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Human Factors Projects—Quick Wins and Practical Tips

From Pharmapack Europe: Not every package update requires a major redesign. Leveraging lo-fi prototypes can save time before usability studies.

Dots and an arrow signify where to open the carton. Credit: Roche via Pharmapack Europe.
Dots and an arrow signify where to open the carton. Credit: Roche via Pharmapack Europe.

There are a variety of valuable human factors updates that fall outside of what the packaging and medical device communities think of as the “regulated space,” according to Tiffany McIntire, principal human factors engineer at Roche Pharmaceuticals.

In her years of experience, McIntire—also a psychologist—has worked on over 10 submissions with the FDA and has transitioned from working on combination products to looking at the wider portfolio at Roche.

At Pharmapack Europe, she discussed packaging solutions that unfolded from smaller projects. A key takeaway: not every package update needs to be a major, labor-intensive redesign—sometimes you can find quick wins.

This is Part 2 of a two-part series. For Part 1, visit:  Checklist Helps Identify When to Bring Human Factors into Projects

Leverage lo-fi prototypes: cheap and fast

After learning from human factors workshops with cross-functional teams, understanding production needs and writing requirements, then it’s time for early design iterations. McIntire noted that her team starts out with low-fidelity 3D prototypes—even pulling from other examples or making them from clay to introduce the concept—as well as digital prototypes.

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