Bye Bye back pain -Improving the experience of Home office
This is my First Product case study, where I have come up with a product to make your working/studying experience at your home better
Hola Amigos! Please take your seats, I am going to narrate you a story, it is not less than a commercial series it has Fight, fun, emotions and motivation
But for me it was not less than a edge of the seat thriller! 😮💨
The seed for this story was laid when I participated in the Design Thinking Project designed by our mentor Anudeep ayyagari as part of our UX Career Accelerator Program of Growth School.
So ..
Episode 1: The battle of the best🥷(Problem area selection)
Episode 2: You want to know them, Talk to them (Empathize)
Episode 3: have to make sense of it (Define)
Episode 5: The end but not the end (Prototype⚡)
Episode 6: Premiere show 🎞️(Usability Testing)
Revised Prototype (Come back😎)
Episode 1: The battle of the best🥷(Problem area selection)
I said you right, it is not less than a commercial movie, our project started with a fight.
The context of the DTP (Design Thinking Project) is that we have to chose a problem area ( any area of the house, In our case the areas were previously given) and improve the experience of that specific area, We have to fight with our team mates on the unfair advantage we had on that area, to choose a specific area for our DTP
I fought for the area bathroom with two other people. Dropped all the unfair advantage I had and the end It was a Brave loss. It’s ok..
Heroes get defeated first and rise next 😎 (enter audience applause👏)
So I had to chose another area now, among the list I found the area Home office very interesting and believed that I could do well with that. With this we move to the next episode…
Episode 2: You want to know them, Talk to them (Empathize)
Now I have to talk to the users, listen to them, empathize with them and understand their experience and connection with that particular place and their pain points and know how can I find the gaps and improve their experience
Here are the questions -
I made changes to the questions and altered it based on the user interview and user experience.
Important realisation: My users mostly live in flats, so there is no dedicated place to work/study such as home office. Users use their bedroom, hall or any comfortable space of their home to study/work
Twist -
These were not perfect questions, My questions were too surface level. I thought I have got enough insights but the real problem started when I sat down to define the data
Episode 3: have to make sense of it (Define)
This was the time where I had to make sense of the data I collected (write down the insights). Every time I tried doing it for each user, I had new questions coming up in my mind. As part of the rule we must not interview the users again. So I was stuck in the define part over a week time
So I have to proceed with insights I got. I wrote down all the data I was able to gather from interviewing each user, I had to read between the lines, go through their interview recordings over and over, understand the user behaviour, experience & find the gaps.
It was mentally and emotionally challenging space. In this time I was reminded of a quote
It is easy to find user problems, But it is difficult to find real user problems
Here I wanted to solve for real user problems, so I was very careful, and took the needed time to define better problems. Because “Better problems can ideate better solutions”
I tried to connect user problems with user behaviours to understand their problems better, And finally I was able to define some better user problems 👇
Episode 4:Go Ahead…( Ideate💡)
Now thus the problems are defined, I have to come up with solutions for it. I used the crazy 8 technique (for each problem I have come up with 8 solutions in 8 minutes). Set the timer and sit for solutions. Seems fun, but it wasn’t.
For first two minutes my mind was flowing out the creativity fuel, after 2 minutes the flow stopped and I was pumping it continuously to bring the flow back. Finally I managed to write 48 solutions for 6 problems.
These were the TOP 3 solutions I came up with -
Now that I have selected the top 3 ideas for 3 different problems, I have to select 1 top most idea from this and start working on it
Episode 5: The end but not the end (Prototype⚡)
🏅The user problem I decided to solve was-
My users sit in the same place and work for long period of time which causes them severe body pain, and the body pain affects their concentration and focus.
Nowadays, after corona there are lots of people doing work from home, during meeting or projects users have to sit and work in the same place
Sitting for more hours can lead to postural problems like disc damage, strained neck and swayed back in the long run. It is advised to not sit in the same place for long hours but sometimes it is unavoidable
It also increases stress level, Imbalances in Spinal structure
There are good ergonomic and gaming chairs available in the market, but they are too costly and hard to install, so users sit in chairs available in their home.
