimaker 2 69
Figure 73: Printed model 69 Figure 74: The inner ear 80 Figure 75: Fletcher-Munson curves 81
Figure 76: The cochlea 81
Figure 77: Design Thinking cycles 82 Figure 78: Communication matrix 83 Figure 79: Sinus milieus 93
Figure 80: Trend wheel 93
Figure 81: Theory of reasoned action 94 Figure 82: Technology acceptance model 95 Figure 83: The unified theory of acceptance 95
INTRODUCTION
The comfort of music streaming services like Spotify, Soundcloud and YouTube have caused a substantial growth in the amount of people listening to music on a daily basis. The possibility of streaming a broad spectrum of selected songs rather than having to buy an artists entire album has made listening to music more accessible today. This growth is propelled by the steady spread of smartphones and the continuous access to (unlimited) mobile internet.
With the increasing distances from home to workplace, the time spent in the car, in public transport, on the bicycle or on foot increase as well. Most of the music enjoyed while away from home is being consumed through over ear headphones or earbuds. They are capable of delivering powerful soundwaves right into the ear where they can have a high impact on the hearing organ. Especially the tiny hairs responsible for detecting sound and these nerves are at risk of being damaged permanently. In addition, the volume of digital music has been increased as compared to records or CDs. Dynamic compression is being used to amplify the softer parts of musical pieces also raising overall volume.
But listening to music through headphones is just one reasons for an increasing number of young people experience preliminary hearing damage. Visiting nightclubs, concerts and festivals bear risks as well. Although Dutch law regulates the maximum volume at nightclubs and festivals to 103 Decibel, this is still in range of causing permanent hearing damage. The distance to the speakers and the duration of exposure also greatly factor into the risk. People who frequently visit such places are especially in danger of experiencing negative side effects.
The consequences of noise induced hearing damage do not only affect the people who suffer from it, but have a far greater impact on society. Although this project is primarily aimed at people younger than 25 years of age, parents, teachers and role models which educate and influence children and young adults play an important part as well. But also healthcare and research instances are engaged in the topic to improve the quality of life, of the people who suffer from hearing problems.
With this project I aim to dig deeper into the causes of preliminary hearing impairment and discover what drives young people to adapt a certain behaviour or refuse it. My goal is to find out what can be done to educate the target group and what motivates them to accept and use a specific solution or service. My motivation is to develop said solution, with the aim to reduce hearing loss induced by recreational noise exposure. This project addresses the search for solutions from two directions: communication and product design. The project consists of the areas of investigation, design, prototyping and user testing.
Cube Design
Cube design museum is part of Museumplein Limburg, also the umbrella organization of Columbus earth center and Continium discovery center. Cube design museum is the first museum in the Netherlands devoted exclusively to design. Cube exhibits meaningful human centered design - design that has an impact on the world.
But Cube not only showcases exhibitions on leading international and regional design, as a multidisciplinary laboratory, it also offers visitors the opportunity to collaborate with students and designers on innovative product design.
The designers apply the principles of design thinking, co-creation and co-design. They find solutions for issues or challenges, together with the visitors, scientists, stakeholders and end-users. Like this the design process from initial problem definition until end-product will be completed. They will come up with new products, concepts or services for which the “Cube Calls” were created. These are formulated on the basis of a request from society, industry, social organisations or specific interested parties. At its core the Calls are aimed at finding solutions for human centered problems by designing for human needs and ambitions.
The three Cube Design Labs are on one floor and are assigned to the three phases of the design process: they are called ASK, IMAGINE, and CREATE.
Proteam Limburg
Due to social relevance Proteam Limburg has chosen to support this project financially.
Adelante
Adelante is a care group with adult rehabilitation & labor reintegration, child rehabilitation, special education & living and audiology & communication as core activities.
Adelante Audiology & Communication helps with language, speech and hearing problems. They offer research, advice and treatment to children who due to consequences of a disease, disorder or accident experience problems with their development of hearing, language or speech and adults with general hearing impairment. Adelantes aim is to aid in the recovery of people to function and participate in our society.
Perception is a combination of different sensory experiences. What we see, taste, smell, feel and hear shapes into an overall picture. If one of the sensory organs fails, for example the ear, it has great consequences for the enjoyment of music or our communication with others. It is important to make people aware that our hearing is very fragile, without it taking pleasure in enjoying music or ones surrounding, in the broadest sense, can be diminished. But losing the ability to enjoy music is probably one of the consequences most easily dealt with. Permanent hearing impairment can influence our social life, work life and can have a far greater impact on the way we see ourselves and function in society.
Despite strict requirements for hearing protection and large-scale health awareness campaigns, temporary and permanent hearing damage are steadily spreading among young adults and children. 25% of young people under the age of 25 have a form of irreversible hearing damage. The Dutch government has made this a point of attention. A contributing factor is that the amount of young people exposing themselves to recreational noise has increased threefold since the 1980s.
Treatment options are very limited for most people with noise-related hearing damage. Once the hearing ability has been decreased it won’t improve again. The treatment and medication possibilities solely aim at retaining the level of hearing, trying to avoid it from getting worse.
One way of minimizing risk and protecting one’s ears against harmful sound waves at public events is to use noise reducing ear plugs. Although this solution is very effective, many people don’t consider protecting their ears a priority for various reasons or simply don’t know about the possible consequences which go hand in hand with excessive noise exposure. This behavior also applies to the use of headphones and earbuds, where a simple solution would be turning down the volume.
