Large-Scale Needfinding: Methods of Increasing User-Generated Needs From Large Populations

2015 ◽  
Vol 137 (7) ◽  
Author(s):  
Cory R. Schaffhausen ◽  
Timothy M. Kowalewski
Keyword(s):  
Product Development ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
User Needs ◽  
Critical Component ◽  
Trip Planning ◽  
Final Study ◽  
Large Populations ◽  
User Access ◽  
Shared Context

Understanding user needs and preferences is increasingly recognized as a critical component of early stage product development. The large-scale needfinding methods in this series of studies attempt to overcome shortcomings with existing methods, particularly in environments with limited user access. The three studies evaluated three specific types of stimuli to help users describe higher quantities of needs. Users were trained on need statements and then asked to enter as many need statements and optional background stories as possible. One or more stimulus types were presented, including prompts (a type of thought exercise), shared needs, and shared context images. Topics used were general household areas including cooking, cleaning, and trip planning. The results show that users can articulate a large number of needs unaided, and users consistently increased need quantity after viewing a stimulus. A final study collected 1735 needs statements and 1246 stories from 402 individuals in 24 hr. Shared needs and images significantly increased need quantity over other types. User experience (and not expertise) was a significant factor for increasing quantity, but may not warrant exclusive use of high-experience users in practice.

Product Development Task Planning Using Worth Flow Analysis of Interacting Components

2007 ◽  
Author(s):  
Toshiharu Miwa ◽  
Kosuke Ishii
Keyword(s):  
Product Development ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Flow Analysis ◽  
Manufacturing Firms ◽  
Trial And Error ◽  
Task Planning ◽  
Feedback Information ◽  
Development Cycle ◽  
Planning Methods

The acceleration of product development cycle continues to be a significant challenge for manufacturing firms around the world. This paper describes a task planning method for minimizing trial and error to reduce the development time in large-scale and complicated product development at the early stage of product development. The proposed method matches the group of product components according to geometry and determines the development sequence of each component to minimize the amount of feedback information across task groups. The method applies as evaluation index for task prioritization the product-sum of engineering interaction among components and worth of each component, the “worth flow.” The paper shows with an example of the generic hair drier with simple mechanical structure that this method contributes to the reduction of the size of task group by 22% and amount of information required for setting the interface links by 65% compared to the conventional planning methods.

Customer Involved Open Innovation

2011 ◽  
pp. 259-288 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcel Weber ◽  
Simone A.M. Geerts
Keyword(s):  
Product Development ◽  
Open Innovation ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Innovation Process ◽  
New Product ◽  
User Preferences ◽  
The Internet ◽  
User Needs ◽  
Customer Involvement ◽  
Technological Developments

Because of both technological developments on the internet and user preferences, user or customer involvement in NPD is becoming more popular and receives broad attention from both academia and businesses. One of the major advantages of involving the customer in product development is that user needs and preferences can be implemented at an early stage of NPD, therefore enhancing the chance on acceptance and adaptation of the new product in the user market. This advantage leads to firms and companies wanting to involve their customers in the innovation process at every possible moment. But then questions arise on when, in which phases, which customers to involve, and which tools to use to support the involvement. This chapter addresses these questions by providing guidelines for customer involvement in NPD.

Product Development Task Planning Using Worth Flow Analysis

2009 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Toshiharu Miwa ◽  
Kosuke Ishii
Keyword(s):  
Product Development ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Flow Analysis ◽  
Task Planning ◽  
Feedback Information ◽  
Complex Products ◽  
Manufacturing Enterprises ◽  
Development Cycle ◽  
Planning Methods

The acceleration of the product development cycle continues to be a significant challenge for manufacturing enterprises around the world. This paper describes a task planning method that minimizes the number of trial and error to reduce the development time for large-scale and complex products at the early stage of product development. The proposed method matches groups of product components and determines the development sequence for each component to minimize the amount of feedback information required across task groups. The method provides, as evaluation indices for task prioritization, the product-sum of engineering interaction among components and worth of each component, which the authors define as the “worth flow.” A generic hair dryer with simple mechanical structure serves as an example, illustrating that the proposed method contributes to the reduction in the amount of information required for setting the interface links by 65% compared with the conventional planning methods.

