Driving user-centred design – meet Team Consulting’s new human factors leads

14 Mar 2025 6min read

At Team Consulting, we have been working at the forefront of human factors since 1999, helping our clients to create medical products that are not only regulatory compliant, but that delight end users. Achieving this balance requires a deep understanding of the medical device development process, coupling rigorous usability engineering with care and sensitivity to user needs.

In response to increasing demand for both robust human factors consulting and user-centred innovation, to support the continued growth of our human factors services and to better meet the evolving needs of our clients, we are strengthening our human factors expertise with two new strategic leadership appointments; Andrea Pisa, Head of Human Factors – Product Development, and Jonathan Bainbridge, Head of Human Factors – Consulting. These additions reflect our commitment to expanding our capabilities and delivering even greater value to our clients.

Diane Aston-James, Human Factors Operations Director, explains what these new roles will mean for Team’s clients.

“We want to ensure we continue to provide exceptional solutions for our clients, whether we are working directly with them as human factors partners or ensuring that usability is deftly integrated into a product development program,” says Diane. “Andrea and Jonathan both bring a wealth of experience to these roles. Working in partnership across our human factors team, they are in an excellent position to help our clients continue delivering life-changing medical products.”

We spoke to Andrea and Jonathan to find out more about how they plan to continue driving effective human factors support for our clients.

What do these new roles mean for Team’s human factors consulting services?

“Team’s excellent reputation for independent human factors services has been built over many years,” says Jonathan. “We’re proudly known for our broad range of human factors expertise, our attention to detail, our rigorous methodologies and our friendly, flexible and collaborative approach, where we work in partnership with our clients to solve challenging problems. Beyond user studies, we are also specialised in a range of user-centred activities, from developing digital instructions for use to prototyping and user capability studies. I’m looking forward to continuing pushing our team to deliver the best solutions for our clients, whatever their needs.”

Why is human factors so important in medical device development?

“Human factors is an integral part of any medical product development. Getting it “right” is about more than just meeting regulatory requirements for safe and effective use. It’s about creating a product that truly resonates with users,” says Andrea. “At Team, we pride ourselves in working collaboratively across all aspects of medical device development, from applied science and industrial design to mechanical engineering, software and electronics. My role is about fostering that collaboration, applying our human factors knowledge and expertise to drive user-centred design into every part of our device development process at Team.”

What sets Team Consulting apart when it comes to human factors?

“What sets Team apart from other human factors providers is that we are 100% focused on medical device development. It’s what we live and breathe,” says Jonathan. “Working within a multidisciplinary product development consultancy means we understand the commercial constraints our clients face, their cost challenges and manufacturing requirements. We also know what is technically feasible when we identify design recommendations following user evaluations.”

“Actively applying human factors in product development is something we have been doing for years, from small-scale projects to highly complex systems development programmes,” says Andrea. “As a human factors group, our backgrounds cover a range of specialisms, from mechanical engineering to biomolecular science and industrial design. This has made us adept at bringing the human factor into product development, working across physical devices to software-based and digital solutions.”

What experience will you be bringing to your role?

“I’ve been applying human factors methodologies in various domains for over 20 years,” says Jonathan. “Since joining the human factors group at Team in 2012, I have supported numerous clients to develop and implement a wide range of human factors activities. While conducting user studies is only one part of human factors, during my time at Team I have moderated over 1,250 interviews with users, from the naïve to the experienced, including patients, caregivers and healthcare professionals, with studies in the UK, France, Germany, India and the USA. I have also represented British Standards Institute (BSI) on an ISO Committee to develop ISO/DIS 23217.2 ‘Drug delivery system requirements for paediatrics and other demographics’. In this new role, my goal is to draw on this experience to ensure we continue to deliver the best-in-class services to our clients.”

“I bring 15 years’ experience working with leading medical device, pharmaceutical, and healthtech companies to develop user-centric solutions from concept to launch. In this time, I have played a key role in leadership teams and have also established and scaled a user research function from the ground up,” says Andrea. “With my background in design engineering and experience across both consultancy and in-house medical device roles, I specialise in the intersection of human factors and technical product development. Having led research across five continents and with a double Masters in Global Innovation Design, I am passionate about ensuring that medical products are designed with a truly global perspective. My approach emphasises cross-disciplinary collaboration to translate usability insights into commercially and technically viable solutions. In my new role, I am committed to leading the team in embedding usability into every stage of product development – not just for regulatory compliance, but to drive meaningful innovation that improves patients’ outcomes and quality of life.”

What are your human factors challenges?

Whether you need a robust human factors programme to support your regulatory submission, or are looking for a user-centric development partner to bring a product to market that meets real needs, get in touch to find out how we could help you, or visit our human factors pages to find out more.