Day 6-7: Back to the Basics

Posted on January 16, 2016

For one of the most inspiring assignments in the course, the class was presented with a case study of an elderly patient with limited working memory due to mild Alzheimer’s disease. The assignment, which was to design a comfortable chair for the patient to reduce fall risk, immediately created a sense of personal uncertainty; the case overview provided little information about the patient, disease or industry and the time constraint restricted the ability for students to conduct thorough literature reviews and market assessments. However, the activity proved to be an invaluable learning experience, as we were required to utilize our creativity and prior knowledge, rather than well-informed peer-review articles, to identify criteria and constraints, design the patient-specific product, build a prototype with paper and clay (see images here), and present our findings. In brief, whilst the activity was initially rather daunting, it supports the observation that confining yourself by expertise prematurely prevents the generation of potential solutions during the ideation phase of the design process. It is my hope that this experience will promote greater self-awareness as I engage in future design projects.

-MM

Saturday and Sunday: Reviewing the Biodesign Model

Posted on January 12, 2016

My personal understanding of human-centered design becomes exceedingly more complex as the course progresses. The assigned readings from Biodesign: The Process of Innovating Medical Technologies provides a business-minded perspective on the common engineering design tools many engineers are exposed to early in their careers. However, the Engineering Design Process (EDP), in my opinion, is hardly taught with the well-defined aim that Stanford’s Biodesign creators embed in their model. The Biodesign model offers users an organizational structure consisting of needs finding (i.e. identifying a strategic focus and behavioral observations) and needs screening (i.e. research, stakeholder analysis and market analysis), concept generation (i.e. methods and settings best suited for ideation and brainstorming sessions) and concept screening (i.e. addressing biases and objectively comparing solutions), strategy development (i.e. IP, regulation and process management) and business planning (i.e. competitive advantage, funding, sales and distribution). The Biodesign model may be easily applied to any technical and engineering field, as the concentration on business communication depicts the need for those in the field to understand how to market their ideas, write proposals, create technical specifications, coordinate teams, organize brainstorming sessions, engage listeners and obtain funding. Similarly, the J-Term course emphasizes the skills necessary for engineers to become design thinkers through the review of the complex model and the application of its steps in a hands-on environment.

Note: Stanford Biodesign has many instructional videos on their YouTube page. A few must-see and notable videos are:

• Problematic Needs Statements 
• Reflections from an Observation: Optimizing the Experience 
• Understanding a New Disease Area 
• IDEO: Deciding What to Work on After an Ideation Session 

Enjoy!

-MM

Day 3-5: Understanding Data Visualization and Design Critique

Posted on January 12, 2016

For the past few days, the course has focused on the concept of visualization. As a person who appreciates UX design, I assumed my understanding of data visualization would come instinctively; that was a mistake. In a dash to spare my ego, I investigated numerous articles and literature online to confirm my current methods of conceptualizing data visualization; instead, I uncovered several articles exposing my naivety: data visualization was not solely aesthetics – it involves a similar complex integration of functionality and accessibility as UX. Therefore, it was no surprise that during our mid-term presentations, a panelist suggested that I further emphasize information rather than graphics. In other words, the panelist suggested that I was not allowing my visuals to support the story I was telling. It is my hope that, with practice and guidance, these concerns will be addressed in the coming week as I prepare my final presentation.

-MM

Day 2: Going Blind

Posted on January 11, 2016

“The prospect of going blind terrifies me,” asserts Joseph Lovett, the film director of Going Blind and a storyteller battling glaucoma. Lovett’s story, in conjunction with six others, alludes to the psychological battle characteristic of a vision loss transition.   The storytellers range in their portrayals of psychosomatic adjustment – indicated by the shift from dubious statements such as, “I don’t want to be identified as a blind person,” to more experienced declarations such as, “You learn to use what you have.” Although Lovett did not indicate mental state of the storytellers, literature suggests 25%-45% of older individuals living with vision impairment express depressive symptomatology (Papadopoulos et al., 2014). Furthermore, there is an evident need for the collaboration between ophthalmologists and mental health professionals to ensure the physiological and psychological strain associated with impending blindness does not develop into depression, as literature suggests that this cyclical effect worsens functioning over time. Thus, for future films, the inclusion of specialists in mental health and patient counseling may improve the understanding of the correlation between depression and vision loss, as well as address concerns about the quality of life of those affected.

Notable Literature and Interesting Reads:

Day 1: Considering the Correspondence

Posted on January 5, 2016

I’ve spent several moments this evening thoughtfully reviewing the suggestions offered by my Personal Health Project (PHP) partner. I must (within the confines of a diary kept within reach) document the number of times work-related (succinctly defined as any activity not generally considered leisure) topics become the object of my thoughts during scheduled sleeping hours and document the amount of time they remain. In addition, I am to provide the length of time I am considered restless, as well as sleeping, with aims to uncover how stress levels influence my insomnia on a daily basis.

As a result of considering the implications of the PHP, it occurred to me that my partner’s methodology for acquiring measurements is comparable to an app on the market, Pacifica, which I downloaded a few weeks ago. Pacifica allows the user to choose their current mood, then select any specific feelings and detail the current situation they are facing. The goal, similar to my partner’s, is to discover patterns between stress and anxiety and sleep quality. However, the app gets little use (see images here) as in the mist of everyday activities, data collecting fades to the background on my priority list. Thus, it will be interesting to determine if and if so, how, the circumstance and ‘tried and true’ method of keeping a diary alleviates this hindrance.