Probabilistic Evaluation of Product Development Task Planning Using Worth Flow Analysis

2008 ◽  
Author(s):  
Toshiharu Miwa ◽  
Hideki Aoyama ◽  
Kosuke Ishii
Keyword(s):  
Product Development ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Flow Analysis ◽  
Asymmetric Distribution ◽  
Task Planning ◽  
Feedback Information ◽  
Task Groups ◽  
Development Cycle ◽  
Probabilistic Evaluation

The acceleration of the product development cycle continues to be a significant challenge for manufacturing firms around the world. The present paper describes a task planning method that takes the uncertain relationships among the product components into consideration in order to reduce the development time in large-scale and complicated product development with uncertainty at the early stage of product development. We developed a probabilistic worth flow analysis to evaluate each product component for task prioritization with an uncertain relationship among product components. The method calculates the probabilistic distribution of worth flow of each product component based on the probabilistic relationship among product components with the Monte Carlo simulation and determines the development sequence of each component so as to minimize the possibility with the highest feedback information across the task groups. The present paper describes an example of a generic hair drier with a simple mechanical structure developed using the proposed method in order to reduce the uncertainty of feedback information across the task groups while maintaining the uncertainty within same task groups in case the uncertainty has an asymmetric distribution.

The Use of Medical Record Linkage for Population and Genetic Studies

1969 ◽  
Vol 08 (01) ◽  
pp. 07-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. B. Newcombe
Keyword(s):  
Record Linkage ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Medical Record Linkage ◽  
Canadian Province ◽  
Genetic Studies ◽  
Parental Characteristics ◽  
Family Histories ◽  
The Family ◽  
Large Populations ◽  
Machine Readable

Methods are described for deriving personal and family histories of birth, marriage, procreation, ill health and death, for large populations, from existing civil registrations of vital events and the routine records of ill health. Computers have been used to group together and »link« the separately derived records pertaining to successive events in the lives of the same individuals and families, rapidly and on a large scale. Most of the records employed are already available as machine readable punchcards and magnetic tapes, for statistical and administrative purposes, and only minor modifications have been made to the manner in which these are produced.As applied to the population of the Canadian province of British Columbia (currently about 2 million people) these methods have already yielded substantial information on the risks of disease: a) in the population, b) in relation to various parental characteristics, and c) as correlated with previous occurrences in the family histories.

A design contribution to the entrepreneurial experience

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan David ROLDAN ACEVEDO ◽  
Ida TELALBASIC
Keyword(s):  
Product Development ◽  
Qualitative Analysis ◽  
Design Research ◽  
Recent Literature ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Entrepreneurial Activity ◽  
Value Proposition ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
User Centric ◽  
Constant Growth

In recent history, different design approaches have been entering fields like management and strategy to improve product development and service delivery. Specifically, entrepreneurship has adopted a user-centric mindset in methodologies like the business canvas model and the value proposition canvas which increases the awareness of the users’ needs when developing solutions. What happens when a service design approach is used to understand the entrepreneurs’ experience through the creation of their startups? Recent literature suggests that entrepreneurial activity and success is conditioned by their local entrepreneurship ecosystem. This study investigates the Entrepreneurship Ecosystem of Medellín, Colombia - an ecosystem in constant growth but that lacks qualitative analysis. The sample consists of 12 entrepreneurs in early-stage phase. The data was gathered with two design research methods: Cultural Probes and Semi-structured interviews. The analysis of the information collected facilitated the development of 4 insights about the entrepreneurs and an experience map to visualise and interpret their journey to create a startup. The results of this study reflected the implications of the ecosystem, the explanation of the users’ perceptions and awareness and propose a set of ideas to the local government to improve the experience of undertaking a startup in Medellín.

Konkurrenz zwischen Stieleiche und Buche auf Lothar-Sturmflächen | Competition between pedunculate oak and European beech on Lothar windthrow areas

2009 ◽  
Vol 160 (5) ◽  
pp. 114-123 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Otto ◽  
Sven Wagner ◽  
Peter Brang
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Tree Height ◽  
European Beech ◽  
Threshold Value ◽  
Test Methods ◽  
Permanent Plots ◽  
Pedunculate Oak ◽  
Competitive Pressure ◽  
Competition Index

