Stories and Viewpoints

Access & Impact

By: Niki Kapsambelis

March 26, 2025

Alarms blaring. Lights dimming. The churn of chaotic noise. The sound of a heartbeat that gradually speeds up.

This is the atmosphere in the room where Tim will answer a key question: does the device he helped design enable users to successfully deliver a life-saving medicine? Or is he heading back to the drawing board?

Tim, a senior principal device engineer for Viatris’ Global Device Development team, has spent the past seven years testing and refining autoinjectors at the company’s Northern Cross facility in Dublin, Ireland. Known as a human factors engineer, it’s his job to stress test the device, running it through nearly every possible use scenario, then deconstructing issues that arise.

After a rigorous process of development based on tight design requirements, a device moves into a phase of usability testing. Test group after test group rolls through a room that is designed to simulate multiple environments, handling the device while Tim and other members of the team observe through a one-way mirror. 

Can a 10-year-old child remove the cap? Can an 80-year-old grandparent inhale the medicine? Do people understand the instructions on the label? Do they know which end is up? What if they’re flustered?

Those are the kinds of questions Tim studies so he can bring his findings to the design team for consideration. It’s a critical role in developing devices that have to be self-administered at any time, when they’re needed most. 

For Tim, it’s not hard to understand the significance of his work. His own son has an autoinjector that accompanies him everywhere he goes in case of emergency. 

“I suppose I have a live case study there: understanding that whether he’s with his granny or whether he’s at a party with his friends where another parent becomes responsible for an injection if it was required – understanding that users with different levels of experience, cognitive and physical abilities may need to administer that product if an emergency was to occur – is exactly why I understand the importance of having an autoinjector that’s intuitive and easy to use.” 

Katie, a senior human factors engineer at Viatris’ research and development facility in Cambridge, United Kingdom, loves to put product designs in users’ hands so she can see whether the way they handle it reveals anything she didn’t think about.

“You can get so down in the weeds when you’re designing a product. Obviously, we know how they work and we know what the point of them actually is. But you can always guarantee if you give it into the hands of a user, they’re going to do something that you’ve never thought of,” she said. “I think that really highlights the importance of actually getting out into the field, testing it, getting the right people at the right time during development.”

She always wants to think beyond the patient: can a caregiver use the device? Or a first responder? What about a Good Samaritan who happens to be passing by?

“If you can get prototypes into the hands of people as soon as you can, you’re going to get so many insights that you can feed back into the design team,” she said. 

In that sense, she views her role as that of an advocate for people who are going to eventually use the product. No matter how elegant a design might be, the primary focus must be that people can use it, she pointed out. In addition to live studies, both Tim and Katie also scour databases of issues with similar products. 

In addition to screen-based designs, they also work in rooms known as the “sandbox” that function as a creative space to help them come up with simple prototypes, helping them bring ideas to life. 

Katie likes to get quick reality checks from other people in the office by asking their opinions on what she’s building. 

“You can bring in 20 to 30 people who just happen to be walking past, ambush them and be like, ‘Can you tell me what you think of this?’” she said. “And they’ll always give you an opinion. Or they’ll use it upside down and you’ll know immediately what you’ve done. So having people wandering around the office who can jump into that space and help you, that’s always really, really helpful.” 

Once the team arrives at a final design, studies with larger sample sizes tests whether different types of users can complete all the steps necessary to use the device without an error that could have been resolved through additional changes. 

Tim and Katie also develop packaging and labeling as well as instructions for using the device. The instructions might be on the product itself as well as inside the package, and they have to be clear. 

Katie trained for her job as an industrial designer. Having grown up in a family where many people worked in the pharmaceutical industry, she developed a natural curiosity about the field.

“I was really interested to get involved in that early-stage design and truly understand who it is that we’re helping, and who we’re designing these products for,” she said. “Watching somebody as a patient realize that what you’re doing is benefiting them so much is quite amazing.” 

Tim agreed: “You’re always thinking about that moment when you’re going to put the device in someone’s hands.”