Ben Alun-Jones

It’s been a packed couple of days at the TT Lifesciences 3rd Annual European Medical Device Human Factors and Usability Engineering Conference in Berlin 👩‍🔬 🔎 🏥. For those who were unable to join here are some of the key themes that stood out to me: 📊 Quantifying the Value of Human Factors (HF) The struggle to convince the C-Suite of the value of HF investment early in the design process still remains. While broader company training helps create allies and advocates for its use; companies like Coloplast are trying to quantify the value using bespoke tools which combine scores for usability, desirability and the System Usability Scale, to help put a number on it (with the holy grail being the actual ROI)! 🤖 The Transformative Impact of Generative AI Generative AI is fast evolving, and companies like Roche are embracing the benefits by enabling their teams to have easier access to their rich research data library in a more natural and human way (no more filtering in Excel!). But this is just the start, as Dominique Pfeiffer explained the medical device industry will be forced to keep up as new, more adaptive, user interfaces become available and validation becomes more complex – exciting times but some big risks & challenges! 🤗 Emotion and Experience While HF validation focuses on the safe and effective use of medical devices, everyone agreed on the need to create exceptional user experiences. But accurately capturing the emotional response remains tricky; Zahn Alexandra from Siemens Healthineers trialed the use of ‘mood monster’ characters to help children describe complex and conflicting emotions, while Barbara Koop from Philips highlighted the importance in truly understanding the state of mind that a user might be in when they use a device, especially when thinking fast. Thanks to all the presenters and the team at TT Lifesciences for a great show. I’m sure PDD will be returning next year! #HumanFactors #MedicalDevices #Innovation

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Worth revisiting this article on the lessons of building products for mixed realities. https://lnkd.in/eaneMUK7 #design #designthinking #designbuild #designstrategy #product #producctdesign #productmanagement #productstrategy #designprinciples #innovation #designers #digitaltransformation #ux #uxdesign #uiux #uidesign #designinnovation #application #software #softwaredesign #usability #userresearch #research #usercentereddesign #productleadership #uxwriting #designsystems #empathy #interfacedesign #usabilitytesting #userexperience #productdesign #accessibility #ui

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Great #design and #engineering work by Jason Cooper & the Team at PA Consulting in Boston! Read teh full story at the link below

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Explore more design options in less time with generative design: Generative design is turning the traditional design paradigm on its head. Conventional design methods rely on a "model then analyze" iterative cycle, but in generative design, the product designer first identifies the necessary design space and design goals. #siemensnx #nxcad #ugnx #nxreseller #coimbatore #bangalore #chennai #engineering #automotive #tech #cadcam #nxusers

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🗣️ I did a podcast with Chris Whyte for his series - Design Journeys. I talk about my career, why I love inclusive design, how I got into it and even about a powerful woman as a source of inspiration for why I got into it - my mother. Check it out at the link below 👇🏼 #productdesign #inclusivedesign #podcast

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One of the great highlights from my feed recently, this tool is superb... https://lnkd.in/eHM_DRPj Particularly enjoy the arrows showing the flow. Information is power, in this instance power is literally information, and it's completely fascinating to see how it flows. For the aspiring Bo owners out there, when I took this image 580MW were exporting from West Denmark to the UK. That means every hour enough energy to charge 965,000 Bo M (fully!) was arriving. That's equivalent to 48 million Bo kilometres of riding. For context, that is approximately the distance to Mars at point of planetary alignment.

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Hello World: I'm swinging for the fences on this one; digging into past Human Factors thinking to form a better choice framework for integrating AI. If you're at all interesting in AI, society, psychology and human meaning I'd suggest taking a look. 🤖 Our rapid decisions about the place of AI in our society feel like foreclosures on the inevitable fate of humanity; abandoning human labour for AI. After all, these robotic tools are faster, tireless, and unrelenting in the face of uncertainty. 📣 But neither unconditional advocacy or complete avoidance of AI are the right approach. We need better frameworks to understand when and how AI should support human behaviour. ⚙ To find a better model I’ve dug into thirty-year-old theories of automation, explored the psychology of supervisory control, considered automation accidents and tried to find the essence of what it means to make choices about automation. Join me in this first part of a multi-part exploration of making better and more rational choices about AI automation. https://lnkd.in/gq7PnGkb #HCD #humanetechnology #peoplethentechnology #AI #automation #humanfactors

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Very interesting and pertinent reflection on the screen age and what's coming next. https://lnkd.in/evuxQgKm #design #designthinking #designbuild #designstrategy #product #producctdesign #productmanagement #productstrategy #designprinciples #innovation #designers #digitaltransformation #ux #uxdesign #uiux #uidesign #designinnovation #application #software #softwaredesign #usability #userresearch #research #usercentereddesign #productleadership #uxwriting #designsystems #empathy #interfacedesign #usabilitytesting #userexperience #productdesign #accessibility #ui

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There is so much discussion about how to measure the impact of research, which is often a request to manage uncertainty without having to understand it or concede to it. The way to evaluate whether design research is effective or worthwhile, is to look at the quality of the decisions it informs. It all distills to "Did this work contribute to significantly better decisions?". So this begs the question, how do you evaluate the quality of a decision and tease out its contributing factors? Research is the power to ask questions. Design is the power to make decisions and choices. Unless your organization is managed to a coherent, evidence-based strategy, these practices are always going to be the loci of power struggles.

