M.
Steppy
UX Research Case Study
What is Steppy
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Steppy is a physical product created for children with Cerebral Palsy to enable the initial phase of walking.
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Key Goal
To understand a child’s response and needs, existing training methods used and to establish a deep understanding of his/her abilities , motivation and triggers.
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My Roles + Responsibilities
I was the lead researcher in this project when interning at UXMint. Research was conducted at The Spastics Society of Tamil Nadu (SPASTN), Chennai
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Timeline & Team
User research was done over a period of 4-5 weeks. I lead a team with two student researches assisting me.​
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Year
2017-2018
Role
I lead the primary UX Research for this project. Planned and conducted the entire process required for the study. I also had two UXMint (Design Research Academy) students helping me on the same.
The Process
I conducted detailed background research, gathered data on existing methods of treatment, interviews and studies with specialists at the school in order to understand their requirements, challenges and also discover design opportunities.
In this research project, I planned and conducted user interviews, observation studies, contextual inquiries and focus groups at Tamil Nadu Spastic Society, Chennai - a school for special children.
We made 10 full day visits to the school with special permission from the director.
15
One - one interviews
with different user groups
12
Parents in Focus Groups
60
Hours of observation study and contextual inquiry
Challenge : The folks at the school din’t appreciate our presence there (they believed we wouldn't really solve their problem). It made taking interviews with the doctors and teachers really difficult. But we eventually gained their trust. The physiotherapists and teachers opened up to us about their experiences with the children.
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One-One Interviews
Interviewed doctors , physiotherapists , speech therapists , special education teachers (early intervention), vocational trainers and social workers.
We had several hour long interviews, mini interviews and also repeated sessions with doctors and physiotherapists to gain full insight into their pain points.
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Focus Groups
We conducted focus groups of social workers, and parents.
We got interesting narrations and insights into the lives of the children.
Key take aways were their day to day struggles and concerns in protecting and caring for the child.
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Contextual Inquiry & Observation Study
I also did several hours of contextual enquiry and observational studies. There were a lot of challenges in terms of availability of the trainers and therapists as well as a small window of 4 hours per day to talk to as many people we could.
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Therapy Sessions
We got special permission to observe the physiotherapy, speech and communication training for the children at the school. We got key insights on the overall struggles, limitations and factors that needed to be kept in mind while coming up with a solution.
Challenge : No matter how much we empathized, understanding cerebral palsy children and their struggles was a huge challenge (it wasn’t a usual scenario where we could put ourselves in their shoes). I did tonnes of background research in order to ask the right questions and also look out for the right kind of design opportunities.
Background Research
Understanding Cerebral Palsy
Cerebral palsy (CP) is an umbrella term that refers to a group of disorders affecting a person’s ability to move. It is due to damage to the developing brain either during pregnancy or shortly after birth.
Types of CP
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Spastic : Symptoms include stiff, exaggerated movements.
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Athetoid/dyskinetic : Often exhibit involuntary tremors.
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Ataxic : Lack of coordination and balance
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Mixed : Symptoms of more than one type of CP
Location of Paralysis
Monoplegia
Diplegia
Hemiplegia
Quadriplegia
Symptoms
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Problems with movement on one side of body
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Stiff muscles
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Exaggerated or jerky reflexes
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Involuntary movements or tremors
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Drooling
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Problems swallowing or sucking
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Difficulty with speech
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Seizures
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Contracture (shortening of muscles)
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Delayed motor skill development
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Incontinence
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Gastrointestinal problems
 Hocoma’s Lokomat Pro |  TheraSuit therapy |
|---|---|
 Hopsa |  Upsee |
 Rifton gait trainer |  Pediatric LiteGait |
 Rifton Adaptive Tricycle |
Image source : internet
The Outcome
Performed affinity mapping and analysis to narrow down on the pain points and requirements to focus on.
Mapping of motivation, ability and painpoints
Made with Coggle
Target audience
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Age - (4 - 14) yrs
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Weight - Upto 70-80 kgs
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Cognition - Variable cognitive/mental ability
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Solving these two categories would help all 4 types of CP.
Needs - Goals
Current method at school
Needs
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Initiate walking process
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Help child do it subconsciously
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Try to build new neural connections
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Make it painless
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Make it fun
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Give sense of movement/freedom
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Economical solution
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Easy for trainers and parents
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Solution should extend to home
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Culturally acceptable
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Fixing the gait - correcting posture
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Hips
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Leg - thigh, knee, calf, ankle, feet , toes
Target body parts
Hopsa
Initial Prototypes
These are some of the initial prototypes and ideas I worked on. Unfortunately, my internship had ended by then. The product has now evolved into a beautiful, fun and workable solution for the kids. This will continue to remain a memorable project.
What I Learnt
There were several key take aways I gained as a designer and researcher in this project
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Conducting interviews and contextual enquiry in a challenging environment.
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Getting comfortable with a unique environment.
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Also making the participants feel comfortable with us.
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Leading a young team and delegating tasks to them
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Empathizing on a deep level with the children and parents
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Analyzing and making sense of the large amount of data we collected.
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Gathering data, conducting interviews with strict time constraints.
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Understanding a subject out of my comfort zone