UCD

What is UCD

Empathize Define Ideate Prototype Test

Empathize

To empathize is an act of understanding who the target user(s) are and what goal(s) they have. You will use qualitative and quantitative methods to build a deep understanding of two things: (i) for whom you are designing a system for, and (ii) what tasks the user performs to achieve their goal. We will learn methods like interview and observation that we use in this step.

Define

Define: Once you learn about the target user and what tasks they perform to achieve their goal, you will explicitly describe them using persona and scenario. This is called a define step in the design process. A persona describes characteristics of the user, such as age group, occupation, their physical abilities, and their goals (i.e., what they want to achieve). And scenarios describe a set of tasks that the persona performs to achieve their goal. Together, personas and scenarios describe the requirements that the system should satisfy.

Ideate

Ideate: Ideation is an activity where you and your team come up with potential design and features of a software system that serve the users. Persona and scenario enforce design coherence and appropriateness so that your ideas will likely support the users in achieving their goals. We will learn and practice ideation techniques like brainstorming and use of metaphor.

Prototype

Prototype: This step involves creating interactive prototypes that manifest your ideas. You will build prototypes that allow you to test whether they successfully help the users achieve their goal. Prototypes will also allow you to evaluate if they have good form factors and functionalities, and offers good user experience. The interactive prototypes are not necessarily working software systems. At the early stage of the design process, you will use low-fidelity artifacts (e.g., paper prototypes) for quick-and-dirty test with users. The prototype should evolve to more high-fidelity artifacts as the design process progresses.

Test

Test: In a testing step, you let people interact with the prototypes that you made in the previous step. You conduct either observational study or experiment to assess the prototypes' usability.

Difficulties of teamwork

Working as a team requires time for meeting and effort for communication. You have to assume considerable responsibility for orchestrating and coordinating the effort of multiple people to deliver a digital product that meets people's needs.

Benefits of team work

In a design process, a productive team ensure that the appropriate tasks are executed, ideas flow, prototypes are built, and solutions are effectively evaluated.

During ideation,  Working in a team could let you come up with many, diverse design ideas that no single person can come up with. This is especially true when you are working with a team of people with different backgrounds. When many ideas flow, the chance of creating a software system that successfully satisfy user's needs increases.