User research

[bruffridge]

Use design thinking techniques to understand users.

https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/topics/design-thinking

First user to target: engineers with a problem looking to nature for inspiration to solving.

design by analogy idea:
https://jacquelynnagel.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Bioinspired-Design-Teaching-Module.pdf

tangentially related user-research:
https://www.mdpi.com/2313-7673/7/2/63

Some highlights from the paper:

BID canvas and visual analogy sketching rated better by engineers than e2b and bio search.

When introducing a new tool to a group of engineers, designers, or other professionals, it is best to explore how it might fit into their existing process. The participants in this study frequently referred to their own process and how the tools that they learned fit into it. Each engineer or designer has developed their own process that has been refined over time to best suit their personal skillset, project requirements, and company expectations. For these reasons, it is unsurprising to see that the most preferred tools were also the easiest to comprehend and integrate into existing workflows. Tools that give the user flexibility in how and where they are used in an engineer’s or designer’s process will lower the barriers to their adoption, increasing the likelihood that they become a regular part of their problem-solving toolbox.

We propose that teaching a suite of tools has higher value to industry professionals than teaching a single tool. The participants in this study found value in all four tools and expressed a desire to combine them in various ways for different parts of the BID process.

It is important to note that the participants in this study worked in the same industry and for sister brands. It should not be assumed that the specific feedback on the tools taught in this study are generally applicable to all engineers and designers. It is likely that the participants in this study were already pre-disposed through training, the industry they chose to work in, or their personal style to feel most comfortable communicating visually. Another group of professionals, in another industry or from a different educational background, may find more comfort in text-based or verbal tools.

"It would be useful to talk to a biologist to get started in a particular direction. I tell them viscous fluids, and they tell me look at organism X, Y, and Z. But didn’t need them to make the abstractions”

"Because when we design something, we often refer back to what we know. Therefore, if we can see more [biology], then we have a higher chance of applying a BID approach"

[bruffridge]

Update: We've conducted some user interviews. Results are in the 'User Interviews' folder in Box. Other potential interviewees are in the 'Interviewee List' file in the same folder. The list of interview questions are in 'Interview_Questions_CURRENT.docx'.

[bruffridge]

Prepare a demo of BIDARA and give the demo to some engineers and collect feedback.