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++ Be the Next Winner ➜ How to Enter ++ Talent Track: Award Winners, 06 November ➜ Register

Designers

Yifan Wang, Ruiqing Wang, Yahan Xie

Year

2024

Category

New Talent

Country

United States

School

University of Washington

Teacher

Steven Gustafson, John Raiti

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Three questions for the project team

What was the particular challenge of the project from a UX point of view?
Digital health is a dynamic and competitive field that encompasses both software, particularly data analysis and machine learning, and hardware development. As UX designers, we must master new domain-specific languages to fully understand and design comprehensive end-to-end user experiences that go beyond a mere software design. Our primary challenge is to deliver a complete and ready-to-use product within three months. This product includes custom hardware engineering, mobile app development, cloud data management, and machine learning algorithms. Throughout each stage of product development, we meticulously consider user needs and continuously iterate to balance these with business objectives and development constraints.

What was your personal highlight in the development process? Was there an aha!-moment, was there a low point?
An aha! moment in our project was strategically dividing product development into three stages, ensuring our success. We began with low-fi cardboard gloves that progressed to mid-fi with customized PCBs and sensors, and completed with hi-fi gloves integrated with data collection and machine learning. Inside each stage, we also have interface design, fabrication, and backend development. Achieving a fully functional product in just three months appeared nearly impossible, yet through relentless collaboration and ongoing user feedback from industry professionals and potential users, we successfully delivered. This accomplishment not only demonstrates our team's commitment but also sets a new benchmark in rapid, user-driven product development.

Where do you see yourself and the project in the next five years?
We plan to collaborate with industry sponsors this fall to enhance and test our product's hardware and software. Additionally, we aim to minimize costs by exploring affordable, comfortable fabrication materials and efficient cloud services for data storage and machine learning. As the digital health market rapidly grows, staying updated with the latest technologies and conducting thorough market research is essential. This will help us to set clear business values, strategies, and goals for Harmony X. Despite the challenges ahead, we are committed to evolve as designers who embrace these challenges to create innovative user experiences that fundamentally improve how people live.