Overview
Includesign expanded the market for its LapSnap inclusive shopping device to include users with limited upper limb mobility. I improved Includesign’s interviewing procedures, and then interviewed three potential product testers and created prototypes for them. I found that personalized adaptations were crucial, and Includesign made the decision to offer consultations for customized LapSnaps based on this insight.
original lapsnap shopping device
The problem
The LapSnap assistive shopping device was designed with wheelchair users in mind, but the product was not initially usable for people with limited upper limb mobility. I worked with the mentorship of Diana Perkins at includesign to conduct interviews with a new segment of users: people with limited upper limb mobility, including quadriplegia.
This work was started by Ilia Giokaris in the spring of 2022, where she interviewed three potential users and prototyped adapted LapSnap shopping devices that fit with their needs.
Building on Ilia's work, I made a plan to research the experience of wheelchair users with limited upper limb mobility, and to create prototypes and to test them. The goal was to develop and sell a version of the LapSnap for users with limited upper limb mobility.
Interview Script Redesign
I modified the structure, order, and content of the questions from the interview script for the exploratory stage of the design process for the original LapSnap.
Change: removed numeric rankings and replaced with open-ended questions
Impact: encouraged interviewees to tell stories and talk about their day-to-day experience in their own words. Widened the scope of possible answers to the question, which yielded information on topics that I would not have known to ask about.
Change: added participatory design question
Impact: closed the gap between research and design, letting the end users provide valuable suggestions and ideas based in firsthand experiences.
Prototyping Process
I developed prototypes for four product testers with different levels of upper limb mobility. Some of the variations that were accounted for based on the individual users included pinch strength, arm strength, and range and direction of mobility.
follow-up interview Script Redesign
Change: replaced question about frequency of use with open-ended question about typical use and atypical use of LapSnap
Impact: encouraged storytelling, interviewees remembered more unique instances of when they used the product and how well it worked
Change: edited wording of questions about user experience to remove negative bias
Impact: allowed interviewees to report on the positive and negative aspects of being a wheelchair user with limited upper limb mobility, which is key for the design of the product
Change: added an imaginative question, asking the user to describe the LapSnap to an alien from outer space
Impact: helped to uncover the user's mental map and categorization of the product and its functions
Change: added a "tour" of the product to the interview script, with guided questions to learn about how the product was being used.
Impact: enabled interviewer to check for dissonance between reported behavior and actual behavior, allowed for a level of usability testing during a video-conference interview
INSIGHTS
I conducted follow-up interviews with the prototype testers, and I found that LapSnap prototypes were usable and had several features in particular that worked well for all product testers, such as the thumb loops on the soft cover.
However, due to differences in people’s bodies many of the features that improved usability were specific to one user rather than generalizable. For example, one user needed stiff rings instead of soft loops on the internal brackets, and another user preferred pockets inside the LapSnap instead of outside due to the range of motion of her dominant arm. The product overall worked well for limited upper limb mobility testers, but the personalized adaptations were key to making the product usable and convenient.
BUSINESS IMPACT
Includesign now offers personalized consultations for users with limited upper limb mobility, giving them access to a previously untapped market segment.
