Niche Driven���� Needs Driven

“MegaBee” Case Study“MegaBee” Case Study

Why ‘Niche’ ?

A case of the obvious for SME’s:

� Basic rules of competition

� Inherent expertise – experience generated

product or serviceproduct or service

� Innovative climate

� Speed to market

� Cost of development

Why ‘needs’, not ‘wants’

� Needs driven requirements suggest longer

term stability

� Wants tend to be faddish and attract more

riskrisk

� Market education is more direct

� You solve someone elses problem

� When times are tough needs outweigh wants

Function Creep – a niche virus

The ‘more is better’ fallacy

Technology for the sake of it

The ‘sustain the market price’ fallacy

Pressure of the Commercial Entity

Examples of function creep

COST COMPLEXITY

‘MegaBee’ a case study

LIS - “Locked-in Syndrome”

� Technical Challenge

� Market assessment

� Commercial Challenge

If there is a niche, how big is it and to what extent can we address it?

Top End

High technology solutions:

‘Eye gaze’ systems

Eye tracking systemsEye tracking systems

Text to speech devices

Various computer based devices

iPhones with bespoke apps

Bottom End

Low technology Solutions

Alphabet Boards

‘E-Tran’ frames

Home made solutionsHome made solutions

One-to-one protocols

‘does he take sugar?’

What’s Wrong with the current solutions?

High End:

Movement tracking – user accuracy requirement

Calibration problems – movement issues

Mobility – wheelchair useMobility – wheelchair use

Cost !!! – from about £4000 to £12,000

Bottom End:

Laborious – time consuming

Awkward - physically

Human thought process – we are bad at back tracking

What’s to be done?

MegaBee demonstration

Key Features:

� It has to be bigger than a single user solution

but still needs to fulfill their requirements but still needs to fulfill their requirements

completely

� Additional communications features

� Abbreviations

� Symbols

� Affordable

Timeline – keep learning

Dec 06

‘Aunt Sally’ prototype

Jun 07

Rapid prototype

Jul 07

Client & distributor evaluation

Aug 07 Sep 07

Soft tooling ordered

Multi-lingual coding

Nov 07

Launch

Feb 08

Simpler user protocol

Oct 08

VISTA workaround

Jun 09

Design Review Colour

change, labels revised

Jul 09

New tooling two functions removed, one

button removed

Oct 09

New Product release

Sep 09

Symbolic mode software

added

BIS Design for Life Objectives

How good design can:

� Add commercial value- A needs driven, niche product has evolved- A needs driven, niche product has evolved

� Improve quality of life- “It has been the saving of his sanity and of his wife and two children. We all have a great respect for the development of MegaBee™, it has been a life saver. Thank you.”

[Ann Marchant Treasurer MND Association]

� Reduce public sector costs- Affordable technology, greater communication, improved efficiency, indirect cost benefits

E2L Limited

Designers of electronic products

Lyndon OwenLyndon Owen

Managing Director

Monmouth

www.E2L.uk.com

01600 714856