SANTOS, T. B. Identification of the purposes and benefits of the use of prototypes for the involvement of users in the development of health products. 2019. 114 f.

No abstract

Requirements elicitation for assistive technology (AT) product development must be collaborative and systemic. This process must ensure that the needs of all different users are identified. For this, UCD methods introduce different tools that seek user involvement and their needs identification. One method commonly used in software development is User Stories. The aim of this paper is to analyse the use of User Stories for requirements elicitation in an AT product development project. This method was applied with three types of users: patients, companions and occupational therapists. For the involvement of these users, the method was customized and two main adaptations were adopted: the stories were written by the development team and all user needs were identified through observations of interactions between patients and prototype. As a result, the development team was able to identify numerous product requirements to be used in later development phases. These requirements were generated by the user needs identified with User Stories. Thus, the method with necessary adaptations, was efficient for requirements elicitation in the AT product development process.

Innovation has been increasingly becoming a major competitive differential for companies. However, innovation alone is not enough. Innovations encompass new products to new business models, but they need well-defined strategies to deliver value according to the market needs and to be well accepted. Innovations looking at differentials for the users should consider their problems, including products and services, so that they can promote solutions to meet the users' expectations. Therefore, the involvement of stakeholders in the innovation process who are beyond the organisation's frontiers, such as users, is important as it allows the inclusion of new abilities, resources, and knowledge in the process of development.