CONTENT FEBRUARI 2006

> Functional Specification: a prerequisite for a professional
purchasing process
> The experience of everyday things
> T-Xchange speeds up innovation processes with Gaming
and Virtual Reality
> Indes wins prize awarded by the public
> Broader market approach with DGT easy
> New legislation on car safety seats
> Indes Case: Waypoint
> @ Indes: Ton van Raamsdonk

Short messages
> MedTec Stuttgart
> Lecture on laser welding plastics
> Vacancies@Indes
> Services of Indes

The Dutch National Network of Health Care Product Range Co-ordinators (LNAG) and the Netherlands Association for Purchasing and Logistics in Health Care (NVILG) organise a periodic two-day seminar to be arranged by Indes.

The first course will be held on 7 and 8 March 2006.

The title of the seminar is: ‘Functional specification: a prerequisite for a professional purchasing process’. This seminar offers knowledge and skills to enable health care workers to draw up a List of Requirements and to enable suppliers to meet the requirements in that schedule.

For more information, see www.medicaldevice.nl/cursus

ON 12 January 2006, Delft University of Technology organised a symposium entitled ‘The experience of everyday things’ to accompany the presentation of an honorary degree in industrial design to Donald Norman (NielsenNorman Group, Professor at Northwestern University).

The theme of the symposium was ‘The relationship between the human sciences and design. How can the human sciences inspire, feed and provoke designers?’

In his introduction, Henk Janssen defended the following thesis:

In order to develop successful products, the designer must think like a demanding user as well as like a smart advertiser. True market successes can be developed by exploring new dimensions and wondering how a product can be more attractive for the user (i.e. buyer). It is not just creativity that is important, but rather doing your homework by testing existing products and new concepts and optimising every detail of the final product in accordance with the user’s expectations.
Gaining insight into the factors that determine consumer satisfaction is key in this process. In that respect, it is important to realise that consumers are often guided by emotions – health, fun, comfort, relaxation and safety.
Indes has its own User Centred Design method (UCID®), rooted in ‘scenario﷓based design’. This method doubtlessly yields success for our customers. But do customers get value for money? What do you think?

Other speakers besides Donald Norman included Josephine Green (Philips Design) and Paul Hekkert (Professor in Form Theory at Delft University of Technology)
The symposium elucidated how people can inspire, feed and provoke designers.

For more informationon the site of the TUDelft.

T-Xchange is a cluster of technology companies seeking to improve and speed up innovation routes with the help of methodology development.

Using, among other things, gaming and scenario-based designs, T-Xchange designs methods that can be tried and tested in the T-Xchange lab. Visualisation and virtual reality are used to simulate complex applications, enabling the accelerated development, testing and improvement of products and services. Taking part in T-Xchange in addition to Indes are the Faculty of Industrial Design of the University of Twente, Thales Nederland, Vrest and the Virtual Valley Twente Association.

Having worked with its own User Centered Industrial Design® method for years, Indes recognises the importance of application scenarios in the design process, and therefore helped set up the T-Xchange research programme.

Scenario-based design
Together with the T-Xchange partners, Indes studies gaming, scenario-based design and the use of virtual reality in innovation. T-Xchange approaches innovation and development processes in a new way, challenging the designer to explore new dimensions. This approach involves the use of scenario-based design, which means that no product or service exists yet, only a description of a situation requiring a solution. By visualising these descriptions, as well as potential solutions, you can start gaming, a hands-on way of finding the best solution. The players in the game are users (i.e. buyers), experts and designers. This design method harmonises well with the UCID® method designed by Indes. VR technologies such as a semi-circular projection screen for 3D visualisations and desks with tablet PCs are available in the new UT lab. The players’ moves are registered so that the process can be monitored and adjusted where necessary.

Indes will be engaging T-Xchange for strategic analysis and idea finding but also to test evolved concepts and existing products (benchmarking). Indes is set to continue the development of the UCID® method over the next few years and will be organising a mini symposium on T-Xchange and UCID® in 2006. If you are interested in this symposium, please let us know by email.

For more information on T-Xchange, please contact Willem Mees van der Bijl

On the 31st of January Indes received the Prize awarded by the Public of the Dutch Design Award for the children’s glasses.

The children’s glasses already won the Dutch Design Award in the consumer products category and the overall Design for All award. Five designs were nominated for the Prize awarded by the Public.

The DGT easy is a digital chess clock for young and amateur chess players. Digital Game Timer Projects wanted to market a simple chess clock and asked Indes for a user-friendly redesign of its existing chess clock.

The DGT easy will be introduced at the Spielwarenmesse in Nürnberg in February 2006. In co-operation with Indes, DGT Projects developed the
DGT 2000 and DGT XL digital chess clocks in the past 15 years.

These clocks are approved by the FIDE World Chess Federation and
are also used during official chess tournaments and by chess clubs.
This current digital version, simpler and cheaper than the professional
version, is ideally suited for home players.

Indes supported DGT in the design, the production of the user
interface and the design testing. The results of the user test among
children and professionals were incorporated into the final design.
As such, it is completely geared to the user and easy to use.

In recent years, DGT – an Indes customer since its establishment – has become one of the key players in the niche market of chess clocks.

-top-

PerfectPilot: a GPS system for motorcyclists

Client: WayPoint Notter b.v.

It is impossible to imagine traffic today without GPS systems.
They are used in cars, on motorcycles and on boats.

These target groups have widely varying habits and needs as
regards the use of a GPS system, which is why WayPoint Notter,
the company that sells the most GPS systems in the Benelux,
decided to develop ideas and solutions to improve the usability
of these systems.

Indes was asked to develop a remote control for the Garmin
Streetpilot GPS to make this successful model more user-friendly
for motorcyclists. Indes completed the project within 22 weeks,
from the initial sketches until delivery of the first series. Indes
designed the product and organised the development of the
hardware and the software (at 3T in Enschede). The product is
manufactured in China, under the responsibility of Indes.

The GPS controller can be mounted onto motorcycles alongside
the Garmin Streetpilot and solves most of the problems
motorcyclists have operating the Garmin Streetpilot:

• improved operation when wearing gloves
• ability to zoom in and out and pan at all times, using the large joystick button
• direct access to the most frequently used menu components
• a wireless (BlueTooth) audio connection in the helmet for instructions

The GPS controller makes Waypoint Notter the key player in the niche market of GOS systems for motorcyclists.

If you want a thorough test of your product contact Ira Hesp.