However, several adaptable health behaviors might prevent or postpone the start of various forms of hearing damage. This change of attitude should begin in childhood. Changeable and fixed risk factors and the role of health education in the prevention of noise-induced hearing loss targeted at children or young adults may play an important role in the prevention of the issue. The question is, how do we increase awareness of the vulnerability of the ears and alert people of the risks of recreational noise exposure?
PROJECT GOALS
The goal is to find an answer, in the form of a product or service, to the questions:
How do we increase awareness of the vulnerability of hearing and alert people of the risks of recreational noise exposure which can lead to lasting hearing impairment?
How can we develop a form of hearing protection that is so pleasant in form, function, technology, etc., that it appeals to a specific the target group and motivates it to be used? The main tasks consist of generating ideas and devising technical concepts, developing a prototype, user testing and producing a final product with the intention to prevent hearing loss among the target group. The solution can be both proactive and reactive.
A report outlines and clarifies the steps taken to complete the project. This provides recommendations for the client so that the product can continue to be developed after the project has been concluded.
Deliverables:
• A report at the end for each design phase for Cube. • Presentations for all involved parties.
• Co-creation activities and workshops with Cube visitors.
• Strategy and prototypes (possibly working) both strategically and technically.
• The final strategy, the product and the development of such will be summarized and detailed in a final report (Thesis) for the University and Cube.
Quality control
To ensure that the wishes and requirements of the client are being met, a weekly schedule has been created, which serves as a frame and guideline for required actions to reach specific, previously set targets. Furthermore a wide assembly of contact persons with different expertises, educational and occupational backgrounds have been assigned to the project, whom serve as mentors and coaches to the students should any general or topic specific questions arise. In addition the reports and presentations, meetings and coaching sessions with the involved parties provide the opportunity for feedback and further planning and adjustment.
METHOD & THEORY
The following section will provide an overview of the theoretical background and tools applied to generate results and come to conclusions during the various stages of the project. The methods derive from teaching material as well as being based on the design thinking approach to solving a problem, described in “Design Thinking” by Guido Stompff. The development process can be segmented into the phases Ask, Imagine, Create and Reflect. This includes defining the problem, conceptual design, concept development as well as product development including product evaluation.
During the Ask phase co-creation plays an important role. Collaboration with the target group is necessary to gather insights, requirements and wishes which can only be provided by the intended users. During the second phase, Imagine, individual work is required. Skills and knowledge will be applied to generate ideas and to elaborating the final concept . The Create phase consists of and generating a prototype. The fourth and final phase, Reflect, involves the target group for user testing and user feedback. Again, only the intended user can provide personal experiences and criticism which are necessary for developing a product optimally suited for his needs and ambitions. In practice, the four phases aren’t fixed and can be run through multiple times during a project.
Defining the problem
Gaining a clear understanding of what the problem and its implications are, is an essential step in the early phase of any design project. The purpose of this phase is to brings forward a conclusion to what needs to be, and what can be designed, in order to generate ideas and concepts. Consultations with the client and the professionals within the company as well as investigating the problem, target groups and existing solutions provide the base for generating a list of requirements and wishes. These specifications serve as a reference and guideline for future conceptual design choices.
• Identifying the needs and wishes of the company and the client.
It is important to to identify all the parties which will be involved with the project and come in touch with the final product. The company in which the product will be developed as well as the customers identity including their purpose as a business will have to be examined as they may have individual needs and requirements wich need to be considered. The findings will be incorporated into the list of requirements and wishes.
• Investigating the issue and its implications.
To get familiar with the topic, the issue and its implications, thorough desk research will be done. This initial form of gathering information provides valuable insights and its results will serve as a knowledge base which is necessary to acquire before developing a product solution to a specific problem.
A DESTEP analysis investigates demographic, economic, social / cultural, technological, ecological and political / legal factors. By analyzing these factors, an image of the landscape in which the problem occurs will be rendered.
METHOD & THEORY
• Evaluating existing products and solutions.
Existing products and solutions can be utilized to get a better understanding of the problem as well as sub-problems and in which different ways they can be solved. The existing solutions will be evaluated to judge their effectiveness in solving the problem, which includes a strengths and weaknesses analysis. Investigating these products provides additional inspiration for generating ideas for new concepts as well as concepts which incorporate and improve upon existing solutions.
• Understanding the target group (qualitative and quantative)
Before generating ideas and developing concepts, various data collection methods have been used to get in touch with people making up the target groups. This is done to get a better understanding of their characteristics and motivations. These methods are essential tools for gathering information which is not obtainable via desk research.
• Visitor feedback
A unique advantage of the company, in which the product will be developed, is it being a museum. This provides the opportunity to interact with visitors on a daily basis. Different forms of collecting information will be applied discover and analyze what the visitors knowledge base is about the issue and its implications. Especially during the first stages of a project, this information will be useful to generate more specific questions for future interviews.
