Week 6 | 5th Lecture: User Centered Design. [Wong Mann Ee]

Lecturer : Miss Edina
Date : 22 Nov 2011

User-Centered Design

User-Centered Design process (UCD) is also called Human-centered design process.

"User-Centered Design (UCD) is a user interface design process that focuses on usability goals, user characteristics, environment, tasks, and workflow in the design of an interface. UCD follows a series of well-defined methods and techniques for analysis, design, and evaluation of mainstream hardware, software, and web interfaces. The UCD process is an iterative process, where design and evaluation steps are built in from the first stage of projects, through implementation." (Shawn Lawton Henry and Mary Martinson, Accessibility in User-Centered Design)



In UCD, all "development proceeds with the user as the center of focus." (Jeffrey Rubin, Handbook of Usability Testing: How to Plan, Design, and Conduct Effective Tests, John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 1984) Rubin depicts the User-Centered Design Process as follows:

• The users are in the center of a double circle.
• The inner ring contains: Context; Objectives; Environment and Goals.
• The outer ring contains: Task Detail; Task Content; Task Organization and Task Flow.

UCD Process Steps

While the basic principles and techniques are the same, different variations of user-centered design processes exist. The following example is typical of a UCD process for designing Web applications.


1. Analysis
-Vision, goals, objectives
        Image (feeling)
        Challenges and constraints
-User/Audience analysis
User Categories List
User Categories Matrix with knowledge, experience, and skill (KES) in www, accessibility, html, etc.; connection, environment; hardware, software; AT; frequency of use
Profiles (details, facts, figures)
Personas/Characterizations (made up "person" with name, etc.)
Technique: Field studies, contextual inquiry
-Task/Purpose analysis
Task List
User-Task Matrix
-Information architecture analysis
Content list
Content-User Matrix
Hierarchy, Web relationships
-Workflow analysis
Workflow
Scenarios
2. Design
 - add the usability iceberg image 10% presentation, 30% interaction, 60% conceptual model.
- Conceptual/Mental model, metaphors, design concepts
- Navigation design
- Storyboards, wireframes
- Detailed design
- Paper prototypes
- Online mockups
- Functional online prototypes
3. Evaluation (iterate back to Design)
- Design walkthoughs ("cognitive walkthroughs")
- Heuristic evaluation
- Guidelines reviews
- Usability testing - paper, low fidelity - high fidelity; informal - formal
4. Implementation
5. Deployment