A washbasin for washing when seated. An example of a user-oriented development project: a study in systematic design...

This article describes an example of innovative product development. The development process possesses features which we believe are essential for encouraging innovation which is user oriented. One aim of this article is to show and discuss the multitude of activities required if the aim is not only to carry out ergonomic research but also to create innovations based on ergonomics principles. A further aim is to focus attention on some 'ergonomic' aspects of the innovation process itself. The description in the paper follows the sequential steps of the development model used. For each step a brief factual description is given. There is also a general discussion of methodological points. The project has resulted in a new and different product which is now successfully in commercial production. The concluding discussion contains a summary of the main methodological experiences and points. These are: A development project started from, and oriented towards, use and user problems can result in a product which is different from and functionally superior to those developed in more traditional ways. An ability to extract, handle and transform user experiences in systematic ways needs to be developed. Much user knowledge is now discarded as being unmanageable. Methods for the practical evaluation of prototypes at an early stage in development are missing and the potential of such work is neglected. Methods to describe the costs and benefits of ergonomics development can, and should be, used to supply arguments in favour of the product at hand.