Users use dining table chairs which is too sturdy & does not have a arm or leg rest. Sitting on that chair creates pain and numbness. Users has to frequently change their postures which is disturbing their focus
About The Product
Presenting you Acu-seat
🚀This product is a Acupressure cushion, with soft foam on one side and acupressure surface on the other side. It is designed by ideal ergonomic position to correct your posture while sitting focused and working for long time
🚀This solution addresses the problem of physical discomfort from sitting for long periods of time. By providing a cushion with an acupressure surface on one side and a soft surface on the other, users can reduce the risk of numbness and discomfort.
🚀You can place this seat on top of your chair (Dining table chairs, plastic chairs, any chairs), and sit comfortably. You can get the ergonomic feel and pain relief at the same time in a cost effective solution.
✅Hollow tube is given to maintain the seats ergonomic position
✅A belt is given to ensure that the cushion stays in the correct position and doesn’t move around while the user is sitting, which can help prevent discomfort or potential injury.
✅It is a plug and detachable belt (the ones you have in your back packs)
✅The seat of the cushion is designed in a U curved shape for better placement of your back
✅It is easily foldable and can be cleaned by wiping with wet cloth, It can hold up to 100 kgs of weight
✅Easy to carry , weight less. Overall it is a simple, healthy and also a cost effective solution for your workspace
Materials used
The cushion is made with rubber-like gel and memory foam, providing strong yet soft support. It’s also designed to adjust to different body weights and shapes.
- Memory Foam can use the body heat to mold according to the users body posture
- Gel cushions may also feature a contoured base to provide stability and support better posture, as well as comfort and cooling effects. These cushions provide better pressure distribution & air circulation
- Spiky rubber surface — using a spiky rubber surface as the acupressure surface on the other side of the cushion. Rubber can provide a good grip to the chair and also give the cushion some stability. A spiky texture can help provide the acupressure effect without being too harsh on the skin. It is not sharp
- The belts have been made with the combination of canvas, cotton, or nylon which is a sturdy and durable fabrics used to make backpacks and can withstand conditions
- The strings are made of hollow tubes, which is flexible and can resist more weights
How it is done?
Front side has a thinner layer of memory foam on top of lower density cushion gel, so the front cushion is not too thick and user could feel the acupressure, back side has spiky rubber micro balls which is not too sharp cant be harsh on your bones and skin.
Why Acupressure?
Acupressure therapy stimulates the body’s circulatory, lymphatic and hormonal systems,. It helps relieve stress and anxiety, improves sleep, relaxes your muscles and joints, regulates digestive issues, minimises headaches and migraines, and is also beneficial for back pains and menstrual cramps.
- It improves blood circulation of the body
- Relieves stress
- Cures problem related to spine, joints, muscle and nerves.
- Enhanced Mental Clarity and Increased Energy
Gaps found in the Existing products & How I made use of it-
There are ergonomic cushions and Acupressure mats available in the market, but the acupressure material is too sharp, that it my pierce the users skin and also stick with users cloth material while sitting on it.
