User Centered 

Design

Media Design course

Autumn 2016
INDEX

1. Introduction

2. Software development life cycle

3. Improving technology design

4. Levels of user involvement

5. User Centered Design

1. INTRODUCTION

Therac-25

Typical Therac facility Safer modern radiotherapy machine

1. INTRODUCTION

Therac-25

Therac-25 set up
1. INTRODUCTION

Machines with different modes

Photocopy machines
1. INTRODUCTION

HOW TO AVOID
BAD SOFTWARE DESIGN?
2. SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT LIFE CYCLE

In software engineering, the software life cycle describes the activities that take place
from the initial concept formation for a software system up until its eventual phasing
out and replacement.

Core activities:!
- Requirements specification
- Architectural design
- Detailed design
- Coding and unit testing
- Integration and testing
- Maintenance
2. SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT LIFE CYCLE

Waterfall model

Requirements Specification

Architectural Design

Detailed Design

Coding and Unit Testing

Integration and Testing

Operation and
Maintenance
2. SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT LIFE CYCLE

Issues

Missing the user perspective!

The traditional software life cycle does not

promote the use of techniques which
support the users perspective of the
interactive system.
2. SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT LIFE CYCLE

Issues

Validation and verification!

Formality gap: refers to a gap between the

real world and structured design. As a
consequence, theres always a certain
subjectivity in validation.
2. SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT LIFE CYCLE

Needs

Involve all parties!

USERS CUSTOMERS DEVELOPMENT TEAM

2. SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT LIFE CYCLE

Needs

Implement a workload scheduling!

ACTIVITIES RESPONSIBLES ARTIFACTS

2. SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT LIFE CYCLE

Needs

Define and measure the goals !

GOALS MEASUREMENT WHO

3. IMPROVING TECHNOLOGY DESIGN

The need for the future is not so much

computer oriented people as for people
oriented computers
Nickerson, 1969
3. IMPROVING TECHNOLOGY DESIGN

Research areas that explore how people interact with

computers

Interaction Design (IxD)

User Experience (UX)

Human-Computer Interaction (HCI)

User-centered Systems Design (UCSD)/ Human-Centered Systems

Design (HCSD)

User-Centered Design (UCD)

 3.1. INTERACTION DESIGN

ACADEMIC DISCIPLINES DESIGN PRACTICES

Ergonomics Graphic Design

Psychology/ cognitive
Product Design
Science
Informatics Interac)on Artist-Design
Design Industrial Design
Engineering
Computer Science / Film Industry
Software Engineering
Social Sciences
Human Factors Information Systems

Cognitive Engineering Computer Supported Cooperative Work

Human-Computer Interaction Cognitive Ergonomics

INTERDISCIPLINARY FIELDS

Preece, Sharp and Rogers, 2007

3.2. USER EXPERIENCE

a persons perceptions and responses that result

from the use or anticipated use of a product,
system, or service
ISO 9241- 210
3.3. HUMAN COMPUTER INTERACTION

A discipline concerned with the design, evaluation and implementation of

interactive computing systems for human use and with the study of major
phenomena surrounding them
Hewett et al. 1996

HCI covers major threads of research in 4 disciplines:

Human Factors
Information Systems
Computer Science
Library and Information Science
3.4. USER-CENTERED DESIGN

User-centered design (UCD) is a broad term to

describe design processes in which end-users
influence how a design takes shape. It is both a
broad philosophy and variety of methods.
Abras, Maloney-Krichmar, Preece, 2004
4. LEVELS OF USER INVOLVEMENT

Overview of methods for stakeholder involvement in relation to the level of involvement and the phase of application (De Bont et al., 2014)
4. LEVELS OF USER INVOLVEMENT

Topography of design research (Sanders, 2006).

5. USER-CENTERED DESIGN

Don Norman talking about user centered design (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wl2LkzIkacM)

5.1. UCD PRINCIPLES

Early focus on users

Empirical measurement using prototypes

Iterative design

Gould and Lewis, 1985

 5.2. UCD ACTIVITIES

Scope Design Deliver

Analyse Validate

Wallach and Scholz, 2012

5.3. UCD STANDARD

ISO 9241-210

Plan the human-

centered activities
Understand and
Specify context of use
Design solution
satisfies the
requirements Iterate where
appropriate
Specify user
Evaluate
requirements

Produce design
solutions
5.4. UCD ADVANTAGES

More usable products

Cost savings

Safer systems
5.4. UCD ADVANTAGES

WHY ISNT EVERYONE

USING UCD?
FURTHER READINGS
Abras, C., Maloney-Krichmar, D., & Preece, J. (2004). User-centered design.Bainbridge, W. Encyclopedia of
Human-Computer Interaction. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications,37(4), 445-456.

Dis, I. (2009). 9241-210: 2010. Ergonomics of human system interaction-Part 210: Human-centred design for
interactive systems.International Standardization Organization (ISO). Switzerland.

Goodman, E., Kuniavsky, M., & Moed, A. (2012). Observing the user experience: A practitioners guide to user
research. San Francisco, CA: Morgan Kaufman

Gould, J. D., & Lewis, C. (1985). Designing for usability: key principles and what designers
think.Communications of the ACM,28(3), 300-311.

Norman, D. A. (1988). The psychology of everyday things. Basic books.

Norman, D. A., & Draper, S. W. (1986). User centered system design.New Perspectives on Human-Computer
Interaction, L. Erlbaum Associates Inc., Hillsdale, NJ.

Sharp, H., Rogers, Y., & Preece, J. (2011). Interaction design: Beyond humancomputer interaction (3rd ed.).
Chichester, UK: John Wiley and Sons Ltd.

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FURTHER READINGS
Ritter, F. E., Baxter, G. D., & Churchill, E. F. (2014). User-centered systems design: a brief history. InFoundations
for designing user-centered systems(pp. 33-54). Springer London.

Wallach, D., & Scholz, S. C. (2012). User-centered design: why and how to put users first in software
development. InSoftware for people(pp. 11-38). Springer Berlin Heidelberg.

This material uses Creative Commons License

Recognition Share alike.