Topic 7: User-Centered Design (UCD)

User-Centered Design (UCD)

A design approach that places the user's needs and abilities at the center of the process, optimizing products for user experience rather than forcing users to adapt.

UCD Principles

Understanding users, tasks, and environments. Involving users in design and evaluation. Iterative process. Inclusive design for accessibility. Multidisciplinary teams.

Iterative UCD

Continuously testing prototypes with users, refining designs through repeated cycles to achieve desired results.

Inclusive UCD

Universal design for all users, addressing physical, sensory, and perceptual challenges to accommodate diverse needs.

Multidisciplinary Design Teams

Teams with members from various fields (e.g., anthropology, psychology) collaborating to solve complex problems creatively.

Five Stages of UCD

Research: Understanding users and contexts. Concept: Developing innovative solutions. Design: Iterative testing and refinement. Implementation: Prototyping and final usability testing.
Launch: Market rollout with user feedback and metrics.

Usability

The ease with which a product or system can be used by specified users to achieve specific goals effectively and efficiently.

Usability Objectives

Usefulness: Meets user goals. Effectiveness: Achieves results with minimal errors. Learnability: Easy to understand and relearn. Attitude: Positive user perceptions.

Benefits of Enhanced Usability

Increased product acceptance, user experience, and productivity. Decreased user error and reduced training/support needs.

Effective User Interfaces

Features include low error rates, high satisfaction, simplicity, intuitive controls, and easy-to-remember functions.

Visibility

Controls are visible, reducing errors and making functionality clear.

Feedback

Provides confirmation of actions (e.g., click sounds, button lights).

Affordance

Indicates how an object can be used (e.g., knobs for turning, buttons for pushing).

Constraints

Limit ways a product can be used to prevent errors (e.g., USB plugs fit only one way).

Mapping

Logical layout of controls corresponding to their functions for intuitive use.

Population Stereotypes

Common expectations of product use within a culture; essential for intuitive and safe design.

User Population

The group expected to use a product, classified by age, gender, physical conditions, and other criteria.

Personas

Fictional characters representing user groups, helping designers empathize and focus on user needs.

Secondary Personas

Users not in the primary target audience but whose needs must also be considered.

Anti-Personas

Represent users for whom the product is not designed.

Scenarios

Imagined sequences of events in a persona's life, showing best, worst, and average use cases.

Use Cases

Documents detailing specific user-product interactions, including steps, goals, and system responses.

User Trials

Observations, interviews, and focus groups to gather feedback on ease of use, performance, and aesthetics.

Natural Environments

Observing users in real-world settings, providing realistic usability data.

Usability Laboratories

Controlled environments with sensors and observation tools for consistent, detailed user testing.

Field Trials

Observing users in their natural contexts (e.g., homes, stores) to gather in-depth, qualitative data.

Affinity Diagramming

Grouping ideas and information into clusters to identify patterns and themes.

Participatory Design

Involving users directly in the design process, such as through paper prototyping.

Paper Prototyping

Low-cost, quick prototypes where users interact with paper representations of a product.

Optimum Compromise

Balancing factors like cost, function, and aesthetics to achieve the best possible design outcome.

Design for Emotion

Enhancing user engagement, loyalty, and satisfaction by incorporating emotional and personality-driven elements into designs.

Four-Pleasure Framework

Socio-Pleasure: Derived from social interactions or belonging (e.g., phones, jewelry). Physio-Pleasure: Sensory enjoyment from touch, smell, or effectiveness (e.g., ergonomic tools). Psycho-Pleasure: Cognitive/emotional reactions to a product. Ideo-Pleasure: Values and ideologies reflected in a product (e.g., eco-friendly designs).

Visceral Design

Immediate emotional response to a product's appearance (e.g., "I want it!").

Behavioral Design

Focused on usability and performance, prioritizing function over appearance.

Reflective Design

Tied to self-image and prestige (e.g., luxury brands, environmentally conscious products).

ACT Model

Framework for enhancing user-product relationships: Attract: Aesthetic appeal. Converse: Interaction quality. Transact: Functional excellence.

Empathy in Design

Understanding users' needs, values, and beliefs to create better-suited products.

Sympathetic Design

Making decisions to maximize a product's helpfulness under specific conditions.