For my design, Tut’s cane my customers were my parents. In designing Tut’s cane I wanted to solve the issues that my parents such as picking up, reaching, and holding on to objects. These are the problems that I aimed to solve with my new design of a cane. And in order to truly identify a true problem or if it was just an inconvenience. As a result, I decided to ask questions to validate my product.
Some questions I asked were:
What is the hardest part about their back injury?
A: Sleeping is the hardest part because it is hard to lay on your back causing a lot of stress on your back.
What about moving around, what are some issues you struggle with?
A: Walking is difficult, especially for long distances, going up the stairs, sitting down, and standing for long periods of time causes discomfort and pain. It’s an everyday struggle with constant pain.
Have you tried to solve the issue? if so how?
A: They explained that they have done everything they can from an epidural injection, impulse therapy to ibuprofen 600 mg. They mentioned that physical therapy helped for the moment but soon after the pain would return.
What activities are harder to do now compared to before?
A: Going up the stairs, picking things up off the floor, taking the subway, and getting into the car.
While their answers hinted at the problems I originally identified, I felt that I didn’t clearly see the problem in relation to my design. This is why I decided to present my design to them and hear their thoughts on it. In order to obtain an objective opinion, I told them somebody else had designed this product what do you guys think of it?. Their responses were satisfying in the sense that they seemed truthful. They replied with the Colombian saying as long as it is “Bueno, bonito barato” meaning good, pretty, and cheap. Their feedback explained that they found the design innovative, that they would happily be the first customers to my peer’s design, and that this product could really help their lives in way’s that they hadn’t thought of before.
Based on their responses and feedback I concluded that they have many pains. While it is possible to explore looking to solve their issues with their back pain, I feel that based on their feedback, the real problem is the pain caused by doing all these activities and that with Tut’s cane they would not experience these pains as often.
Hey Omar, it is great that you found out that your parents would find this cane useful. Perhaps you could ask them for any ideas on how to improve it and see where it leads you.
Hi Omar,
This was a really nice approach to take in order to validate the problem. The questions you asked helped you get a better insight about your parents real problems and you telling them that someone else designed it was a nice move for you get a genuine feedback.