Medtronic engaged IDEO to help design a next-generation pump to succeed the MiniMed 522, which combined insulin delivery with wireless continuous glucose measurement. IDEO proposed a more capable LCD screen and more buttons, among other things. Before the project was shelved in favor of a patch-pump concept I took over interaction design from IDEO.
My role: ideation, workflows, on-screen and physical mockups, usability testing, demonstrating enhanced usability to executives and the firmware and pump hardware teams
Lessons learned: it’s easy to be a poor client and fail to get your money’s worth from even the most capable firm. Industrial design and interaction design should be done at the same time so they can inform each other; no team makes a pure vessel for the other to fill.