7.1 User-centred design (UCD) Notes

Understanding User Needs and Limitations: The Foundation of User-Centered Design

In this section, we’ll explore how analyzing user needs, focusing on the entire user experience, and following an iterative design process are key to creating successful, user-friendly products.

Analyzing User Needs, Tasks, and Environments

1. Every user interacts with a product differently, influenced by their goals, abilities, and surroundings.
2. To design effectively, you must first understand these factors.

User Requirements

1. User requirements define what a product must accomplish for its intended audience.
2. These can be:
   1. Functional: What tasks must the product perform? (e.g., a smartphone must enable calls and messaging.)
   2. Emotional: How should the product make users feel? (e.g., enjoyable or reassuring.)
   3. Accessibility-related: How can the product accommodate users with disabilities? (e.g., incorporating screen readers for visually impaired users.)

User Tasks

1. Tasks refer to the specific actions users take to achieve their goals.
2. For instance, in an e-commerce app, tasks might include searching for products, comparing prices, and completing a purchase.
3. By breaking these tasks into smaller steps, designers can identify potential pain points and areas for improvement.

User Environments

1. The environment in which a product is used significantly impacts its design. Consider:
   1. Will the product be used indoors or outdoors?
   2. Is it intended for a desktop or mobile device?
   3. Will users interact with it in a quiet office or a noisy public space?

Focusing on the Full User Experience

1. Designing a product isn’t just about how it looks or functions during use—it’s about the entire lifecycle of the user’s interaction with it.
2. A holistic approach is a cornerstone of UCD.

Beyond the Product: The Lifecycle of Interaction

1. The user experience extends across multiple stages:
   1. Discovery: How do users first learn about the product? Is the marketing aligned with their needs?
   2. Onboarding: Is the product easy to set up and start using?
   3. Usage: Does the product meet user needs effectively and intuitively?
   4. Support and Maintenance: Are help and troubleshooting resources available? Are updates seamless?
   5. Disposal or Replacement: For physical products, is recycling or upgrading straightforward?

Emotional and Psychological Factors

1. A product that functions well but frustrates users emotionally can still fail.
2. UCD emphasizes designing for positive emotional experiences by:
   1. Building trust and reliability.
   2. Ensuring the product is aesthetically pleasing and enjoyable to use.

The Iterative Process: Refining Through Feedback

1. Design is rarely perfect on the first attempt.
2. UCD follows aniterative process, where the design evolves through repeated cycles of research, prototyping, testing, and refinement.

The Five Stages of UCD

1. Research: Understand users, their needs, and the context of use through interviews, surveys, or observations.
2. Concept Development: Generate initial ideas and designs based on insights from research.
3. Design: Create prototypes or mock-ups to visualize and test the product.
4. Implementation: Develop the product while continually testing and refining it.
5. Launch and Evaluation: Release the product and gather feedback for future iterations.

Prioritizing Deep User Understanding

1. A core principle of UCD is prioritizing user perspectives over assumptions.
2. Designers must avoid relying on their own preferences or beliefs about what users want.

Why Assumptions Can Be Dangerous

1. Assumptions can lead to products that don’t align with real user needs.
2. For example:
   1. Assuming all users are tech-savvy might result in overly complex interfaces.
   2. Designing for an "average" user could overlook the needs of edge cases, such as users with disabilities.

Techniques for Gaining Deep Insights

1. User Interviews: Direct conversations to uncover motivations and pain points.
2. Observation: Watching users interact with similar products in real-world settings.
3. Personas: Creating fictional profiles of user types based on research to guide design decisions.

Inclusive Design: Designing for All Users

1. Inclusive design ensures products are accessible and intuitive for everyone, regardless of physical, sensory, or cognitive abilities.
2. This approach is not only ethical but also expands the potential user base.

Practical Strategies for Inclusive Design

1. Accessibility Features: Include options like adjustable text sizes, screen readers, and high-contrast modes.
2. Universal Design Principles: Create solutions that work for all users without requiring adaptation. For example, hands-free faucets benefit users with disabilities and those carrying heavy objects alike.
3. Testing with Diverse Users: Involve individuals with different abilities and backgrounds in testing to identify barriers.

Avoiding Designer Bias

1. Designer bias occurs when personal preferences or assumptions influence design decisions, often at the expense of user needs.
2. To mitigate this:
   1. Empathize with Users: Step into their shoes to understand their experiences and challenges.
   2. Rely on Data: Base decisions on user research rather than intuition or personal preferences.
   3. Collaborate with Specialists: Work with experts like anthropologists, psychologists, or accessibility consultants to gain deeper insights.