Product Development for VR Surgery using AHP
Deliverables
From Needs Finding to Analysis
After completing the JTBD analysis, I wanted to measure whether the perception of surgeons matched the data we had inferred from the quantitative analysis. For this, I ran an Analytical Hierarchy Process analysis.
Research Challenges
In this phase of the research, I ran into more challenges than in the other phases. It was difficult to reach surgeons, who had a demanding schedule. Several of them wanted to fully understand the rationale behind the methodology before participating, turning interview sessions into detailed methodology discussions. Most of the effort during this phase was aimed at building understanding, communicating value and managing relations.
Triangulation
Using triangulation, I was able to highlight discrepancies between needs identified from JTBD quantitative intakes and the evaluation of these same items in qualitative interviews. This helped us understand that although a problem area had been identified early into the process, it was only apparent to surgeons later, when problems manifested. The surgeons were aware of the issues caused, but not of the glitch in the process where the roots of these issues emerged.
Generalizing across Sub-Specialties
One of the challenges in measuring this was to find a uniform, standardized way of depicting the activities, which varied across sub-specialties. Since Ulwick’s JTBD had been built around surgery, we re-used the same model. This had the added advantage of direct mapping from the quantitative JTBD data to the qualitative interviews.
Analytical Hierarchy Process
The AHP analysis was an efficient and quick way to analyze the issues. It consisted of rating and ranking various phases of the work. Since surgeons are efficient and sensitive to time, this data collection method was a good fit. It added an additional layer of validity to the previously conducted research.
Findings were useful in understanding how to present the technology. While the previous study indicated to us the areas from which features development might most benefit, this study identified how to talk to surgeons about the impact of this solution. Rather than focusing on the area where the problem first arose, it would be better received by talking about the area where the problem became truly visible, and was widely perceived and accepted. We could then return to the root cause and show how the solution could prevent the issue through early intervention.
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My Role
Researcher
Analyst
Project Manager