Conclusion

This blog was created for the requirements of Human Computer Interaction II at the University of Birmingham. Our aim was to create a totally new product by using a User-Centered Design process. At an initial state we had our brainstorming session where many ideas were discussed and documented on the blog. Following that we had to specify an age group for whom the product was designated for.

Our team selected the group of elderly people of an age of 60+ and we discussed the various problems that this age group faced in their everyday life. Although many of the ideas were considered to be very helpful and innovative we had to select through voting, an idea to implement. The product to be implemented had to be one that would most benefit the group of elderly people that we had selected. The choice was made and the product we decided to develop was the Automatic Secateurs. Conducting a market research for similar products available in the market, we found out that although many products resembled our idea in some way, still no product existed that will take into consideration all the issues we discussed about the needs of the elderly.

The process of creating the product was dependent on a user-centered design and for that reason, due to the fact that we could not get in contact with persons of that age group, we created four personas. Our personas are based on entirely different characters from each other, so as to cover the needs of the elderly in a much more detailed and accurate manner. Each persona has its own advantages and limitations, and thus the interaction with the product was different for each one and unveiled different aspects of the design.

Creative Design was required from us to create an initial prototype according to the needs of the elderly. At the start of this process we had to make another choice. The purpose of the secateurs was clear, but in the group three different design approaches were suggested. After we had reached a decision of what was the most suitable design was in our case, some of the initial requirements for the tool were pointed out, as well as a task analysis, giving us a general idea to start with.

Through discussion and evaluation of the requirements, in the process of creative design, we successfully created our first prototype named EasyTrim. After conducting a critical appraisal of the current design features through the use of interaction scenarios and questionnaires, we arrived at some refinements for the tool. These refinements were implemented and the prototype was evaluated again using cooperative and heuristic evaluation techniques. Further refinements were achieved and the release of the product was a fact. An important factor such as ethics was also discussed in our group although the issues were limited due to the nature of our product.

We have managed to create EasyTrim using a user-centered design and we feel that we have achieved that at a large degree. Despite the great effort we had put in the creation of this product though, there will always be space for improvements. The limited amount of time we had though, was a restraining factor in further investigation of the requirements and needs of our user group and to the creation of an ever more successful tool.

Ethics

Designing a product should take into consideration any possible ethical issues related to the product's use. After discussing together with the group any possible ethical issues we have arrived to only one ethical issue, mainly due to the nature of our product.

EasyTrim is a gardening tool designed to ease the act of gardening. The tool should not be used in any way to result in the injury or death of any person, animal or living being. Although different safety measurements were created taking into account this issue, it is up to the end user whether the use of this tools will actually result to violate this conditions.