• Interviews
Interviews are an effective means for gathering personal information from target group participants. The most direct way of discovering who the users are, is is to engage them in a conversation. Applying this method during the early design stages is crucial for understanding their problems, needs or wishes. The interviews will be held face to face and can be conducted individually as well as in groups. A list of questions will be generated beforehand based on the results from the desk research, serving as a guideline for the interview. This allows for a structured conversation while still providing the freedom for a more dynamic approach, which might bring forward answers to questions which had not been foreseen while planning the interview. • Survey
Surveys in the shape of online forms are a less personal and flexible approach to gathering information from the target group, however, they provide the opportunity to reach a large number of people. The questions prepared for the survey are of a more specific nature than the interview. The surveys results will be compared to the conclusions from the interviews to identify similarities or differences. By reaching a larger amount of people it is possible to distinguish characteristics between people with different backgrounds, different ages or sex and to discover trends. This makes it possible to design concepts according to the requirements of the broad mass.
• Design specifications:
After having spoken to the target group, a clear image of a typical user, including his needs wishes, expectations and limitations can be rendered. These results in combination with design models, which intend to explain the challenges one faces when designing for a specific target group, serve as the base for a series of design specifications unique to the target group.
• List of requirements and wishes:
The list of requirements and wishes serves as a guideline for any further steps and design choices. This list consists of the specifications, analyzed and defined in the previous stages, which have been translated into measurable parameters. Exact or adaptable values provide a clear target for further design and evaluation. These specifications may include values which can be related to functional performance, human factor, physical requirements, reliability, lifecycle concerns, manufacturing/assembly, cost requirements, and others. A second list of concept-specific requirements and wishes will be set up once a concept choice has been made. Both lists together will function to monitor the steps and final outcome of the chosen concept and the project in general.
Conceptual design
The results of the previous phase will have provided enough data to proceed to generating ideas and developing concepts. Once a series of concepts has been produced, the list of requirements and wishes will provide the necessary information with which the concepts can be compared and evaluated.
• Concept generation:
A few tools for generating ideas will be applied during the conceptual design phase, to simplify the search for ideas and to ensure that a wide range of possible solutions will be found. The tools will include brainstorming sessions, analogies, framing and a morphological
analysis.
• Brainstorming:
Brainstorming is utilized to generate as many basic ideas as possible. The aim of this process is to generate a vast pool of different ideas which can be elaborated further in following stages of the concept generation phase. It is therefore of importance to not think in limits or already start to compare or evaluate the ideas, as this might hinder the creative process. The results from the target group and product investigation can serve as inspiration for the brainstorm sessions. The results will be captured as simple sketches, written bullet points or short explanations.
• Analogies:
Similar in purpose to the market research, the analogy tool aims at exploring how
a problem can be solved in other ways. This may refer to products, services or any solutions which accomplishes comparable tasks.
• Framing:
During this period the design thinking method based on Guido Stompff’s workshops will be applied for concept generation. These “pressure cookers” sessions consist of one day of analyzing a specific sub-problem as well as creating ideas and developing a final solution for such, including a prototype. Every frame provides a different angle from which a problem can be approached and solved. The different sub-problems have been established during previous brainstorming sessions.
• Morphology:
Most products incorporate multiple functions. Each function or sub-problem can usually be solved in many ways. For example, fixing an object to a wall could be achieved with screws, nails, glue etc. The morphology tool compares and visualizes these different solutions to each sub-problem, which then can be chosen and combined to a final, most suitable concept.
• Concept evaluation:
After the development of multiple different concepts, they will be evaluated and and scored depending on how well they satisfy the requirements. The main tool for coming to a conclusion which concept is the most suitable and therefore will be elaborated further, is the list of requirements and wishes. The steps include requirement choice, defining their importance, grouping the requirements, as well as evaluating and choosing the right
concept.
• Choice of requirements:
Not all requirements and wishes will been chosen for comparison as some can be applied to all concepts and are equally important to them. Therefore they won’t help to distinguish and evaluate the independent concepts. To simplify the process these requirements will be excluded from the next steps.
• Evaluating importance:
As some of the chosen requirements may need more attention during the span of the project than others, it is essential to have a clear understanding of their importance. This can help to define resources & time management to ensure a high quality result. The requirements and wishes will be evaluated and compared to each other by arranging them in a matrix table, vertically and horizontally. If vertical requirements are more important compared to horizontal ones, they get scored with a 2. Should they be less important, they receive a 0. Equal importance gets scored with a 1. Requirements will always outweigh wishes. The total amount of received points can be added up for each vertical requirement. The requirement with the most points are the most important.
The project management triangle is used to analyze or understand the factors and challenges that may arise when working on a project and developing a product. Three main constraints are essential for every project. These are: time, resources and scope. The requirements and wishes will be categorized according to these three constraints. This helps to reduce the amount of requirements and simplifies the next step which is concept evaluation.
• Evaluating the concepts
The concepts will be evaluated and scored depending on how well they satisfy the requirements for each constraint. The maximum amount of points per constraint is 4, the lowest 0. Depending on the importance of the requirements, every constraint from the project management triangle will be assigned a certain factor. This factor is based on the results of the matrix scheme and the importance of the requirements themselves. These factors have been distributed from 1 to 3 (less important to most important). The score will be calculated and displayed in percentage relative to a maximum score.
• Choice of concepts
The three constraints will be grouped into two categories. The first group is time and resources as they heavily contribute to the feasibility of the project. The second group consists of scope which is made up of other, more diverse requirements. The scores are added and the percentage recalculated.
Each concept will be visualized and positioned in a graph, according to their score. The y-axis symbolises time and resources, the x-axis scope. An area of approval and dismissal has been integrated, as each concept should at least score 50% for each constraint to be considered.
