IB Design Technology 7.4 Strategies for UCD Questionbank

A city council has commissioned a team to design a self-service ticketing kiosk for a new tram network. The kiosks will be installed at outdoor stops and inside stations. Users include daily commuters, tourists with limited local language skills, older adults, wheelchair users, and people who may have one hand occupied with luggage or a child.

Early trials of the first prototype (a touch-screen only interface) revealed several issues: some users could not read the on-screen text in bright sunlight; some struggled to find the “buy single ticket” option; and several users accidentally purchased the wrong ticket type. The council also received complaints that the kiosk “feels stressful” because it times out quickly and provides little feedback after a selection is made.

The design team proposes a user-centred design (UCD) approach that includes field observation at tram stops, low-fidelity paper prototypes, iterative usability testing with a diverse participant group, and clear design guidance for layout, feedback, and error prevention. The team must present a plan that justifies why UCD is necessary, how it will be carried out, and what design guidance will be used to improve the kiosk.

Figure 1: Concept mock-up of the ticketing kiosk interface

A design team for a medical software application develops a detailed profile of 'Dr. Aris', a time-pressured surgeon who requires high-contrast displays and minimal data entry.

Which of the following is the primary purpose of using this strategy in user-centered design (UCD)?

A software development team is designing an educational platform for primary school students. They hold a workshop where students and teachers are invited to sketch potential interface layouts and collaborate with developers to build low-fidelity prototypes. This approach is an example of...

Clinatec, a French biomedical research centre, and the University of Grenoble have recently developed a device. This has enabled a patient, known as Thibault, to move all four of his paralysed limbs with a mind-controlled exoskeleton, see Figure 5.

Thibault had to undergo months of training before using the robotic exoskeleton. The training was performed in a usability lab, using his brain signals to control an avatar in a computer simulation.

The designers at Clinatec used a range of user-centred design (UCD) strategies in the development of the exoskeleton. This enabled them to gain a complete understanding of the needs of the users, tasks and environments, see Figure 6 and Figure 7. The trial was considered a success by scientists.

Figures 5 and 7: © J. Treillet/FDD CEA Clinatec.
Figure 6: © La Brèche/CEA Clinatec.

The Light Phone, see Figure 1, is a small, low-functionality mobile phone that has been designed to tackle the increasing issue of smartphone addiction. Designed to be used “as little as possible” the original Light Phone has only one primary function; to make and receive calls.

The designers intended the Light Phone to be used in addition to, rather than replace, a smartphone as it does not have internet capabilities. This allows the user to leave their smartphone at home and “disconnect” while still having access to a communication device.

The designers of the Light Phone have deliberately designed it with limited functionality to prevent the habit of “phone fidgeting”, the act of constantly checking one’s smartphone without purpose. The designers believe that modern gadgets and applications are designed to gain and hold the user’s attention. The Light Phone is the size of a credit card which means it can be easily carried, see Figure 2.

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