Changing the Paradigm of
rationing technology
Bruce Campbell
General Manager – Marketing and Design
Dynamic Controls
• 40 years young
• Head Office in Christchurch New Zealand
• 400 employees
• Traditional strength in Wheel Chair and Scooter
motor control
• 100% medical mobility
• Renewed focus on User experience, and the Value
Chain supporting them
Purpose
• To deliver technical and innovative solutions
that enhance quality of life for people with a
disability
Value Chain Insights Research
• In 2008 we commenced an on-going programme
of qualitative user research
• In order to enhance quality of life, need to
understand it in the first place
Value Chain Insights Research
Funders
Dynamic
Controls
Powerchair
Manufacturers
Healthcare
Providers
End Users
Prescribers
Mobility
Dealers
How can we better understand users?
6
• A clinical means of understanding users that could
be combined with attitudinal, lifestyle and emotive
characteristics
• Consider the emotional driver
– What drives the user?
– What attitude and behavior does this generate?
– What functionality does this require?
• And how is this combined with degree of disability?
– Physical capabilities and needs
– Cognitive capabilities and needs
How can we better understand users?
7
• Users need to be viewed as whole people, with the
full range of needs
• The research showed that the esteem and
emotional needs did not disappear – quite the
opposite, the needs appeared to go into a hyper
state
• Users do not live in a vacuum – they have
expectations
Maslow
Two different worlds
Without disability
With disability
Esteem Needs Framework
10
Needs Are:
Modal with
one
dominant
The need to feel
carefree and part
of the fun of life
CONFIDENCE
AND
PARTICIPATION
Evolving over
time
Drivers of
attitude and
behaviour
The need to feel
challenged and
stimulated by life
The need to feel
secure in familiar
surroundings
The need to feel in
control and on top
of things
...in summary
• Users wanted
• Ride experience
• Safe, exciting, invisible, loud..
• Health
• Pressure Ulcer
• Activity (Obesity)
• Connectivity
• Communication, education, profession,
independence, social networking,
safety…
Paradigms
• Disabled people have less needs than
others
• Technology needs to be rationed for
disabled people
• Accepted to be low volume, complex,
expensive
• OK to be big, black, ugly and behind the
times
Rationing across the continuum of need
High Cost
Low Cost
Low Needs
High Needs
Imagine a world….
• The paradigm is broken by accessing
regular, consumer electronics
• Cost per person plummets
• Access is broadened so Esteem needs
can be met
Meet Jonty
iPortal and iOS Devices
Anything you can do, I can do
Siri – speech command on steroids
Communication
Communication
Communication
Home Automation
Home Automation
Home Automation
Rationing across the continuum of need
High Cost
Low Cost
Low Needs
High Needs
Rethink the Paradigm
High Cost
Low Cost
Low Needs
High Needs
“We are the ones we have been waiting for.”