The Best of Both Worlds: Using Qualitative and Quantitative Feedback to Improve the Design of Connected Medical Devices

Abstract

The medical device industry has a long legacy of product development processes that are heavily influenced by the design of the device hardware. As devices have become connected, often to smartphones via connections such as Bluetooth, software is playing an increasing role in the overall system and in particular the user interface. As a result, iterative agile design practices that are prevalent in software are starting to influence the connected device development process. These modern agile practices put the user at the center of the design problem. But what is the best way in this new world to get feedback from users such that the overall product can be improved? In this paper, we share two techniques, one qualitative and one quantitative, that can answer this question. We’ll also explore the synergy of using both techniques together.