Concept development
Once a suitable concept has been determined, it is possible to develop it further into a manufacturable product. A few constraints and parameters, resulting from additional concept specific research and target group investigation affect the design choices made during this phase. The results will be applied to fully plan and define the concept.
• Additional research
Additional research will be conducted to provide answers to more specific questions which are essential to detail the final concept. Technical challenges related to material choice, production and cost will be investigated and analyzed.
The second workshop by Guido Stompff consisted of an introduction to conducting research and effective methods for interviewing. Discussed were contextual inquiries and customer journeys.
• A contextual inquiry is a human centered design research approach for interviewing. It is an personal, one-on-one interaction between the researcher and the user. The
researcher observes the user during the course of his normal activities. Simultaneously the researcher asks questions about those activities which will be discussed and explained. This can bring forward information which can not be acquired during a traditional interview.
• The customer journey tool will be used to analyze the individual steps a customer goes through while purchasing a product. The customer journey examines and helps to visualize all points of contact (touchpoints) of a consumer with a brand, a product or a service. Like this a conclusion can be drawn as to which steps of the user experience could be improved.
• Target group definition
After having defined the aim and scope of the concept, a variety of classification tools and user models can be applied to further narrow down the target group. Socio-cultural and trend models as well as different consumer type models will be applied to define and understand the concept specific target group and their characteristics, including demands and wishes.
• Additional constraints and factors
When designing and developing a solution for a specific group it is of uttermost importance to get familiar with the factors that may play a crucial role whether or not the solution will eventually be accepted by such group. Next to data collection through interviews and surveys, various technology acceptance models and models concerning the perception of usefulness and effectiveness play an important role in this. Human-product interaction has to be investigated as well, based on perception and use. These findings will be incorporated into the design process and will influence the design decisions.
• IST and SOLL
IST and Soll (German for “is and shall”) is a tool to clarify the current situation including the problem and its causes compared to the ideal situation which is intended to be produced by making use of the developed product. This provides a clear sketch of what the product is intended to do, and how this can be achieved.
• Value proposition & Business Model Canvas
Defining the value proposition of a concept or product, which is a part of developing a business strategy, will be applied to determine what the exact benefits of the product are, how they can be acquired and how they are experienced by the prospective customers when using the product. This statement outlines the measurable benefits the customer gets and helps to demonstrate why one product is better than another. The value proposition of a product is the result of analyzing benefits, cost and resulting value. Benefits - Cost = Value. This statement will be incorporated into the business model canvas, a strategic management tool for developing and documenting business models, introduced during a workshop with… from the Brightlands Innovation Factory in Heerlen. The business model canvas will help define and visualize the concepts value proposition, infrastructure, customers and finances. It will generate a better understanding of the feasibility of the
Product development
After the final concept has been elaborated, a prototype can be developed. An essential step is the definition of a set of elemental design factors which influence the realisation of the product. These parameters are: The form of the product, the required materials and the production. Together they result in a product which is intended to carry out a specific function. The prototypes will serve as a tool for user testing and concept evaluation during later stages.
• Product evaluation
During the final phase, the developed prototype will be evaluated and improved using different tools. The results obtained during this phase will contribute to improving each iteration to satisfy the requirements and wishes, resulting in the best possible result. This phase will include usertesting as well as production and material evaluation according to the “design for” tools.
• User testing
Target group user testing and acquiring user feedback will generate insights and data only obtainable in collaboration with the intended user. Personal experiences and criticism provided by the target group are necessary for discovering which elements of the product can be improved to finalize it and deliver a solution most suitable for solving the problem.
• List of requirements and wishes
Modeling tools, communication and visualisation
methods
Concept modeling and product prototyping can be achieved with various tools. Just like prototypes, different communication and visualisation methods can be applied to inform or persuade the involved parties about an idea or concept.
• Forms of communication
The different forms of visualisation, introduced during a workshop with Guido Stompff, will be applied according to the current design phase and intended results . A difference has to be made between communication within a team (internal) and communication towards others, such as the users, the client or other parties (external). Also having to be considered, is whether one aims to inform or to persuade. This results in four categories which need a different approach to visualisation. From simple low-fi sketches, sufficient to communicate the essence of the idea to hi-fi renders which aim to display the concept as realistic as possible.
METHOD & THEORY
• Software
A variety of Software will be utilized to generate accurate 3D models. Computer Aided Design (CAD) tools such as Solidworks, Meshlabs, Meshmixer and Acura provide the opportunity to quickly add, delete or alter model components. High fidelity concept visualisations can be generated, which in combination with technical drawings serve as a guideline for physical prototypes.
Other software, such as Indesign, Photoshop and Illustrator will be used to generate posters, flyers, and other forms of visualisation to communicate with all involved parties.
• Physical prototypes
Physical concept modeling can be realised in different manners, forms and level of accuracy. Prototypes will be generated to explain and clarify the physical characteristics, functions and mechanisms of a concept. Depending on the stage of the project the models will be produced with a specific fidelity. These can reach from simple foam, paper or wire constructions to 3D-printed models with a high quality finish. Compared to early prototypes the ones produced in the final phase of the project may incorporate all intended product functions.
RESEARCH
Articles Forums Products
General infor about the topic, the problem and its causes.
User experiences about the topic, products, services and solutions.
Market research into products and gadgets.
Research directions:
To get familiar with the topic, the issue and its implications, research has been done in three directions.
