Definition
- User centered design, shortened to UCD is a designing process that pays particular attention to the needs of potential users of a product.
- This is through involving the users in all stages of the design process, although most prominently in the development and research and conceptual stages.
- UCD considers how likely users are to use the product and test the products with actual users.
- As opposed to user-centered designs, normal designs are generally based on a request for a design, and follow the specifics of the request.
- Normal account mainly for durability, general function and pricing.
- As the user is not involved in the designing process, the designs tend to be more generalized, but less useful to a specific group of users.
Relevant Definitions
User
- Person utilizing the product, person who is being affected by the product or who is reaping benefits/drawbacks.
Task
- The thing that the product is supposed to do, however the user may have several alternative uses for the product.
Environment
- The place where a product is likely to be used.
Three Main Features of UCD
- Products should be useful, useable and desirable.
- If one of the aspects is not considered, it becomes very difficult for the design to succeed.
- Usefulness, usability and desirability can be thought of as a three-legged stool. If one leg is removed, then the whole thing topples over.
Usefulness
- The extent to which a product enables the user to achieve their goals.
Usability
- The extent to which a product can be used by specified users to achieve specified goals effectively and efficiently, while functioning in a predictable and consistent manner.
- Also called efficiency.
Desirability
- A desirable design should be attractive to users, due to it's visual or physical properties.
- Desirability is very subjective and varies the most from person to person.
UCD Questions
- When making a user-centered design, it is important keep in mind the following series of questions to guide the design process.
- Who are the users of the product?
- What are the users’ tasks and goals?
- What are the users’ experiences and expertise with the product and products like it?
- What functionality do the users require of the product?
- What other stakeholders will be impacted by the product?
- Why is the product being developed?
- What are the overall objectives?
- How will the product be used?
- How will it be judged a success?
- What are the technical and environmental constraints?
- What are the typical scenarios of how and why users will use the product?
- What are the usability goals?
- How important is ease of use and ease of learning?
- How long should it take users to complete their tasks?
- Is it important to minimize user errors?
- Are there any initial design concepts?
Applying UCD
- To apply a user centered approach on usefulness, usability and desirability for a successful design solution on has to do the following:
- Engage with communities and individuals.
Get to know the users, understand their experience, listen to their concerns.
Create 1 or more personae based on your user understanding. - Collect qualitative data on the user, the context and the problem.
Gain valuable, deeper insights on all aspects of the problem.
Determine if you are addressing the problem root or a symptom. - Prototype and iterate on solutions
Get prototypes into the community.
Get active user participation and feedback on them.
UCD Teams
- The design team often includes anthropologists, ethnographers and psychologists to advise the creative designers.
- Anthropology is the study of various aspects of humans within past and present societies including evolution, behaviour, and cultures.
- Ethnography is a research method within anthropology and and documents the social practices and culture of specific groups of people.
- Psychology is the science of behavior and mind, including conscious and unconscious phenomena, as well as feeling and thought.
Five Stages of UCD
Research
- Context studies.
- Evaluation of focus groups.
- Comparisons with competitors.
- In-depth interviews and questionnaires.
- Use of personas and scenarios.
- Understanding user and usability goals.
Concept
- Creation of concept models and paper prototypes.
- Creation of usage scenarios.
- Usability testing.
- Expert evaluation.
Design
- Use of product structure and process flow diagrams.
- Wireframes of the design.
- Creation of interactive prototypes.
- Usability testing.
- Accessibility evaluation.
- Expert evaluation.
- Functional specifications.
Implementation
- Usability testing
- Expert evaluation.
- Accessibility evaluation.
Launch
- Usability testing.
- Expert evaluation.
- Accessibility evaluation.
- Focus groups.
- Comparison with competitors.
- Analysis of metrics.
- Data gained after launch is then used to reiterate and improve on product.
Sources