As with any human centered project, the primary stakeholders are the individuals the project intended to support. In this case, the primary stakeholders are wheelchair users, specifically those who are primarily independent or are striving to be primarily independent. In addition to these stakeholders, external partnerships were formed with a variety of individuals with mechanical or medical knowledge that is beyond the current expertise of the team.
The team has consulted a combination of individuals with technical backgrounds and individuals who have experience working with or using wheelchairs. The team completed an IRB application and received approval. The team has gathered information from a variety of healthcare professionals and wheelchair users by conducting the surveys and interviews that were approved by the IRB committee. The surveys were found to be relatively ineffective as there were too many steps required for the volunteer to take the survey. However, the team was able conduct three interviews of wheelchair users who expressed their excitement for the new technology and their appreciation for being included in the project. All three interviewees were friends of team members.
Some of the feedback from the interview process includes an emphasis on keeping the device lightweight and some concerns about placing hands near the moving spokes of the wheels. It was pointed out that the battery being used to power the motors is too large to be taken into an airport as a carry-on which would decrease the device’s portability. It was also brought up that it is virtually impossible to avoid going over bumps in a wheelchair making that a crucial function of the design. Interviewees also helped the team understand the various types of wheelchairs available for wheelchair users. The wheelchairs vary significantly in size and weight making the adjustability of the team’s design crucial. Finally, the interviewees helped identify a more specific target audience of wheelchair users who were previously dependent on another person or an automatic wheelchair but would like to be more independent. Since our device allows wheelchair users to gradually adjust from fully automatic to fully manual, it makes sense for it to be used by a transitioning group.
For the surveys, the team hoped to survey and interview more people with the help of the connections of team members as well as the individuals who were interviewed using the survey questions found in Appendix D. The current survey results are inconclusive due to a low number of initial responses. If the team was able to go through the process again, there would be an emphasis on making the processes of completing the survey easier with the hopes of obtaining more responses. One way the survey could be improved in the future is to include the consent form as part of a single survey link. Currently, the survey requires participants to print out a consent form, physically sign it, and then send it back to the team before completing the survey. By allowing for an e-signature on the survey the process could be quicker and easier. Since none of the team members use a wheelchair or interact directly with a wheelchair user, it is difficult to design a product focused on wheelchairs without the additional feedback gathered from the surveys and interviews.