Specific research has been conducted into the the role of organisations and various campaigns. The goal is to get an overview of the actions taken by the government and other instances. In addition a market analysis of existing solutions and services, which tackle the issue from different angles, has been set up.
Organisations:
There are a number of organisations and campaigns which have devoted their effort mainly on sharing knowledge, spreading information and educating people.
Other organisations are care groups such as the client of this project and insurances which approach the topic from a therapeutic standpoint. They aim to rehabilitate patients and provide them with medical solutions.
• Nationale Hoorstichting • Stichting Hoormij
Campaigns:
Most campaigns focus on making the issue more public and better known. They are usually the result of the collaboration between various organisations and organisers of events, especially concerts and festivals. Familiarizing the target group with the possible consequences of recreational noise exposure is their main target.
• I love my ears • Love to hear
Companies and their products:
Various companies have elaborated and designed diverse solutions with the ambition to either educate, empower and protect, rehabilitate or assist the user in his daily life. This research will mainly focus on the educational tools as well as the commodities which are tailored to empower the user to protect himself, as it is the aim of this project to inform about and prevent the issue; not to rehabilitate once hearing impairment has been obtained. The range of available products vary from low-budget to high-end, with different form and function. Products with significant differences have been summarized below.
• Thunderplugs - Simple in ear solution. The company is very present on many festivals and venues.
• Knops - A unique design feature lets the user change the level of noise reduction with the turn of a button.
• Noizezz - The company features a vast variety of hearing protection. From simple earplugs to custom fitted hearing protection.
• Decibullz - This product lets the user fit the hearing protection to his ear shape by heating up the outer part of the earplugs and making them shapeable.
• Music Pro - This device can electronically switch through different levels of noise reduction. It’s also able to amplify outside sounds which are recorded through an integrated microphone.
• Decibrace - The decibrace lets the user detect the noise volume level surrounding him (measured in dB)
• Basslet - The basslet uses vibrating frequencies to let the user experience bass through feeling rather than hearing it.
• Apps - Mobile apps may come in the form of hearing protection, hearing loss simulation, hearing test and ear education apps. Prominent hearing protection apps are - Sound log, Sound Meter+ and Hear Angel
Thunderplugs Decibrace Basslet Decibullz Loop Knops Noizezz Music Pro
15€
30€
50€
100€
250€
DATA COLLECTION
Before generating ideas and developing concepts, various data collection methods have been used to get in touch with people making up the target groups to get a better understanding of their characteristics and motivations. These methods include:
• The opportunity for written feedback from Cube visitors to a personal question.
• A visitor hearing experience with the opportunity for an interview or written feedback to three questions about their impressions.
• Hearing test with subsequent in-person interview about the topic in general and peronal background.
• Online survey.
The goals and objectives are to discover the behaviours and habits of the target group, regarding the exposure to recreational noise at venues and through headphones. The following main questions were created before hand:
• What meaning does hearing have for people? • How do people perceive tinnitus or hearing loss?
• How frequently does the target group engage in recreational noise exposure? • How informed is the target group of the issue and possible consequences? • What actions are being taken to avoid the negative consequences?
• What experience does the target group have with the negative consequences?
• How are the different forms of hearing protection being perceived by the target group? • What are the positive and negative aspects of hearing protection as perceived by the
users.
TARGET GROUPS
Primary target group
The primary target group consists of people aged 25 years or younger. They can also be referred to as generation Z. They are usually digital natives, having grown up with the internet, the smartphone and strongly communicate through social media. Amongst other forms of media, they consume and share music digitally. The technological advances and current trends of today are a normality to most of them.
Secondary target group
The secondary target group consists of people older than 25 years of age. Especially people belonging to the generation Y. The generation Y is very racially and ethnically diverse. They seem to be more flexible and adaptive to change in fashion, style and consciousness. They are very sophisticated, familiar with technology and keep searching for new solutions.
Tertiary target group
The project is also aimed at parents, teachers, and role models, as they have the ability to strongly influence the generation the younger generations, especially the youth under 18.
INVOLVING THE VISITORS
Poster question & feedback
To kick-off the topic and involve the museum visitors into the process of creating ideas and giving feedback, a poster has been created which encouraged each visitor to find a personal answer to the question: “What does hearing mean to you?” The visitors could write down a few words or sentences on a poster. The answers were then grouped into four categories. These are: Experience, Orientation, Communication and Connection. According to the number of answers in each category a graph has been created to display the order of importance of each group.
It becomes clear that hearing means much more to people than simply communicating with each other. It is an essential sense for experiencing a situation and feeling part of it. The most practical quality, to orientate oneself, seems to be the least important. This goes hand in hand with a quote by Helen Keller who stated that:
“Blindness seperates people from things; deafness separates people
from people.”
Experiencing
Feeling connected
Communication
Orientation
Experiencing hearing damage & visitor Interviews
To further engage the visitors, two audio files were created which let the visitors experience different forms of hearing impairment. One audio file simulated the various possible sounds of tinnitus while the second one let the user hear in the same way people with high frequency hearing loss do, which is the most common and usually first occuring type of hearing damage.
The goal of this user experience test was not only to educate and inform the visitors but also to receive insights about their current knowledge base concerning the dangers of excessive noise exposure. The experience made an impression as most users very much disliked the idea of having to deal with hearing damage, especially tinnitus. It was interesting to see that many users had a wrong idea about what hearing loss truly sounds like. A great deal of people imagined hearing loss to be an overal decrease in volume, while the actual expereince can vary from patient to patient. In many cases some specific frequencies will be less audible resulting in the loss of certain sounds or spoken words, not simply the overall volume.
