Lisa Malmberg

In technology-driven enterprises there is not a guaranteed market need for the technology being developed. The development is pushed forward by research breakthroughs or opportunities, finding a market and users for the technology comes second. This could pose problems since, without a proper understanding of markets the technology, although potentially useful and valuable, might not reach its user groups.

My work focuses on which role design could play in innovative high technology development. How design could facilitate the journey from technology research to a product on the market.

Contact with the market could, except for a justification for the technology, give new knowledge for the company as to which aspects of the technology the continued development and research should focus on. In other words contact with the market could be important for the technology’s maturation as well.

The observation study from my master thesis showed that the observed business, a Swedish technology-driven organization, worked mainly from an opportunity based approach when trying to develop products based on their technology rather than by seeing the technology in a proper use context. An approach that has been shown unsuccessful. Building on this I am now researching if they could have a more successful product development collaboration with clients if they with design could better identify and communicate the value in their technology. How and where the technology could add value from a user or client perspective.