Making user needs a key driver in the
development of successful innovation

Successful 'new-to-the world' products usually cater to a need more effectively than previous propositions. 'Discovering' and meeting previously 'unmet needs' can be a major driver for innovative solutions. In the healthcare segment, for example, successfully developing a new imaging modality requires a clear understanding of what the clinicians would like to know about their patients and how they might use the new imaging modality. Equally, the clinicians need to understand what opportunities the new imaging modality might offer them.

Understanding what motivates people

In contrast to the traditional approach, in which the technologies are the main driver, we recognize that technologies themselves offer only opportunities. And that success comes from understanding what motivates people to use the technology and making best use of what technologies offer to realize the right solution. This requires not only understanding what people do now but also, as far as we can, anticipate what they are likely to want in the future. Insight into this helps make the right technology choices.

Tele-healthcare

This is particularly true in the emerging business of tele-healthcare. Dramatic changes in the way healthcare is delivered are anticipated as the costs of traditional healthcare delivery systems spiral upwards and the widespread availability of inexpensive network technologies rapidly grows. Correctly anticipating usage of new technologies is crucial for choosing the right care delivery solution, for example, tele-healthcare systems that combine remote patient monitoring via broadband with personalized health information and guidance about lifestyle behaviors. In supporting the development of Philips’ TV-based interactive personal healthcare platform, Philips Applied Technologies collaborated with Philips Consumer Healthcare Solutions to conduct in-depth interviews of congestive heart failure patients in a usability pilot study conducted by the Cardiology Associates of the Delaware Valley near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (USA). This study evaluated if patients felt comfortable using a television interface to exchange healthcare information with their caregivers, and how they used the Motiva service in their home environment. The results revealed insights that were not apparent beforehand. Many patients, for example, felt that the service enhanced their relationship with their nurse or doctor, and that they received useful information on how to better manage their condition. Additional insights included the recognition that providing patients with healthcare information has more value if it is ‘personalized’ and ‘actionable’ – which became key elements in Motiva product design going forward. In addition, patients exhibited differing attitudes to their own healthcare, suggesting different approaches are necessary depending on patient knowledge and motivation levels. Philips is using these and other recent study results to ensure Motiva product development efforts are focused on the goals of healthcare organizations to provide better care at lower cost to the chronically ill.

Experience has shown that enabling people to experience new and unfamiliar products or technologies often stimulates them to come up with really novel possibilities. This approach helps generate innovative solutions and can help develop further business opportunities. Philips Applied Technologies exploits these techniques by building ‘proof-of-concept’ demonstrators of applications for people to use. The experience of using ‘proof-of-concept’ demonstrators enables fresh insights into how people might use systems. This new approach has already proved effective in helping to develop innovative lighting systems, and we plan to use the approach for new medical applications.