EVALUATION
D
Due to the limited time available for this project, the prototypes could not be tested and evaluated properly. However, a recommended user test plan is still made. It provides a clearer overview of what can be done further and improved.
User study test
User study test plan
Tests have been done with an earlier prototype to get an idea of the effectiveness of the basic principle of the balance board. Providing Tim with a tool to better keep his attention at the athletics training and keeping him in one place has proved to give successful results. This basis was developed further and received some additional features. These features are interchangeable parts, in order to adjust the difficulty level and keep things fresh, and an option for emitting vibrations, to indicate whether the user is in balance or not. This would have to be tested further and could be done in the following way.
Research question
The question that should be answered with this test is whether the added features contribute to the level of attention the user can muster towards the athletics training and whether the ability to interchange parts keeps the product interesting and fresh for a long time.
Method
In order to execute proper testing, the board should be incorporated and tested at the athletics training. The design is catered towards Tim, but of course, he is not the only kid attending the training. To see whether the product will remain effective over a longer period of time, it must be incorporated into the training for at least one month in succession. This would indicate whether the results are positive and beneficial to the training as a whole.
Attention:
In order to test this, the boards just need to be situated at the location where the trainer wants to give the explanation, or when used during an exercise at the location of this exercise. Tim and the other kids will step on the board and try to balance however they want. It must be observed whether they are listening better, participating better and whether they stay at the place where they need to be.
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Changing parts:
There is a chance that, once Tim gets used to the board, he will start to lose interest and its effectiveness will decline. Furthermore, the kids must be able to change the parts on their own. The parts are released when a button is pressed. So the kids should be tasked with trying this out a couple of times and successfully attaching another part. This can first be done with instructions and later on, it should be observed whether the kids can do it on their own.
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Vibrations:
In order to provide feedback on how the user is doing with balancing and to provide the possibility of a game element, the board contains a vibration mechanism. This feature is optional and can be turned on and off with a button. The trainer could make a game out of this by having all kids turn on this feature and see who can stay balanced the longest. A feature that the prototype does not yet have, but which could be added in a future version is that the data of how long and well the kids are balancing could be recorded and compared on a phone for example. ​
Evaluation and user experience
After testing all of the above, the results should be evaluated again in order to make further improvements. It would be nice to ask the user about their experience directly, however, due to Tim’s mental impairments on top of his young age, it would be very hard to get a response that is constructive and implementable. This is not very different from the other kids. Therefore the best way of evaluation is to observe very closely while the tests are being executed and ask the trainer afterwards about his impression.
Suitability for other users
In order to keep the product fit Tim more, a vibration system is implemented. During the explanation, the vibration system can remind him to stay balanced. The reason for only implementing vibration as feedback on the balance board is because this is the least distracting one for Tim because the purpose of the product is to help him focus on the explanation and in the meanwhile, he can still receive the feedback. However, if the product wants to enter the market, the function needs to be adjusted to fit more users. For other users, the balance board will not only be an object to help them to focus, so it would be nice if the product can combine with other functions, for example, combining some games in it or using colours, lights or sounds as feedback which can make it more engaging.
Furthermore, there will be many kinds of tops and buttons that people can select according to their preference. In general, the product is already distinguished from the market since there is no balance board that has a similar function. To enter the market, the product can be adjusted by including a more entertaining function and more options on top and bottom plate to attract more users.