44
O. Rexfelt and A. Selvefors
As shown in Fig. 3.7, the tool consists of an A3-format canvas with a large
matrix, in many ways similar to a Pugh-matrix (Kuikka and Swenne 2017). To
aid assessment of the concepts from each stakeholder’s point of view, supportive
questions are included on the canvas. The canvas also has a section to mark all
the concepts on a chart similar to a PICK-chart (Pugh 1981), often referred to as
an impact-effort matrix. This way, all concepts can be compared regarding their
potential effects, and the effort needed in the implementation process.
3.4 Discussion
The overall contribution of the proposed Use2Use design toolkit and its implications
for design practice and future work will be discussed in this section.
3.4.1 Contribution
Since the toolkit has been developed to especially address people’s consumption
processes and the design challenges they entail, it complements previously proposed
circular design tools in several ways. It is designed to aid the exploration of user
needs and, as recommended by de los Rios and Charnley (2016), it provides support
for conducting new types of user studies. Two of the tools, the Circular journeys
exploration pack and the Multiple use-cycles exploration pack, can be used together
with users to facilitate user needs elicitation. Through the use of these tools it will
be possible to identify design challenges and product requirements that are essential
to address in order for circular consumption processes to become more preferable
compared to linear ones. For instance, although “facilitate cleaning” is an important
requirement for most designs, it becomes even more relevant if a product is to be
used for a long period of time by many subsequent users.
The proposed toolkit highlights new types of design opportunities and rationales
for companies. In particular, it points to that companies do not have to develop
business models with themselves as the nexus of circularity. Instead, they can
develop products and services fit for circular consumption that enable products to
be transferred from use to use. The toolkit also emphasises that design opportunities commonly framed from a production or business perspective can be addressed
from a user perspective, which is often overlooked in other available tools. For
instance, facilitating dis-assembly is a common strategy to enable circular production processes, but it may be just as important for users to be able to disassemble a
product so that they can conveniently transport it to new users. From a design point
of view, facilitating dis-assembly for users may be very different from facilitating
dis-assembly in a production line. Hence, if a product is to be frequently shared,
rented, or sold second-hand, it may be better to optimise the design so that it can be
exchanged easily from use to use rather than to optimise it for re-production flows.
O. Rexfelt and A. Selvefors
As shown in Fig. 3.7, the tool consists of an A3-format canvas with a large
matrix, in many ways similar to a Pugh-matrix (Kuikka and Swenne 2017). To
aid assessment of the concepts from each stakeholder’s point of view, supportive
questions are included on the canvas. The canvas also has a section to mark all
the concepts on a chart similar to a PICK-chart (Pugh 1981), often referred to as
an impact-effort matrix. This way, all concepts can be compared regarding their
potential effects, and the effort needed in the implementation process.
3.4 Discussion
The overall contribution of the proposed Use2Use design toolkit and its implications
for design practice and future work will be discussed in this section.
3.4.1 Contribution
Since the toolkit has been developed to especially address people’s consumption
processes and the design challenges they entail, it complements previously proposed
circular design tools in several ways. It is designed to aid the exploration of user
needs and, as recommended by de los Rios and Charnley (2016), it provides support
for conducting new types of user studies. Two of the tools, the Circular journeys
exploration pack and the Multiple use-cycles exploration pack, can be used together
with users to facilitate user needs elicitation. Through the use of these tools it will
be possible to identify design challenges and product requirements that are essential
to address in order for circular consumption processes to become more preferable
compared to linear ones. For instance, although “facilitate cleaning” is an important
requirement for most designs, it becomes even more relevant if a product is to be
used for a long period of time by many subsequent users.
The proposed toolkit highlights new types of design opportunities and rationales
for companies. In particular, it points to that companies do not have to develop
business models with themselves as the nexus of circularity. Instead, they can
develop products and services fit for circular consumption that enable products to
be transferred from use to use. The toolkit also emphasises that design opportunities commonly framed from a production or business perspective can be addressed
from a user perspective, which is often overlooked in other available tools. For
instance, facilitating dis-assembly is a common strategy to enable circular production processes, but it may be just as important for users to be able to disassemble a
product so that they can conveniently transport it to new users. From a design point
of view, facilitating dis-assembly for users may be very different from facilitating
dis-assembly in a production line. Hence, if a product is to be frequently shared,
rented, or sold second-hand, it may be better to optimise the design so that it can be
exchanged easily from use to use rather than to optimise it for re-production flows.