Images of the Big Red Run

3 Takeaways from the Big Red Run

In April, Design Science participated in the 3rd Annual Big Red Run at Ridley Creek State Park in Media, PA. The 5K event helped raise money for the Brandywine Valley Hemophilia Foundation, which uses the money to fund research towards better treatments and progression towards a cure. Read more

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Now Hiring: Summer Design Intern

Are you a meticulous designer with a passion for the research that contributes to great design? Feel like spending your summer learning more about human factors in a company of awesome people (and the occasional dog)? Read more

Illustration of an engaged adolescent participant contrasted with an un-engaged participant.

Preparing to Moderate with Adolescent Participants

As we saw in a previous post (Getting to the Root) predicting human behavior and responses can be complex. Not only is human behavior unpredictable, but each user population comes with its own set of unique challenges. In this post, we will focus on ways that a well-trained moderator can engage adolescent participants and motivate them to be responsive with their feedback.   Read more

Image of Katie Hansbro, Lindsay Carrabine, and Peter Sneeringer next to Design Science's poster

DS Attends 2017 International Symposium on Human Factors and Ergonomics in Health Care

Take me back to the Big Easy! We had a great time in NOLA at the HFES conference March 5-8, 2017. We saw some excellent presentations and enjoyed delicious New Orleans cuisine. If you missed our poster Using Data-Driven Research Techniques to Define Better Product Requirements, you can download our HFES poster here. Read more

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MDO Article: Five Qualities of a Good Use Risk Assessment (uFMEA)

What makes a use risk assessment good? Researcher Bryon Calawa answers that question in Design Science’s latest guest column for MedDeviceOnline. Read more

HIMSS logo with photograph of convention center

DS Attends HIMSS 2017

The HIMSS 2017 conference is “the year’s largest and most important healthcare IT conference in the United States” and brings together executives, clinicians, IT professionals, and more for a week of networking, knowledge-sharing, and forward-thinking. Read more

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Steve Wilcox to Participate in 32nd MD&M West Conference

On February 7-9th, 2017, Principal Steve Wilcox will attend and participate in the 32nd Annual MD&M West Conference, held at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, CA. This conference is the largest in North America for product development industry professionals. Read more

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MD+DI Article: “Root Cause Analysis: Adventures in Medical Device Usability”

What is Root Cause Analysis? What is its unique role in formative vs. summative testing?  How should it be planned for before usability testing even starts? Read more

Video Capture and Analysis: 5 Ways You’re Hurting Your Video Analysis

This blog post is part two of a two-part series on using video records in contextual inquiry.

In part one “Video Capture and Analysis: 5 Reasons to Film Your Research,” we discussed five reasons to film your research. One of the biggest advantages of filming your research is that you can analyze the video after the research has concluded.

In video analysis, you codify behaviors or events to put quantitative values to qualitative observations. These quantitative values can be a useful way to quickly and simply communicate your findings. Video analysis has been a staple of behavioral research methods for a long time, but there’s surprisingly little information about how to do it effectively. Read more

Video Capture and Analysis: 5 Reasons to Film Your Research

This blog post is part one of a two-part series on using video records in contextual inquiry.

Design Science researchers almost never go into the field alone—we’re accompanied by a videographer, who may be carrying up to 5 cameras. The ability to film in restricted areas like operating rooms and catheter labs is something that sets Design Science apart, and with good reason: it’s difficult to gain permission to film in an operating room. It requires long-standing relationships with surgeons, physicians, nurses, and the medical facilities they work for. These relationships are built on complicated, time-consuming navigation of hospital approvals, and repeated positive experiences with our researchers and videographers. Read more