Need Definition For International Humanitarian Design Projects: A Contextual Needs Assessment Case Study For Remote Power

A student team designed, prototyped, and tested a system with the end goal of providing 2.5kW-hr/day of electrical power in remote areas, captured from a river with no dams or significant potential energy change. The project was sponsored by two international service organizations with need for remote power. The design team applied a recently published design method specifically developed for frontier design projects, that is, projects beyond the experience and expertise of the designers. The team applied the “Contextual Needs Assessment” method to identify important contextual influences and guide customer interviews. The resulting contextual data proved profoundly important to correct need definition and design direction for the project. Contextual interview transcripts provided the basis to form a customer needs list and design specifications. This paper describes the project partners and goals, contextual needs assessment method, project results, and specific design decisions impacted.