Proposal of an FFE model with a high degree of innovation integrating TRIZ and design thinking methodologies, specific for the personal health equipment sector

Abstract

AbstractThe literature identifies incremental and radical innovation. In product design and development with a High Degree of Innovation (HDI), different authors identify the difficulties encountered in the Fuzzy Front End (FFE), which is the most critical stage due to the difficulty in understanding and articulating the opportunities detected, but that have a decisive impact on the future product. Personal Health Equipment (PHE), in turn, is designed to improve the lives of people in vulnerable conditions. They are highly regulated products, and their development is considered complex and dynamic since it requires integrating several technologies. The research aimed to synthesize an FFE model for the PHE sector, called DTRIZ, specific to HDI. TRIZ and Design Thinking (DT) methodologies were thus integrated; TRIZ emphasizes technological evolution, and DT has a user-centered approach. The model was conceived with the help of bibliographic research, and later, it was validated by four practical applications with companies in the PHE sector. The validation allowed us to determine how the model proposed supports the clarification of the problem and the search for innovative solutions from the user’s perspective and from the technological point of view.

Keywords

• Design Thinking
• Fuzzy Front End
• high degree of innovation
• product development
• medical device
• radical innovation