Make it repairable

2024

The framework for strategic sustainability

Make it repairable

Dometic, a B2B and B2C outdoor living product manufacturer, partnered up with a consulting firm, Knightec. The two partners asked my thesis partner and me to investigate how Repair Thinking and PaaS could support them in their transition toward a circular product portfolio. Dometic has a wide set product portfolio across 5 product categories, Coolers, Camping, RV & Van, Marine, and Power & Solar. Many of the products are highly technical and will in some cases be affected by upcoming EU legislations such as the Right to Repair and the (Then called) European Green Deal.

Product

Framework & physical toolkit

My role

Co-project & design lead

Contributions

Academic research and writing, QUANT/QUAL research methods, stakeholder management, market segmentation and personas, framework design, toolkit design.

Duration

5 months

Contributors

Lovisa Persson, Ella F. Söderlund

Background

Dometic, a B2B and B2C outdoor living product manufacturer, partnered up with a consulting firm, Knightec. The two partners asked my thesis partner and me to investigate how Repair Thinking and PaaS could support them in their transition toward a circular product portfolio. Dometic has a wide product portfolio across 5 product categories, Coolers, Camping, RV & Van, Marine, and Power & Solar. Many of the products are highly technical and will in some cases be affected by upcoming EU legislations such as the Right to Repair and the (Then called) European Green Deal. Transitioning to a more circular model is complex, after a pre-study into areas including legislation, current methods for improving repairability, and circular strategies, the goal of the project was set, namely:

Develop a product design strategy framework for enhanced DIY repairability of consumer products using portfolio categorisation and repair principles.

What is so challenging with designing for repair today?

The pre-study and literature study were conducted on 65+ written works touching on the areas relevant for repairability. This includes behaviour psychology, circular design, product architecture, design methodologies and much more.

These are the main challenges

Complexity in Repairability – The field of repairability is highly complex, involving multiple disciplines such as product design methodologies, system and service design, behavioral psychology, and legislation. This complexity makes it challenging to develop clear, actionable strategies.

Bridging the Gap Between Principles –Technical Solutions, and User Behavior – There is a lack of a structured approach to connect repairability principles, technical solutions, and user behavior. Organizations struggle to integrate repairability into their strategies without an effective way to prioritize based on user segments and product types.

Supporting DIY and Partially Supported Repairs – Users who engage in Do-It-Yourself or semi-supported repairs require a high level of organizational support. Understanding what users truly need to successfully complete a repair remains a key challenge.

Meeting the users and understanding how repairs fit into their daily lives.

This is a major user study, guiding us through the framework design and is the foundation for the recognized exceptional findings.

We conducted a multi-method user research study to explore camping behaviors, repairability attitudes, and organizational needs with 90+ induviduals. Pop-up interviews on a camping exhibition in Birmingham provided quick insights into camping practices and repair exposure. Deep interviews in Sweden explored thought processes, triggers, and design impact. An online survey validated findings. Finally, Dometic expert interviews with individuals from Product Design, Product, Operations, and Sales, examined how to integrate repairability into company strategy for maximum impact.

To explain a super complex subject in a super concise way, these are the key findings:

Camping style and repair attitudes alingn and change over time – Life changes impact the camper’s view on what is important, but the main values remain. We decided to create personas based on the life changes to map out how views, age, and experiences impact repair aspects.

Repair behavior is shaped by numerous external and internal factors – Personal values, social networks, and accessibility, with identity, knowledge, and confidence influencing willingness to repair. Barriers include cost, time, technical knowledge, and spare part availability, while emotional and practical drivers, social support, and product reliance affect repair decisions—especially differing between campsite and off-grid campers.

Even when the drive is there, the lack of tools is a blocker – Dometic recognizes the importance of repairability but lacks the tools and frameworks to implement it effectively. They are committed to bringing user-centricity to the forefront of their product development. It is clear that empowering individuals within the organization can drive change.

The insights lead to the creation of 9 personas, the first link between identity and repairs. The personas are a major key in developing the framework. Not only are they an excellent way for Dometic to identify with their customers, but also a way for the first time, link their identities as people and campers to their repair persona. The 9 personas are structured as a matrix based on the camping insights, and described as a camping x product x repair matrix.

This is the solution to the gap between Principles –Technical Solutions, and User Behavior.

A framework making repairs accessible for teams across industries. All based on one user & product journey.

This framework covers new ground by exploring a combined user and product journey in one – It combines existing methods for product design, service design, and knowledge on user attitudes toward repair, and connects user needs with the appropriate support at each stage of the journey.

What’s included

A new type of user journey with 13 stages and three phases, from Need is realized to a finalized repair cycle.

Persona templates with examples of how to turn an ordinary persona into a repair persona.

User repair factors – influencing the likelihood of a user opting for and finalizing a repair, and Organizational repair factors – ways for the company offering the product to support the user in opting for and finalizing a repair, each connecting to a set of user factors.

A repair matrix highlighting the connection between what the user need and what the organization should provide.