They make it easier to create the test plan to develop a product idea. For instance, designers might determine where and how to test higher-fidelity prototypes. The results of continuing development activities are also easier to interpret. When a company is searching for a system from another company to augment its product, it can use such findings as selection criteria. The discovery phase of medical device design.
Market research is another way to determine the information needs and wants of end-users.
But market research techniques, like focus groups, can come up short. Many device company marketing groups know this and use data sources like success stories about similar products or information about troublesome products from sources such as medical device reports. Using this kind of information can complement human factors methods in early device design phases. Even though much of the discovery-phase work on medical products is proprietary, a few designers have written about their successes. The following case studies from a medical ultrasound imaging company, a pharmaceutical company, and a consumer products company reveal that contextual inquiry can be used successfully in the discovery phase of design.