Experience
INTERVIEWS & HEARING TESTS
Hearing test results
To get a better picture of the people making up the target group, interviews have been conducted. This brought forward a better understanding of their knowledge about the issue, their background as well as past and current actions taken or not taken to prevent noise induced hearing loss. In addition to the interview each person was given the same hearing test to find out whether a link could be found between their actions and their hearing ability. Four of the twelve people interviewed claimed to be using hearing protection. One of them using cheap foam earbuds, two people using earplugs with an acostic filter and one person regularly wearing customized hearing protection. Half of the people are pictured below, also displaying whether or not they use hearing protection and if so what type. Three of the test results are additionally visualized in a graph. This includes the best, the worst as well as an average result. Frequency (Hz) 500 1000 5000 8000 0 5 10 Loss ( dB )
Marc, 30 years old. “Music has been part of my life for as long as I can remember”. During his late childhood he started playing bass guitar in a punk band with whom he frequently rehearsed. In his twenties he started going to musical venues and festivals regularly. When he’s away from home he usually listens to music through headphones. He stated that some friends have noticed him listening to music at very high volume on his headphones but to him it feels normal. He is sure that his hearing must have declined since childhood, especially due to playing hours of loud music with the band in a small rehearsal room. He sometimes hears tinnitus sounds, which usually seem stress related and disappear again.
Marc suspected his hearing to not be as good as it could have been without “band practice”. For his age he scored slightly below
Dieuwke, 28 years old, “I have always been worried about my hearing”. Dieuwke plays the bass guitar as well as the piano. She still frequently makes music and enjoys spending time at concerts and festivals. A year ago she decided to get a professional hearing test as she was worried that her hearing ability could have declined as a result of frequent music exposure. She stated that the hearing test results were good. However, she also decided to get custom hearing protection made. She usually carries them around in a small pouch in her purse. She feels safer knowing that she can protect her ears at all times and still be able to enjoy the music, without any short or long term consequences.
Dieuwke expected that her hearing was fine as she had just got it tested year back. On the newly performed hearing test hear hearing ability was very good for her age.
Sander, 33 years old, “I never thought about protecting my ears”. Sander has been making electronic music for many years. He uses his laptop and usually listens to his compositions through headsets. This can happen for many hours at a time. He stated that protecting his ears has never been an issue for him although he is aware of the consequences. In his opinion he listens to music at an acceptable volume level as setting it too high feels unpleasant to him. However, he has experienced a ringing in his ears more than once after visiting different venues. Due to the fact that the ringing has always disappeared after a few hours, this has never been a source of concern for him.
Sander wasn’t sure what to expect from the hearing test as he hasn’t got his ears checked for many years. His hearing ability turned out to be average compared to people of his age.
The results of the hearing test and interviews of the three people visualized in the graph, have been summarized below.
ONLINE SURVEY
Do you have the impression that your hearing has decreased since your child-hood?
For how long a day do you listen to music through headphones? (average)
Have you ever experiences a unpleasant feeling in your ears dude to the music being too loud?
How many times have you experienced a ringing in your ears after visiting a club, concert or festival?
How many times have you experienced a (temporary) decrease in hearing ability is after visiting a place with high volume levels?
Have you ever considered a (temporary) decrease in hearing ability or tinnitus to be an early sign for (possible) permanent hearing damage?
In addition to the interviews an online survey has been sent to people part of to the primary and secondary target group. This brought forward valuable insights about the motivation and habits. It helped to render a better image of their willingness to adopt a certain behaviour and the responsible factors. Comparisons may be made between different age groups as well as men and women. The findings visualised below are extracted from the survey sections which aim to investigate the target groups awareness of the negative consequences of recreational noise exposure and their opinion about as well as experience with hearing protection.
According to the survey, many young adults have experienced different temporary side effects as result of exposure to loud music. The most common are a ringing in the ears after a concert, which 55% have experienced five times or more. 20% of the people have experienced a decrease in hearing ability five times or more. But only 70% of these people consider these symptoms a early sign for possible permanent damage.
Two thirds of all people quatstioned have experience with hearing protection. Almost everyone who has considered using hearing protection has used ear plugs at least once as well . About half of those people have used foam ear plugs without acoustic filter, 45% have used ear plugs with an acoustic filter and 5% have purchased custom moulded hearing protection.
The people have stated that bad sound quality, an uncomfortable fit or the inability to wear them properly due to the shape of the earbuds are the main reasons why they don’t protect their ears regularly. With over half of the people having used ear plugs which are not designed for listening to music (foam plugs), it comes at no surprise that sound quality and fit have been named as most important features to improve. However, ear plugs with silicon tips don’t seem to satisfy all users either. Another reason is that people don’t want to look different. Considering that the exact appearance of ear plugs seem to be the least important feature which people would like to improve, one can conclude that shape and colour only play a minor role in how hearing protection is being perceived. Hearing protection in general is still stigmatised as a unusual product amongst many young adults, no matter the looks.
Have you ever considered getting hearing
protection earplugs? Have you ever used hearing protection earplugs?
What kind of earplugs have you used?
How much would you spend on earplugs with good sound quality and a nice fit?
If you don’t wear hearing protection earplugs, which of the following statements apply to you?
If you could revise hearing protection earplugs, what aspects would you improve?