The cushion was available but I thought I can make this existing products even better by combining both in a proper way safely usable for the users
Inspiration
🎞️🍿After creating the prototype, I had a special premiere show to with my users explaining my product
Episode 6: Premiere show (Usability Testing)
I gathered all my users in a call and I explained my product clearly to my Users. Also I explained
🎯The reasons behind choosing this problem statement
🎯How I arrived at this idea
🎯How I made this prototype
After explaining, waiting for their reviews were like👇😂
The Positive feedbacks were -
🏅Most of my users felt that they would buy this product, and wished it could come to the market
🏅This product could reduce the need to buy expensive ergonomic chairs
🏅Users could use it on their existing chairs
🏅It was solving majority of my users problems
Scopes of Improvement suggested by Users-
- Having a spring in the middle would not be a good option-The acupressure surface is below the cushion, and the spring is in the middle. When users sit on the seat this spring might reduce the ability to feel the acupressure and also there is a chance of the spring breaking
- Neck could be made sturdy & Height Adjustable-Since the neck rest is foldable there is a chance of the neck rest leaning too much backside when users rest their heads on it and also there can be users with different height using this product so it must be easy for them to rest their head
- Tying the seat to the chair might compel the seat to change its posture according to the chair, thus affecting the ergonomic posture
Revised Prototype (Come back😎)
⚡A Polypropylene Plastic surface behind the back rest for better grip & anti slippery to maintain ergonomic position
⚡Three Highly Durable Heavy Duty stainless steel detachable screws of 3 inches to connect the seat & backrest (when users sit on the chair most of the pressure goes to this part, incorporating these screws could hold the chair and keep it strong)
⚡Which changes this accessibility of the seat from Adjustable to Detachable. You can simply detach it , store it or take it anywhere easily
⚡Height adjustable headrest (Inspired from car seats) which users can adjust according to their height
⚡The belt is also given near the seat cushion for rigid grip
⚡Before it was cushion on the upper surface and Spiky rubber balls on the below surface, now I have designed it in a way that the acupressure balls are inside the cushion (made of memory foam & Gel cushion).
⚡So users could feel the acupressure and at the same time the pressure is evenly spread across the body. The pressure doesn't feel too heavy causing discomfort because of the cushion gives you a comfy feel.
Current Limitations of the product
🎯It cannot fit in for relaxing chairs, ergonomic chairs, mesh chairs and gaming chairs
🎯For people with chronic back pain it can act only as a support
🎯It is designed by ideal human height to fit majority of users, but it also depends on the user physical condition
🎯It is designed for users who are working, studying, sitting in a place for a long time with wrong posture and developing body pains. This is not completely for relaxation purposes.
🎯It can be used by people with age groups ranging from 15–65
Future Scope Of Improvement
💡Will try to work on the limitations and increase the usability of the product, make it available to wider users
💡Place an hand rest and Leg rest to provide more comfortableness, enhance flexibility
💡Continue iterating on the product based on user needs, user behaviour
The learnings that I will carry with my life -
🏅I am not the user, I don't know the user. I try to empathize with them, get their insights and understand their problems
🏅Empathy is difficult, I will enjoy learning it. Perfect empathy never exists
🏅Don't ask solution backwards question to the user
🏅Concentrate on the behaviours associated with the problems
🏅We can't give exactly what user asks, Users convey their pain points and their potential solutions (sometimes). We are the ones who should understand their real pain points and analyse their needs and solve for that issue
🏅It is easy to find surface level problems, but only when we can identify the root problems, the solution we ideate can be useful in long term for the users
🏅It is easy find user problems, but difficult to find real user problems
🏅A well defined problem statement helps you ideate better solutions
🏅We can't solve all user problems
🏅It is ok to not know things, I am a #studentforlife I can learn
🏅Most Importantly how to make the best use of AI, I used chat gpt to know the possibilities of my solutions and validate, but at last I was the one who decided what I must proceed with. It is always great when Humans can control technology and make best use of it and no the other way around
End credits
You are a gem💎! Thanks for travelling with me till the end of the series😇. Hope you liked it. You can make this series a Blockbuster by showing your support through claps, comments and shares
You can also check the detailed process of my Design thinking Project here- https://docs.google.com/document/d/1zX9yzzGXTpbS8pQ4hEutnZtkbtI7Vcu8P_qi5DAQTKQ/edit?usp=sharing
Follow me on Linkedin for more content — https://www.linkedin.com/in/hema-priya-u-444877201?lipi=urn%3Ali%3Apage%3Ad_flagship3_profile_view_base_contact_details%3B%2BDBO9VejS4Gt%2BKedYcSSuQ%3D%3D
