Introducing Keith Fan - Senior Product Manager - KangaTech
Tell us a bit about yourself and your background in product management
I studied and graduated from La Trobe in Electronic & Telecommunication Engineering and have been working in the product & manufacturing space for the past 7 years.
My first job was as a production engineer at Cornerstone Solutions, where I managed the company’s supply chain and manufacturing line. I was also responsible for the maintenance and repair of the company’s products.
After that, I worked for a company called Axxin. It’s a medical device OEM manufacturer that produced one of the most used devices for COVID tests across the world. I worked as a test engineer taking care of the company’s test standards and calibration methods.
In the last 7 years, I’ve worked with many Australian and overseas suppliers across several industries such as telecommunications, electronics, plastic & metal fabrication.
What does your current role at KangaTech look like?
There are two aspects to my role at KangaTech. One is the management of the day-to-day manufacturing activities, the supply chain of the KT360 and the technical hardware support to our customer success team. The other aspect is the hardware design and development of new products, taking the KT360 hardware to the next level, of which the new C-Cuff attachment is a good example.
What is the new C-Cuff attachment and how will this positively impact users of KT360?
The new C-Cuff attachment is a completely redesigned version of the original C-Cuff. It provides more stable and more comfortable support to KT360 users. It has a newly designed thumb nut which makes the installation easier. It also makes it possible to mount the C-Cuff at any angle while keeping it fastened.
What considerations went into the development of the new C-Cuff attachment?
We wanted to develop a C-Cuff attachment that caters for stronger athletes. A more rigid C-Cuff enables athletes to apply an even higher amount of force through the system. We also wanted to create a better user experience for the athletes and practitioners when running tests and installing the C-Cuff. Additionally, we wanted to create a seamless software experience in data migration from the original C-Cuff attachment to the new C-Cuff attachment.
How did you apply your background in product development to this new C-Cuff attachment release?
With the feedback we collected from internal experts and external customers, we collaborated with our design partners and produced prototypes of the new C-Cuff attachment. These were then internally tested and redesigned. As a good example, the thumb nut is something we added to the design in this process.
After that, working prototypes were made to be sent to a small group of KT360 users for feedback. While collecting the responses from our customers, we also designed the software to convert the data from the old C-Cuff attachment.
After collating our user feedback, we commenced the mass production of the new C-Cuff attachment.
How do you think this product update will improve the practitioner and athlete experience?
Recent feedback received from Damien Bowyer, Head Physiotherapist at Norwich City Football Club encapsulated the experience we set out to achieve: “We are delighted with the new C-cuff attachment, our player feedback regarding its design and comfort has been very positive. We believe this will improve compliance significantly, especially with our maximal isometric testing protocols”
Internally, at KangaTech we were very happy to receive this and other positive feedback from early adopters of KT360 and look forward to the full release of the C-Cuff attachment throughout Q2 of 2023.