Sound quality Comfort & fit Lower price Appearance Availability
3
1
1 2 32
4
5
Bad sound quality
I don’t want to look weird Earplugs with acoustic filter Not comfortable / won’t fit Foam earplugs
Brainstorming
During the early stage of the Ask phase, brainstorming sessions were held with the goal to determine what was known about the topic, the issue and possible solutions. Here other students were invited to contribute ideas which helped to get a broader outlook on the matter as well as receiving feedback on self generated content. During this process a few categories were determined, which were to be researched further and helped to create the frames portrayed in the following section.
GENERATING IDEAS
Framing
Following the Design Thinking workshop, six frames were created over the span of two weeks. The goal of each “pressure cooker frame” was to go through the complete design process from orientation, through ideation to concept development and prototyping within one day. The days were split into these four design stages, providing two hours per phase. Each frame aims at generating one concept. Five diverse sup-topics have been chosen, tackling the issue from a different angle. These topics and results of the frames are listed below.
1. Popularity: Protecting one’s ears has to become normal and a prominent topic. 2. Creating awareness about the issue.
3. Technological solutions.
4. The accessibility of products, solutions and services.
FRAME 1
Protecting one’s ears has to become normal and a prominent
topic
While anti-alcohol, drug and smoking campaigns including special information days for children and their parents are present at almost every school today, hearing protection remains a topic less known and outspoken. The first frame focussed on finding a solution to not only creating awareness about the issue but also to transform the use of hearing protection into a normal and common act.
In order for a person to adapt a certain behavior it is not only necessary for such person to understand why it should participate, it can also be of great advantage if the person has received an introduction to the issue at an early age, as most behaviours and attitudes are being imprinted then. A good example is that most people understand the importance of brushing one’s teeth, eating healthy and are aware of the positive effects physical exercise can have. Not everyone chooses to engage in these practices but many people understand the implications. This understanding is important for action in the first place.
The developed concept, which is targeted at children and their parents is aimed at making learning about the function of the ear and the consequences of excessive noise exposure a fun topic. The goal is to introduce the issue at an early age through a playful way which should make it easy for the parents or teachers to bring across the information and motivate the children to learn about it.
Its contents are:
• A short booklet for the parents or teachers with information about the topic.
• A fun book for children which explains the function of the ears and the importance for protecting it against excessive noise.
• A memory game which lets the children memorize and answer questions about the topic.
• A keychain.
• A pair of hearing protection headphones for parents and children. • A voucher for an event at a venue of choosing.
FRAME 2
Creating awareness about the issue
The survey has indicated that 94% of the people aged 30 years or younger have experienced a ringing in their ears at least once after visiting locations where loud music is being played. One third of them have experienced noise induced tinnitus ten times or more. About one third of the target group has experienced a temporary loss of hearing ability after visiting such venues more than three times. These effects usually last up to 12 hours after the exposure to noise has ended. People notice these effect but are unaware that they might increasingly last longer or get worse each time. In addition not everyone is aware that this could be an early sign for permanent hearing damage.
Creating awareness about a topic, its effects and possible consequences are at the foundation of stimulating and driving a change of attitude in a person. Various awareness campaigns through collaboration with famous artists have been trying to communicate the importance of protecting one’s ears and the consequences of recreational noise exposure to young adults. Although this has helped to create momentum for a positive change, many people remain unimpressed by the issue. One of the most effective ways of convincing someone is through personal experience. A personal experience can have far greater impact on motivating a shift of mindset than information received from a third party, second handedly. How can a person experience the negative side effects of recreational noise exposure with the aim to overthink his behaviour? The concept intends to educate people in this regard.
The concept is a small device, attached to a keychain, which lets the user test his hearing, one ear at a time. The product is intended to be used before going to and after having visited a place where loud music is being played. Like this the user can evaluate his hearing and compare it to different situations (before and after). The quality of the audio files and output volume are standardized, providing for true comparison. The device is connected to a mobile phone app, which visualizes the users test results. This makes it easy for the user to identify if, or how much his hearing is reduced after one night of being exposed to loud music and to log how much of it returns in the following hours or days. The results can also be compared to previous measurements, dating back further, to get a long term impression of the overall improvement or decline of the hearing. The app provides the user with general and more specific information about hearing loss. After each test a hearing age is displayed which compares the result
to the average human hearing ability at a certain age. The user can see how well he can hear different frequencies and gets a example of what real life sounds these are. For example people with high frequency hearing loss can experience trouble hearing birds or a child’s voice. The personal experience supported by concrete data and examples should make the consequences of recreational noise exposure more tangible to the user and should therefore have a deeper impact on his behaviour.
FRAME 3
Technological solutions
The third frame focussed on finding a solution which could be realised through modern technology or mechanics. Hereby taking a closer look at current solutions and services to analyze their weaknesses and strengths. 90% of the people who were asked during the survey stated that they listen to music through headphones or earbuds each day. 75% of the people listen to headphones for up to at least 30 minutes and 40% for durations above one hour. It becomes apparent that a large number of young adults carry around headphones on a daily basis. The target groups are also more likely to spend more money on headphones than on hearing protection ear plugs. According to a study conducted in 2016, which investigated the trend in headphone and earbud sales, concluded that 62% of young adults were willing to spend more than 50 euros for headphones but only 10% were willing to spend the same amount on hearing protection.
