A New Age Protein Purification System
How might we simplify the process of protein purification for scientists and researchers working in industrial and academic environments?
School :
Umeå Institute of Design, Sweden
Course :
Professional Product
October - December 2018 , 10 weeks
Tools used :
Guides :
Stoffel Kuenen
Mats Olsson
Andriy Yasynetskyy
Team Members :
Kristine Lundteppen
Ashutosh Biltharia
Pranjal Bhown
Introduction
A collaboration between GE Healthcare LifeSciences at Uppsala and Umeå Institute of Design, Sweden, this project aimed at providing a futuristic professional solution for scientists and researchers who perform chromatography for protein purification.
Students were given an opportunity to work in collaboration with the design team at GE LifeSciences at their Uppsala facility, share their ideas and receive feedback from the users and designers themselves.
Research
GEHCLS facility at Uppsala
Visiting the GE facility at Uppsala was a great opportunity for us to understand the fundamentals of the field of chromatography. We also met the design team of GE and they shared their experiences and insights along with the current projects they're working on.
KBC Visit, Umeå University
Umeå University has its own Chemical Biology Centre known as Kemiskt Biologiskt Centrum, or KBC. We interacted with students and professors and observed how they work in their environment. We studied the use of the labs and how key personnel handled the machines and equipment.
Molecular Biology Lab, Umeå University
At the Molecular Biology Lab of Umeå University, we got a chance to meet with the expert users of the domain. Their aspirations, goals and expectations were very different from the previous research group.
Informal Interviews
As we progressed further into the project, more questions arose because we were fairly new to the domain. Informal dinner interviews were conducted with students of the domain. Exercises like task flow mapping and collaborative sketching were conducted as well.
Research Synthesis
The quantity of data increased exponentially as we progressed and there was a frequent need to sort the collated data. The data was synthesised and relevant insights were distilled. The entire team bonded over amazing food and intense debates. This part of the project was the one that I enjoyed the most.
Ideation
Defining a brief
In words of our guide Niklas Andersson, "A well defined brief is half the project done". After questioning and examining our original understanding of the subject matter, backed up with three weeks long research, my team defined a brief for the coming weeks:
"How might we provide an intelligent protein purification system, which has a lesser footprint, optimises human-machine interaction and simplifies the workflow."
Moodboards
It is important for a team to share its ideas about and aspirations from the project. Mood-boards proved to be an effective way to communicate what each team member had in mind about the possible outcomes and solutions of the project. The nature of these ideas varied from features and product behaviours to visual language and form of the product. Over time, mood-boards became second language of our team.
Rapid Sketching
After defining the brief, our team had multiple brainstorming sessions as an exercise to get out the ideas right on top of the heads. Quick, one-minute-sketching was adopted and we were able to produce over 50 sketches within half an hour. Promising solutions were pinned up together and 'families' of ideas were identified.
Our team focused on three basic aspects:
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Accessibility
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Tangibility
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Integration
Execution
Prototyping and testing
Various workshops were conducted to facilitate a fail fast approach and to enhance prototyping skills. Quick user testing sessions were also conducted with various stakeholders to build upon ideas in a collaborative manner. The fidelity of the prototypes varied from paper folded prototypes to sophisticated ones with moving parts!
Refining the solution
With the onset of the sixth week, our team had started refining the various ideas we had proposed. Similar concepts were merged and bundled together as package solutions. An integrated ecosystem of products was created to solve wide ranging problems.
Digital solutions, physical solutions, system and service solutions along with documentation and a quick video, all within a matter of few weeks. Developing these in such a compressed time frame was a huge learning curve and at the same time immensely exciting and challenging.
Due to a Non Disclosure Agreement signed with GE HealthCare LifeSciences, I cannot display the solutions and proposals my team had come up with during the progression of the project for now.
However, I will be more than happy to discuss my learnings and experiences from the project with you, when we connect!