The development of smart connected prototypes is becoming part of the designers' toolbox. These connected prototypes allow collecting data about the way people use them. There is an opportunity to examine how is data collection beneficial already during the design process of a connected product.
The way to test the proposition of a connected prototype is by testing it with users. Therefore, companies setup home placement tests by multidisciplinary teams. The current home placement tests lack a tool that enables real time data collection, and real-time two way communication between the designer team and the participants of the home placement test.
This thesis proposes a home placement test management tool. Twelve main features are made possible by the proposed home placement test management tool during the design process of a connected product. These twelve features are introduced in three related areas. Firstly, it is discussed how the tool improves knowledge transfer between the participants of the home placement test, and among the creators of the home placement test. Secondly, it is discussed what enhancements does data collection and access to data bring to the design process. Thirdly, it is discussed how to design services for inter-connected products.
The findings of this thesis are based on a six months internship at Philips Design. The aim of the internship was creating a home placement test of a connected product that collects data about the product use by the participants. The work presented in this thesis is evaluated and examined based on a case study from the industry
