Life-Based Design as an Inclusive Tool for Managing Microinnovations

This paper investigates the role of focus group methodology within the context of microinnovation management and life-based design (LBD). LBD is a multi-dimensional approach which emphasises the importance of understanding people's lives (forms of life and circumstances) as a basis for creating design ideas and concept design. Human-technology interaction (HTI) is embedded in the everyday lives of people from all age groups, yet the levels and approaches to this interaction vastly differ between various groups. Thus, based on the principles of LBD, this paper discusses a method for collecting and managing people's experiences to serve as guidelines within an inclusive design process. The focus group method operates in the form of group interviews, where the discussion is led by a theme and/or a particular activity. Microinnovation management concentrates on the management of smaller innovations such as those produced on an individual or group level, within such processes as focus groups. We are using this paper as an opportunity to theorise the focus group method as an example of Experience Management, in the generation and management of microinnovations. In this paper we discuss the way we have the focus group method as a means to gain critical feedback and reformulate a user-centred questionnaire and conceptual design. Experience is seen as central to this paper for the following two reasons: 1) that we can learn from a variety of people's life experiences, based on various forms of life, in order to inform our own decisions when assembling design frameworks; and 2) that experience is an outcome of the design process – either past, present or future. The notion of microinnovation management comes into play when discussing the utilisation of ideas generated through such design methodologies to inform concrete design decisions.