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I am happy to share a new editorial on Translational Design I co-authored with Rowan Page Leah Heiss Rosie Hornbuckle. As many of you know, I have dedicated the last decade to advancing design knowledge at the intersections with other fields that influence the well-being of people and the planet. Examples of fields include but are not limited to nursing, public health, industrial ecology, environmental science, sociology, anthropology, data science, management, business, economics, public policy, and public administration. This editorial introduces the papers in the thematic track ‘Translational Design: Enabling impact in complex, multi-stakeholder research projects through design’, which will be presented at the #DRS2024BOSTON conference this 📍 Friday from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. DRS2024 Boston Twelve papers are classified into three groups: ‘Designers as interpreters, mediators, and facilitators between disciplines,’ ‘The translation of research knowledge into and through artefacts,’ and ‘Translational design in PhD research.’ Here is the link to the editorial:

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$31k. Thats how much one of my portfolio companies has spent to get a (large, complex) hardware product into their first pilot. If they had paid a firm, they would've spent that much just on materials for this product. This was possible all because of this founder's determination! Firms have their place, but knowing when to use one and when not to is incredibly important as a startup. I'm not investing full-time anymore, but I still advise and invest on the side. If you are building hardware in the early days of your company, I would love to help you replicate this

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😕 Are you a designer or engineer who's been tasked with managing usability activities for you company's medical devices? 😵 Are you a project manager trying to get a handle on human factors requirements for a new combination device project? Struggling on where to start? 😎 Try downloading our Handbook of Usability for Medical Devices and Combination Products. It's a free resource from Rebus Medical Ltd and a useful introductory guide to the discipline of human factors, specifically in medical device and combination product development. https://lnkd.in/epv3DBBx #HumanFactors #MedicalDevices #Usability

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This is a fascinating piece. It really frames how the role and demands of being a leader are so rapidly changing. (TL;DR. These super thinkers are characterised by their purpose-driven approach, commitment to sustainability, emphasis on digital wellness, and fostering of joy and creativity, are redefining what it means to lead in an age of rapid change. They are not just responding to the present but shaping the future, ensuring that their legacy is one of positive and lasting impact) The team are currently a good few months into a project with a leading business school on the future of Leadership. It's been fascinating listening to the world of academia and having some seriously thought provoking discussions. The need for super thinkers is going to grow hugely over the next few years.

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Fantastic insights from the brilliant minds over at Design3. The article discusses the convergence of Artificial Intelligence, sustainability, and the decentralisation of the internet (web3) as key forces shaping the next 'tipping point'. It highlights the potential impact of AI on the digital design industry, raising questions about the role of designers in an AI-driven landscape. While AI promises efficiency, there are concerns about job loss and the devaluation of design. However, it suggests that AI can empower designers to focus on creative innovation rather than routine tasks. The article emphasises the need for designers and product teams to adapt to AI integration, develop new methodologies, and collaborate across disciplines. It also underscores the importance of ethical AI frameworks and designing for sustainability. Overall, it calls for a shift in mindset and approach within the design industry to navigate the challenges and opportunities presented by AI. Sharing across Trust In SODA https://lnkd.in/eRfty4iB

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🌍 Have you ever wondered how we can combat climate change effectively? At Kontrapunkt we have invested in several carbon removal technologies to help make a difference. Discover how we balance emissions and learn about carbon removal strategies in our latest article.

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I have a proposition about AI - Despite any proclamations for or against the technology, we don’t know for sure how AI will affect our society. Anyone who says that we *know,* with all certainty, that AI will be good, bad or indifferent, is probably guessing. And that includes me. I have theories, which leave me Bearish on the future of AI. But the Intergration of AI into our technoculture is a complex and emergent phenomena. So I can't know for sure. That said, based on a few red flags about the technology, we can be forewarned to its impact. And even if we can't perfectly predict the future of AI, we can do the work now to better protect ourselves. We don't need to throw up our hands and assume current implementation is inevitable. We need to do the work now to build a future where we call benefit. https://lnkd.in/gPdUT9cA #humanetechnology #hcd #ai #peoplefirst #future

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Hello World... Here's Part Two of Three in my deep review of choices around human automation – "Choosing When and How To Automate with AI - Part 2 - Serf or Supervisor To The Machine" If you're at all interesting in AI, society, psychology and human meaning I'd suggest taking a look. Like in my first part post, I'm exploring thirty-year-old theories of automation, explored the psychology of supervisory control, considered automation accidents and tried to find the essence of what it means to make choices about automation. Commitment warning up front, it's a pretty long read, but I had some ground to cover. #HCD #AI #humanetechnology #automation #humanfactors https://lnkd.in/gbUueXBM

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I've just finished recording a new design podcast episode as a guest. Here’s one of the most interesting and potentially uncomfortable questions I received during this conversation: "Do you have an inner conflict when dealing with industrial design and contributing to manufacturing, given the ecological problems the world is facing today?” Here’s my answer: “In fact, I feel that being part of this industry allows me to make the most significant influence and positive change from the inside. It's a matter of my values, and how to implement them in my work. As a designer, I can propose better solutions, create lasting and reparable designs, improve the choice of materials, invent new habits that will shift consumption patterns, and much more. Ultimately, I can educate my clients on the process, help them recognize the impact, and inspire founders to make better choices.” This is definitely a big topic, and now I want to spend even more time with it. The podcast is called "Thing-in-Itself” (Вещь в себе). It is in Russian, and I'm also excited about recording similar conversations in English soon. Thank you for having me as a guest, Anya Petrakova! – Katerina Kopytina | Industrial designer for early-stage startups

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