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A Day of Light
The purpose of this project was to examine our daily human living experience and interactions with light. The final goal was to find focused ideas for new LED lighting products that were innovative and new areas that Cree could explore for product families.
The process starts with a general target area (e.g. light) and then looks at a cross-section of potential users that would either be our customers or those served by our customers. Through focused interviews and observation of daily activities, we can potentially find those adaptations to their lives that are opportunities for solutions others may have missed.
Personas
In this exercise, we used personas or representative characters to imagine, observe and understand their needs. We chose a variety of characters, each chosen by a participant in the exercise:
- Elderly couple dealing with dementia
- School-age boy in an urban environment
- EMS first responder (Male in his twenties)
- Woman restaurant owner (middle age)
- Stay-at-home mom with several children
- Large animal veterinarian working remotely.
The participants had to find someone like their character and interview them using a set of qualitative surveys to help find out their usual routines, work life and how their interaction with light affects them. Then their average daily experience was mapped out in 24 hours.
Research and Observation
As a group, we examined all the interviews and schedules to see which ones to prioritize for further research and observation. We chose the restaurant owner, EMS responder, and schoolboy within a large urban environment. The group thought this area and persona overlap would give us the most data and opportunities for ideas.
As a group, we flew to New York City for several days to research these areas and observe those living or working in those spaces. During our visit, we took hundreds of photos, and some videos, and interviewed more people connected to the areas we targeted. If someone saw something that sparked an idea, it was documented. The data was brought back to the office for later review.
IDEA Snapshots
The data was reviewed by each team member to find the areas that spark possible ideas. The ideas were captured on a document I created called an IDEA Snapshot which was just salient facts needed to assess the idea. Later the group met to discuss those snapshots and looked for ideas with fast-track potential. The ideas that needed more work were added to a digital file using keywords for review again at a later time.
Brainstorming & Ideation
The chosen idea snapshots are then brought to a brainstorming session with the team to sketch, create mind maps of product interactions and expand on the ideas. Since there are no bad ideas in a brainstorming session, new features, product functions or breakthrough concepts can be revealed.
Communicate and Finalize
Once ideas have become fully formed concepts, one is assigned to each team member to refine the concept and create presentation images or drawing refinements. These refined concepts are brought together for a larger audience of stakeholders and management to be considered for active projects. If chosen, the concept is then packaged with a product requirements document (PRD), and all pertinent information is passed along to an engineering development team to productize.