Prof Göran Roos FTSE | United Kingdom
GCMA Board Member and one of Direccion y Progreso’s top 13 influential thinkers of the 21st Century, Professor Göran Roos is someone who has spent a career investigating and studying intellectual capital and innovation management.
His passion for innovation, research and the pursuit of knowledge is clear, and in this article, we explore the value of and reason why LifeLabs are important when it comes to driving innovation.
The GCMA is privileged to be one of only 33 Living Labs in the world that focuses on innovation in ageing and as the ageing well sector grows, LifeLabs will play a crucial role in informing product development that benefits the many.
Defining what a LifeLab is, Prof Roos said: “A LifeLab is a living laboratory that can be set up anywhere a researcher can observe to gather data.”
See our Q&A with him below.
Q1: Prof Roos – can you provide us an explanation of what LifeLabs are and why we might use them?
When you are looking to develop new knowledge, there are four research paradigms, or world views, you can use – the scientific paradigm, the design paradigm, art-based paradigm and reverse hermeneutics (diverse methodologies for creating texts, objects, concepts and other artefacts that generates a predetermined, frequently emotional, interpretation or understanding).
All paradigms are important and can be useful, pending on what the researchers want to achieve. LifeLabs work primarily within the design paradigm (The methods used are, depending on the task, collected from design science, usability engineering, ethnography, action research and anthropology with a sprinkling of hermeneutics).
The objective of the design paradigm is to, grounded in the subjective world view of the user, achieve behavioural change in the user which is: desirable from the user’s point of view [this means that they are better off in their own opinion after the change]; beneficial to the supplier of the artefact (product or service); and positively impacting other stakeholders.
LifeLabs afford researchers an opportunity to observe how products or services are used in a real-life setting. The intention behind this observation is to study ways to improve the design for a target audience.
Q2: Can you describe an example of the LifeLab approach to us?
An example might be a functioning kitchen – this can be either a lab that replicates a home kitchen or the real at-home kitchen. A researcher might ask the subject to make a cup of tea, where they will be studying something – it could be the sink or the tap for the water, the cup, the teapot or even the teabag. The researcher would not initially inform the subject of what they are studying but observe behaviours and challenges.
Following the observation, an initial round of questioning would take place, where the researcher will ask questions about the task, without making clear what was being studied.
And, finally, the researcher might say, “I was studying the tea bag” then rephrase the questions, so the subject can answer based on context as well as providing suggestions for improving the tea bag.
This way the researcher can observe and interpret behaviour, avoid biased initial answers and ensure the subject doesn’t change their normal behaviour by focusing too much on the object or process being studied.
The aim of the LifeLab is to provide an environment where the subjective world view of the individual being studied can come to light, meaning the personal views of the researcher should not impact the outcomes.
Q3. How can businesses use LifeLabs to develop products, and engage citizens to help drive development?
Considering the modern ageing sector as an example, there are numerous gadgets developed by highly educated (and frequently young) engineers, and they are often not as useful as intended due to the developer not being familiar with the world and behaviour of the intended user.
There might be tiny buttons that are hard for people with shaky hands to use, so a developer who doesn’t have shaky hands or have not observed this challenge might not take this into account in the design. There might be child safe packages that cannot be opened by older people with weaker hands etc.
From a scientific point of view, it’s easy to test standards and functional performance, but this does not automatically translate to a product fit for purpose in the intended use-environment for example that of older people.
By using a LifeLab, an older person can be observed and studied in the appropriate environment where they will use the product. In this regard, observations can be taken on board and user suggestions incorporated making the older person a co-designer of the final product. This of course also reduces the market risk of the new product from the producer’s point of view which is a very strong incentive for producers to engage in this activity.
The GCMA LifeLab:
At our Tonsley headquarters, GCMA’s LifeLab is a simulated real-life environment where our researchers can work alongside older people and businesses to co-design and validate products, services and experiences that will better serve the lives of ageing people in Australia and around the world.
Our LifeLab is equipped with motion-capture audio and video cameras and a data analytics hub. The flexible space has a functional kitchenette and can replicate a range of settings, including allied health clinics, retail outlets, a community centre, and the home environment.
And, through the GCMA’s robust living laboratory approach, we capture people-centred insights to truly inform and enhance policy, product and service development, delivery, and adoption.
