Need Specification

A lot of times innovations fail because they have not been developed to address “real” customer or market
needs. Creating well expressed need statements is a potential way of avoiding these pitfalls.

1. Need Statement

A way to serve the muscular movement need to overcome the difficulty in muscle movement in the
elderly due to age factor.

2. Background

Explain your problem to someone who is unfamiliar with the need. Tell a story – set the stage.

My maternal grandfather had a farming business and most part of his life involved a lot of physical
movement. But as he grew older, his body gradually decreased the bearing of the load of all this
muscle activity. And eventually, he had to stay back at home and use walking sticks to even walk to
the bathroom on his own. This was very mentally frustrating to him, since this limited his social
interactions and hindered his independence.

3. Significance

Why is it worth the time and effort to solve this problem? Why should anyone care? How big of a
problem is it? What would be the impact if this problem is solved? The significance should be rooted
in research: hard data, observations, and interviews.

The above background information is just one part of a story that is personal. In the larger context, I
have seen a degraded muscular movement among the elderly population. This should be a matter of
concern as the elderly population is growing rapidly and form a major part of the society. A solution
for this will not only make daily tasks easier for the elderly but it will also provide ease to the family
members/ caretakers of the respective elderly. While our focus is elderly, the solution will also
accommodate people with muscular dystrophy. Hence, this requires imminent attention to come up
with an innovative solution that can restore the same old muscular movement.

4. Current methods/Solutions

What are the existing solutions? Why are they not adequate?

I. Existing Solution – Walking Cane/Stick

a. Description (include pictures and diagrams as needed)
It is a device used primarily to aid walking, provide postural stability or support, or
assist in maintaining a good posture.
 b. Strengths
 Improves balance and stability
 help you maintain proper posture, especially in the upper back, and
may help to strengthen upper back muscles
 takes some of the load off your lower back, hips and knees, which may
be helpful if you have arthritis or back problems
c. Weaknesses
 Long-term use of stick may reduce balance and coordinative ability of
the subject
 Can cause back and shoulder pains
 Joint pain in hands
 Can cause fall, not very stable
II. Existing Solution – Walker
a. Description (include pictures and diagrams as needed)
A walker or walking frame is a tool for disabled people, who need additional support
to maintain balance or stability while walking, most commonly due to age-related
physical restrictions.

b. Strengths
 They provide full support and are better for weight bearing
c. Weaknesses
 They can be more difficult to use.
 They are not ideal if you have minor mobility issues.
 They take up more space and are more difficult to transport than canes.
 III. Existing Solution – Title
a. Description (include pictures and diagrams as needed)
A wheelchair is a chair with wheels, used when walking is difficult or impossible due
to old age, injury, or disability.

b. Strengths
 come in a wide variety of formats to meet the specific needs of their users
 They may include specialized seating adaptions, individualized controls,
and may be specific to activities
c. Weaknesses
 Can be expensive depending on the specifications
 Not all elderly can manually move it
 Not supported by the local infrastructure
5. Stakeholders assessment
a. Provide a description of a representative person or entity that faces this problem, and for
whom you’re solving this problem. Providing a description of such a stakeholder will help
ensure that you always keep the stakeholders at forefront at every stage of design. There
may be multiple stakeholders for your problem, but preliminarily identify just one
substantial stakeholder. (Excel stakeholder analysis table can be included here)
b. Concept requirements for each stakeholder
i. What are the essential (musts) features of your solution (concept) according to
each stakeholder? The need cannot be met or problem cannot be considered
solved if any of these are missing.
ii. What are the important (nice to have) features according to each stakeholder?
These requirements can be prioritized and some of them may even be omitted,
and the need would still be considered addressed.
Stakeholder: Elderly People
Conceptual Requirements:
 A way to ease the physical movement
 A mechanism which is easy to use and have an easy interface.

Stakeholder: Caretaker
Conceptual Requirements:
Less load on them to assist elderly
6. Concept Requirement

What are the final concept requirements you will be moving forward with? Your document should
also include a prioritized list of `Nice to have’ concept requirements.

1. Easy GUI
2. Simple operation
3. Requires less physical movement to make it work
1. Need Statement#2
A way to make communication better for elderly people as old age degrades their hearing ability.

2. Background

Explain your problem to someone who is unfamiliar with the need. Tell a story – set the stage.

My grandmother who used to go out and sit with the neighbors in the nearby park eventually stopped
interacting with people outside home as her hearing worsened. She felt extremely embarrassed when
she had to ask people to repeat what they are saying. This affected her mental health as she started
to isolate herself.

3. Significance

Why is it worth the time and effort to solve this problem? Why should anyone care? How big of a
problem is it? What would be the impact if this problem is solved? The significance should be rooted
in research: hard data, observations, and interviews.

The above story is what most elderly eventually go through at some point. Their inability to hear
properly not only impacts them but it also affects people around them. This problem creates a
communication barrier for them making it extremely hard for them to socialize and enjoy any form of
entertainment. This results in the elderly feeling agitated and neglected. This is a prevalent problem
among the elderly population and as the elderly population is on the rise, this needs to be dealt
urgently in order to improve the elderly experience.

4. Current methods/Solutions

What are the existing solutions? Why are they not adequate?

i. Existing Solution – Hearing aids

a. Description (include pictures and diagrams as needed)
It is a device designed to improve hearing by making sound audible to a person with
hearing loss.

b. Strengths
 Enhanced Directional Perception
 Available in a Variety of Styles and Configurations
 Targeted Amplification of Specific Voices or Sounds You’re Trying to Focus On
c. Weaknesses
 High Price
 Potential Discomfort
  Maintenance Issues
ii. Existing Solution – Cochlear implants
a. Description (include pictures and diagrams as needed)
A cochlear implant is a surgically implanted neuro-prosthetic device to provide a
person with moderate to profound sensorineural hearing loss a modified sense of
sound.

b. Strengths
 Increases hearing capabilities
 May replace need for sign language or lip reading
 Increases safety (Being able to hear external warnings of danger lessens the
likelihood of injury, such as an ambulance siren warning the person to move
out of the way.)
c. Weaknesses
 High Price
 Possibility of permanent damage to the auditory nerve
 Can cause muscle spasms, numbness, or partial facial paralysis

Need Statement 3:

Some mechanism to make their ability to see better since visual impairment is a leading issue in old age
people.