The UCD Process
I help businesses understand their users when designing usable, accessible products or services. I do this by following the Human-Centred Design (HCD) process, as outlined by the IDEO organisation, as it aligns more closely with my values and MSc training.
The human-centred design process looks at the experience a human has when interacting with a product or service. It aims to derive inspiration by understanding people's experiences with a product or service, which informs ideas and moves to incremental implementation through continuous testing and feedback. It is an approach centred on human needs and remains relatable and usable, and therefore it naturally has a return on investment (ROI) for any business, small or large. HCD is comprised of three steps, namely:
1. Inspiration
2. Ideation
3. Implementation
HCD slightly differs from User-centred design (UCD), which specifically looks to improve the user's experience and typically involves four key phases: Understand, Design, Evaluate, and Iterate. These four phases form the core of the UCD process, ensuring that the final product or system meets the needs and expectations of its users. In both processes, one can observe that these phases are similar. For example, during understanding and inspiration, one can notice that through knowing and understanding, one can be inspired to create. Then we have ideation and design, which align in their creative part, moving from challenges to solutions. And last, we observe that implementation is comprised of testing ideas, learning and repeating.
Both processes are not always linear and may be revisited throughout the design process. It rings a bell when we talk about generative and evaluative approaches to the process, allowing us to either inform our design or to evaluate it. The latter is more popular amongst Agile methods and lean UX; however, each method has its place depending on where the product is in its lifecycle and what the business likes to know or is trying to solve.
Throughout this portfolio, you observe I am organising content based on these three phases to show how I followed the process and the outcomes or value added.
Inspiration
A project might start with a novel idea, a problem or a question, the so-called' research question'. At this point, we are starting with a white canvas. We are open to meet the potential user and try to gain a better understanding, namely a generative method. We could have an idea or a product to put in the users' hands. We then want to see how that might meet their goals, namely an evaluative method.
Whatever the way, it is essential to understand what question you are trying to answer. 'Inspiration' a reflective phase where a researcher can look for previous work. One may need to search across disciplines and neighbouring technologies for past examples. Now is the time to talk to stakeholders to understand business needs.
Here, I prefer to be mindful of the human values the offering addresses (Being Human-HCI in the year 2020). So I can design with a purpose to augment their life experience, change a behaviour. The impact of the solution should be defined from the onset, so it is measurable (i.e. KPI's). For example, is the application allowing the user to communicate, socialise? Is it enabling them to be creative or be productive in a more effective way?How much more than before?
Ideation
Design is a creative phase. Either I am designing a Research plan, a discussion guide or a low-fidelity prototype. As a researcher, I draw from a list of research methods to mix what will best answer the question we set out to answer. I might observe, interview or facilitate a workshop with a group of related participants. As a designer, I draw from an array of components in my Library to form a primary User Interface (UI) or prototype to test.
Either way, we move from problem to solution eliciting answers to the research question at hand and morph a concept to test with users. As such, the design decisions are honed in user research rather than assumptions. Hence the design is more likely to respond to our users' needs.
In principle, the lower the prototype fidelity, the more feedback your users share. Hence, testing often and early is beneficial. The more feedback we receive, the more we can perfect the design of the product or service. Thus the fidelity is incremental, and this is why we test in iterations. When possible, I prefer to engage users early and often. Participatory design' methods, help us to democratise the design phase (i.e. IKEA).
Implemenation
We design to test. Test assumptions, hypotheses, novel ideas and concepts. The moment people make contact with our products and services, they create an experience, when we question how was that experience we are bound to learn more about the question at hand.
In Gestalt terms, contact creates change and development. We will know more than before when we listen in for queues and nuances when we empathise with the user. There's hardly a chance an experiment fails if you set out to listen and empathise with the users. That's the beauty of testing and research!
Did I mention that the UCD process is team-based? Testing is a significant culmination. It would be a missed opportunity not to engage the stakeholders. They need to listen in, to ask questions to the user and share key their learnings at the debriefing. As such, testing becomes a shared team experience where a diverse pool of people derive common themes of learning.
Evaluated insights are usually packed into sizeable actionable chunks informing deliverables.
"I was frustrated using the online form, I don't know what I am doing wrong, but I can't add my miles to get my bonus no matter how many times I tried. So, I called customer care services instead" - participant
They form the user requirements, recommendations, user stories or 'Jobs To Be Done' (JTBD). They are interpreted by designers and actuated by technologists. Insights shape the next phase, moving from Discovery to Alpha, to Beta to Live. If you are following a more Agile approach as such test completes a circle and starts anew. Deliverables are, in essence, an answer to the problem defined during the 'Understand' phase. Research brings value as we know more about the issue and user needs; we change user behaviours through design or move key performance indicator (KPIs) needles.
UX Research Methods
It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
UX Design Tools
It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
UX Design Software
It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.