The competitive pressure of naturally regenerated European beech (Fagus sylvatica) saplings on planted pedunculate oak (Quercus robur) was investigated on two 1.8 ha permanent plots near Habsburg and Murten (Switzerland). The plots were established with the aim to test methods of artificial oak regeneration after large-scale windthrow. On both plots, 80 oaks exposed to varying levels of competitive pressure from at most 10 neighbouring beech trees were selected. The height of each oak as well as stem and branch diameters were measured. The competitive pressure was assessed using Schütz's competition index, which is based on relative tree height, crown overlap and distance from competing neighbours. Oak trees growing without or with only slight competition from beech were equally tall, while oaks exposed to moderate to strong competition were smaller. A threshold value for the competition index was found above which oak height decreased strongly. The stem and branch diameters of the oaks started to decrease even if the competition from beech was slight, and decreased much further with more competition. The oak stems started to become more slender even with only slight competition from beech. On the moderately acid beech sites studied here, beech grow taller faster than oak. Thus where beech is competing with oak and the aim is to maintain the oak, competitive pressure on the oak must be reduced at an early stage. The degree of the intervention should, however, take the individual competitive interaction into account, with more intervention if the competition is strong.

scholarly journals Favorable Effects of GLP-1 Receptor Agonist against Pancreatic β-Cell Glucose Toxicity and the Development of Arteriosclerosis: “The Earlier, the Better” in Therapy with Incretin-Based Medicine

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (15) ◽  
pp. 7917
Author(s):  
Hideaki Kaneto ◽  
Tomohiko Kimura ◽  
Masashi Shimoda ◽  
Atsushi Obata ◽  
Junpei Sanada ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Cell Function ◽  
Apoptotic Cell ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Insulin Biosynthesis ◽  
Protective Effects ◽  
Pancreatic Β Cell ◽  
Β Cells ◽  
Β Cell ◽  
Glucose Toxicity

Fundamental pancreatic β-cell function is to produce and secrete insulin in response to blood glucose levels. However, when β-cells are chronically exposed to hyperglycemia in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), insulin biosynthesis and secretion are decreased together with reduced expression of insulin transcription factors. Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) plays a crucial role in pancreatic β-cells; GLP-1 binds to the GLP-1 receptor (GLP-1R) in the β-cell membrane and thereby enhances insulin secretion, suppresses apoptotic cell death and increase proliferation of β-cells. However, GLP-1R expression in β-cells is reduced under diabetic conditions and thus the GLP-1R activator (GLP-1RA) shows more favorable effects on β-cells at an early stage of T2DM compared to an advanced stage. On the other hand, it has been drawing much attention to the idea that GLP-1 signaling is important in arterial cells; GLP-1 increases nitric oxide, which leads to facilitation of vascular relaxation and suppression of arteriosclerosis. However, GLP-1R expression in arterial cells is also reduced under diabetic conditions and thus GLP-1RA shows more protective effects on arteriosclerosis at an early stage of T2DM. Furthermore, it has been reported recently that administration of GLP-1RA leads to the reduction of cardiovascular events in various large-scale clinical trials. Therefore, we think that it would be better to start GLP-1RA at an early stage of T2DM for the prevention of arteriosclerosis and protection of β-cells against glucose toxicity in routine medical care.

scholarly journals Understanding the Processes Causing the Early Intensification of Hurricane Dorian through an Ensemble of the Hurricane Analysis and Forecast System (HAFS)

Atmosphere ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 93
Author(s):  
Andrew Hazelton ◽  
Ghassan J. Alaka ◽  
Levi Cowan ◽  
Michael Fischer ◽  
Sundararaman Gopalakrishnan
Keyword(s):  
Tropical Cyclone ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Early Period ◽  
Storm Track ◽  
Key Factors ◽  
Complex Interplay ◽  
Forecast System ◽  
Model Initialization

The early stages of a tropical cyclone can be a challenge to forecast, as a storm consolidates and begins to grow based on the local and environmental conditions. A high-resolution ensemble of the Hurricane Analysis and Forecast System (HAFS) is used to study the early intensification of Hurricane Dorian, a catastrophic 2019 storm in which the early period proved challenging for forecasters. There was a clear connection in the ensemble between early storm track and intensity: stronger members moved more northeast initially, although this result did not have much impact on the long-term track. The ensemble results show several key factors determining the early evolution of Dorian. Large-scale divergence northeast of the tropical cyclone (TC) appeared to favor intensification, and this structure was present at model initialization. There was also greater moisture northeast of the TC for stronger members at initialization, favoring more intensification and downshear development of the circulation as these members evolved. This study highlights the complex interplay between synoptic and storm scale processes in the development and intensification of early-stage tropical cyclones.

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