The concept aims at combining headphones/earbuds for music with hearing protection ear plugs. The idea is to design earbuds which play music and include an audio filter to decrease outside volume., when necessary. Rather than purchasing two separate products the user can choose to get one product instead which therefore cuts back on required materials, production and thus can be sold for a lower price. The earbud version with added sound filter can be bought for a small additional charge, compared to the standard music version without sound filter. This should eliminate the threshold to purchase additional hearing protection which gets generated by a financial challenge. This concept also improves the ease of use and ensures that hearing protection will be brought along most of the time.
FRAME 4
The accessibility of products, solutions and services
The accessibility of solutions and services play an important role in their adoption. Ideally the process of obtaining a product should not be perceived as a challenge and therefore has to be be clear to the intended user from the beginning to end. This procedure should not constitute the rise of doubt and thus demotivate the user topurchase a product. This frame investigates current solutions and services to determine which possible improvements can be made to further motivate the user to accept a solution.
The survey indicates that half of the people who have experience with hearing protection have used simple foam earbuds which cancel most of the sound and therefore decreasing the overall experience significantly. 45% have used earbuds with sound filters and only 5% have bought custom molded ear plugs which ensure a good fit. It is therefore no surprise that the main reason why people don’t use hearing protection more frequently is the decrease in sound quality. When taking a look at the 50% of the users who have used higher quality hearing protection with superior sound quality, comfort and fit become a more essential demand. 60% of the users have indicated that they are willing to pay up to 30 Euros for well fitted hearing protection with good sound quality, of those one third are willing to pay up to 50 Euros.
Custom mold hearing protection provide a superior fit and are more comfortable to wear for many hours as they are molded to every ear channel individually. They also provide the most realistic sound quality by simply reducing the overall volume and not changing the different frequencies, leaving the sound image unaltered. However, there are a few reasons why this solution is not as popular as the other two. The main reason is price, starting at 100 Euros. This is mainly generated by the many steps and professionals involved, from taking the mold to production. Appointments with a professional have to be made for getting the mold taken. This is generally achieved by admitting a hardening paste into the ears. Subsequently this mold can be removed and will be sent to another company which 3D-scans the mold, produces the ear plugs and sends them to the customer. This process can take up to three weeks or longer.
The concept can be seen more as a service than as a new product. Combining new and proven technology into a smooth user experience by eliminating or improving various tedious or cost intensive steps. The aim is to offer custom molded hearing protection at festivals. With the application of a handheld 3D scanner the process of getting a 3D model of the ears taken can be accomplished
within just two minutes. This model can then be altered through 3D modelling software instantly and 3D printed on the spot, just minutes later. This dramatically improves the ease with which custom ear plugs can be manufactured, reduces production time and cost as well and thus causes accessibility to rise. The customer can enjoy himself at the festival while the product is being manufactured and can then return to pick up his earplugs.
FRAME 4
Hearing protection should lose its negative image and motivate
young adults to use it
Associating a product with a certain image is the result of many factors and can’t be achieved simply by the product itself. The reputation of the company behind the product, its message to the world, the user and recognizability, just to mention a few, can have a great impact on the image of a product. A product does not simply have to provide a solution to a problem but has to provoke engagement from a specific target group. It is therefore important to understand for whom the product is intended, what the expectations and demands are and what further challenges arise when designing for this target group. When investigating what motivates young adults to use a solution it becomes evident that the ‘charm and charisma’ of the product can have just as much appeal to young adults as the understanding of usefulness and quality of the product itself.
As a result of this frame a ‘brand’ has been created. A brand name, slogan and logo with the intention to communicate a certain image and thus attract young adults. Part of this image is advertising hearing protection not as a form of minimizing the risk for noise induced hearing problems, which has a negative connotation, but as superior musical experience, which can only be perceived in a positive way, as it aims at providing more pleasure to the user.
CONCEPT EVALUATION
Secondly a set of requirements and wishes has been established. The personal preferences will be incorporated into this list.
After the development of five frames, a decision had to be made which concepts to chose for further elaboration. Firstly the concepts were scored based on perceived usefulness and personal interest, with marks from 1 to3.
The third step involves evaluating the requirements and wishes to compare their importance to each other. The requirements and wishes will be visualized and compared in a matrix.
The evaluated requirements and wishes can then be categorized into three constraints according to the Project Management Triangle. This visualises the relationship between resources, time and scope. Together they result in a certain quality of work.
After the requirements have been categorised with the Project Management Triangle, the Kesselring analysis can be utilized to assign points for every concept based on the requirements grouped in the three constraint.
After having evaluated the concepts, Scope, Time and Resources can be split into two groups for visualisation purposes.
List of requirements
& wishes
Visualisation &
Concept choice
Cetegorizing requirements
& wishes
Evaluating importance
Personal preference
Evaluating the concepts
The following section covers the results of the concept evaluation analysis. A full explanation of the list of requirements and wishes , the grouping into constraints (time, scope and resources) and the complete process of concept choice can be found in the appendix on page 88. The five concepts have been evaluatedand and scored depending on how well they satisfy the requirements for each constraint.This is visualized in the table below. A factor acording to the importance of each constraint has been assigned.
Factor 1 2 3 4 5 Max Time 3 12 9 3 9 12 12 Scope 2 2 8 6 8 4 8 Resources 1 4 3 1 3 4 4 Total 18 20 10 20 20 24 Total % 75% 83% 42% 83% 83% 100% Concepts
