Web Posted on: August 24, 1998

Commercial Design For All (DFA)

Authors:
ir. Henk T.J. Janssen
ir. Herman van der Vegt
Indes Industrial Design Engineering BV
P.O.Box 121 7550 AC Hengelo
The Netherlands
Tel: +31-250.36.35, Fax: +31-250.36.45
Email: herman.vandervegt@indes.nl

Summary

In the TIDE Homebrain project (DE3209) Design For All, as a development principle, has been applied to develop home automation applications. This paper will address the approach of DFA and the application in a commercial environment.

Introduction With a large variety of people in any generic user group (e.g. elderly, disabled, children) it will become hard to design the optimum for all possible users. Not feasible due to economic reasons (e.g. development costs, time) nor due to usability reasons (e.g. ease of use).

Information/knowledge on trends in the market, and (future) target group demographics, combined with an economical price target derived from competitor systems or market areas, are input for a well balanced choice of the development direction.

However this might be a pre-assumption without a watertight garantee of success. Of course everybody wants to make things better, with a maximum on 'ease of use' and 'peace of mind'. How can DFA contribute in an efficient way?

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Definition of DFA

During recent years the DFA buzzword appeared. The characteristics of an acronym like DFA are: widely accepted, but with more or less fixed definitions in every application field.

Amongst experts in the field of product development, technology development and TIDE different explanations do tend to occur. So what is DFA?

DFA = accessible for all (all extremes)?

DFA = design focus on special user group, carefully chosen to benefit other user groups (special extreme)?

DFA = involvement of every stakeholder in the product life cycle (no extreme)?
In short food for thought and confusion.

A sound definition has been presented by Trace Centre [1]:

DFA is the process of creating products, services, and systems that are usable by people with the widest possible range of abilities, operating within the widest possible range of situations.

"Design for All" is the designing of products, services and systems so that they are flexible enough to be directly used, without assistive devices or modifications, by people with the widest range of abilities and circumstances as is commercially practical given current materials, technologies and market knowledge compatible with the assistive technology products that might be used by those who cannot efficiently access and use the products directly.

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DFA application

What does the word widest implicate for the product development?

It is unreasonable to design everything so that it can be used by everyone.

So it should be understood that 'for all' does not mean 'all of all'.

To produce special designs for each major consumer product to accommodate the different disability groups is not realistic. Especially Elderly consumer hate buying things advertised as 'for the Elderly'. Being classified as Elderly is not attractive. To reach the difficult market of the Elderly the development approach should be to design the product for the Elderly but market/advertise it for All.

Major emphasis during the design process is directed to solving the problems related to the end users of a product (see figure 1).

Figure 1: DFA target groups [2]

The development of Homebrain applications will create benefits for the product target groups.
Main target during the development are the Elderly & Disabled, but even within the target group Elderly, a clear user target group definition must be set to limit the infinite possibilities during the development process but also helps to keep the requirements focused.

Focus on a certain user group is not enough, involve these groups actively in the development process.
With a selected group of people (6-8) participating in an usability test of existing/competitor/concept products, very useful information can be gained. Useful information through careful selection of representative subjects.

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Commercial DFA

Commercial input helps focusing on making affordable products widely available through normal consumer channels, but might limit the infinite stream of product ideas and techno-solutions.

When setting your product direction (see also figure 2.):

Be realistic: a (Elderly + Disabled) product is a half solution. Design for the Elderly and make 'it' accessible for Elderly & Disabled. When usability, technology, efficiency, economics interfere too much with the possible (unique) benefits of the product, consider separating functionality between 2 products for the Elderly and the Disabled.
Be involved: better a test with a limited group of users than no test at all.

Be commercial: price points are crucial for commercial success, do not exclude this from your development but use it making basic technology decisions.

Be down to earth: avoid stigmatising products, the design focus should include a wider section then Elderly only.

Be targeted: a focus on extremes might create a non-workable situation, if too strict user requirements are applied it will become hard to find product solutions.

Be pragmatic: make a distinction between daily & non-daily use. E.g. products for the Elderly very often are programmed by relatives or professional installers.

Within the Homebrian project the development of applications aim for:

Ease of Use Meaning Ease of Use of daily tasks for all, and Ease of Use/Installation of non-daily tasks for a realistically selected group of users. For installation the aim will be on SIBVUH = Simple Installation By Voluntary Unskilled Helper [3].

DFA Design focus on Elderly (and VUH) & make the technology accessible for Disabled (link to existing assistive technology, co-ordination with EHS, OEM component).

Consumer product, widely available for 'special' group of users with benefits for all.
The approach of the different user groups is shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2: Homebrain target & test groups

Unique added value

After gathering the necessary information through user involvement and basic knowledge, the development direction should be guided by determining the unique added value of a product through describing the product and cognitive comforts that the future product must bring.

Cognitive comfort =
multi-accessible by different users (different user need different information using different interfaces/interaction), control strategies creating peace of mind (daily use <> non-daily use)

Product comfort =
multi-accessible by different technologies (modularity), up-gradable technology, and easy adaptation (configuration)

User involvement should be used to discover and validate these unique benefits. To create a overview Figure 3. shows a development process integrating the parameters to come to sound product solutions.

figure 3: Development process

By creating a product line vision through thorough market knowledge (marketing, technology, and costs) a clear user target & test group (not 'all' of 'all') tests of existing products (own & competitors) a product added value description user & design knowledge user involvement
it might become a possibility to bridge the gap between theory ('the use of DFA methodology') and commercial practice ('we want to market this').

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Literature:

[1] 'Universal Design: What it is and What it isn't ', (1996) Trace Centre, University of Wisconsin, USA (http://trace.wisc.edu/text/univdesn/what_ud.html)
[2] Homebrain DE 3209 'Internal Review Report', by Homebrain Consortium, version 4, 11 January 1998
[3] Homebrain Simple Installation by Voluntary Unskilled Helper, SIBVUH, APG project Note by D. Fanshawe and P. Hillier

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