IB Design Y12

UCD

Advantage of UCD

The design will be more intuitive to meet the needs of the user

Disadvantages of UCD

Expensive, difficulty interpreting different types of data into the initial design, takes more time

Five stages of UCD

Research, concept, design, implementation and launch

Population stereotype

Responses that are widespread in a user population 

Primary persona

A profile of the primary user for a product experiencing a challenge in a process that presents a design opportunity. Persona provides a human face and story to a particular audience, making it easier to empathise and cater to the user’s needs effectively.

Field research

A first-hand observation of users conducted in their real environment

Research question

A type of question that focuses research to find the required answers 

Research stage

Shadowing, diary studies, interviews, focus groups, benchmarking, usability testing

Secondary research

Research undertaken by someone other than the user

Scenario

An imagined sequence of events in the daily life of a persona based on assumptions

Task

How the design is expected to function and fulfil its expectations. Consider the user may have a several sub-uses for the product.

Task analysis

The process of learning about a user by observing them carry out an action to understand how they perform it. The goal of task analysis is to identify aspects of the process that could be improved.

Target user 

A particular group of customers or potential customers for whom a product, system or environment is designed

UCD

A design process that pays particular attention to the needs of potential users by involving them in all stages of the design process (research, concept, design, implementation and launch)

UCD research methods

A suite of research methods used to explore the true nature of a user population or of target users. These research methods include field research, task analysis, user observation, interviews, surveys and focus groups.

User observation

A research activity where the user is observed interacting with a product or completing a task to find pain points in the process or interaction. 

User population

The range of users for a particular product or system

User requirements

The essential requirement that a product system or environment must satisfy in relation to the user