How might we encourage conscious and conscientious use of water among young adults?

Summary
This project, for the development of a device called Sherpa, was borne out of the realization that many young adults cared about their environmental impact and resource use, yet many in this demographic do not own their own home, restricting or preventing them from knowing how much energy or water they are consuming. Many products on the market that could assist with obtaining a broad understanding of individual/household resource consumption are difficult or impossible to retrofit into rented housing, creating a unique gap in the market.
As this was a Design Science project, the principal focus was the design process and not the final product design itself.
Team
4 students taking the course "Analytical Product Design" - 2 Designers and 2 Mechanical Engineers
Tools
Sawtooth survey, Rhino, Google Suite
Role
+ Design Research
+ Product strategy

Final design process map for the Sherpa device.

An example configuration of the the Sherpa water monitor in a home bathroom.

Method
A) Problem Identification
Before delving into the design of a product/service a strong foundational understanding of the stakeholders’ needs must be established in order to assure the right problem is being solved. The objective of this stage of the design process is empathizing with stakeholders, especially customers and end-users to develop a concise problem statement. Going into this process, the only things that were known was that the product/service was to be focused on house-hold environmental issues, with a specific consideration of the young adult demographic.
1. Initial Literature Review
+ Understand home environmental issues
+ Understand psycological factors for behavior modification
+ Laws and regulation
2. Market Research
+ Understanding the competition
+ Patent search and review

Final product positioning chart showing the market gap for a new product.

Example of storyboarding and user scenarios.

3. User Empathy
Qualitative interviews were conducted to better understand the housing environment and needs of the target end-users.
+ Identification of demographic motives
+ Time constrained schedule
+ Habit awareness
+ Immediate and apparent gratification/incentives
B) Ideation and Concept Selection
Once the issue of home water use was identified as a viable domain and there was a solid understanding of the issue, the process shifted towards potential solutions. At this stage the focus was exploring potential solutions to our problem statement and various hardware configurations that would address key issues and concerns fleshed out in the problem identification stage.
1. Selection of key product attributes
2. Brainstorming
+ Design sketches
+ Physical rapid prototyping activities
Pugh chart with initial product sketches for concept selection.
Pugh chart with initial product sketches for concept selection.
Attribute - Characteristics matrix.
Attribute - Characteristics matrix.
Design exploration through rapid prototyping.
Design exploration through rapid prototyping.
3. Identification of the strengths and weaknesses of certain device configurations
+ The design of the product was selected and developed in multiple iterations as significant drawbacks were identified early in the development of several device concepts. For example, power delivery and storage became a concern on several versions of the device that affected design aesthetics, user convenience, environmental impact, and durability. This subsystem ended up driving our final design to comprise of two separate devices, one (the primary device) consisting of a display and central computer and the other, a small, low-power, water flow sensor that attaches to a water source and transfers data back to the primary device in a wireless manner.

C) User Driven Design Refinement
1. Analytical Survey Design
It is crucial that the design process integrates stakeholder input throughout the design process to assure that the product does not deviate from their preferences and needs as the design matured. To achieve this, this project leveraged several surveys throughout the design development process including analytical preference analysis, such as conjoint and Kansei, to quantify latent preference and feature piece value to ensure that the product would deliver value and meet aesthetic expectations.

The Kansei survey analysis used to quantify user perception of various designs, using a considered jointly (conjoint) approach. Based on these results, it was determined that a square shaped device/display provided the best balance between “practical” and “stylish” aesthetics.

The part-worth optimization of customer value, used to determine the optimal (most profitable) combination of screen size, device body-to-display ratio, and price.

2. User Centered Design Optimization
With the data gathered from the surveys, several optimizations could be conducted to allow high-value elements to be prioritized appropriately given the willingness-to-pay for a given design feature. For the Sherpa device, the Kansei (aesthetic) analysis determined that our target users preferred a rectangular device approximately the size of a large smartphone, rounded outer bezels, and a gloss black finish. The value analysis determined that the optimal design would include a 4.5 inch display, a 0.9 screen to body ratio, and cost 55 U.S. dollars.
3. Human Machine Interface (HMI) Design
The HMI for the device was developed with a balance of aesthetics, cognitive and physical ergonomics, and practicality in mind. The largest single challenge was the conflict between the display size and the device placement, which was determined by the location of a customer’s home power outlets. By the “primary” device being tethered to a power outlet, visibility was a significant challenge on the HMI “home” screen as there was a substantial amount of information that users wanted to have visible and it was also necessary for key quick-reference information to be visible at a distance (i.e. while using a kitchen sink). The solution was to divide the HMI into a large grid with individual panels of three different sizes to neatly organize information of varying priority. Users can rearrange the panels to their liking and as they add or remove water sensors in their home. A combination of text and graphics are used to communicate information over large viewing distances, where text alone may not be legible. It was also decided that small LEDs be placed on the tap-mounted sensor to provide direct feedback to the user, in the case that the display is out of direct view.

The display and the sensor

"Home" screen
"Home" screen
Water use "Reflection" Screen
Water use "Reflection" Screen
Water use "Education" Screen
Water use "Education" Screen
Sherpa will also have a companion smartphone application that will directly connect with the Sherpa devices through the user’s home WiFi network. Through this app, users will be able to customize the functionality of the primary display, change water use targets, and pair/manage water sensors to the primary display. We could also leverage this app to allow users to purchase just the water sensor devices and monitor their water use periodically through the smartphone app, without the need for a primary display, if they don’t desire an ever-present reminder of their water use.
D) Product Strategy & Business Plan
The business plan included business model canvas, market share estimation, cost estimation and economic analyses. 
Business Model Canvas
Business Model Canvas
Proforma Analysis
Proforma Analysis
Impact
With Sherpa, we hope to effect a behavioral change in the users towards a responsible and sustainable use of water. We are doing this by creating an intention through pro-social competition, gamification and visualization of personal consumption data. The intention would hopefully get cultivated into a habit pushed forth with constant monitoring, warnings and conservation tips. If the product realizes the humongous market potential, it would lead to an enormous environment impact by saving around 90 billion gallons of water annually.

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