Editing User-centered design (section)

== Models and approaches ==

The UCD process considers user requirements from the beginning and throughout the product cycle. Requirements are noted and refined through investigative methods including: ethnographic study, [[contextual inquiry]], prototype testing, [[usability testing]] and other methods. Generative methods may also be used including: [[card sorting]], [[Affinity diagram|affinity diagramming]] and participatory design sessions. In addition, user requirements can be inferred by careful analysis of usable products similar to the product being designed.

UCD takes inspiration from the following models:
* Cooperative design ({{a.k.a.}} co-design) which involves designers and users on an equal footing. This is the Scandinavian tradition of design of IT artifacts and it has been evolving since 1970.<ref>Greenbaum&Kyng (eds): Design At Work – Cooperative design of Computer Systems, Lawrence Erlbaum 1991</ref>
* [[Participatory design]] (PD), a North American model inspired by cooperative design, with focus on the participation of users. Since 1990, bi-annual conferences have been held.<ref>Schuler & Namioka (1993). Participatory Design, Lawrence Erlbaum; and chapter 11 in ''Helander's Handbook of HCI'', Elsevier, 1997.</ref>
* [[Contextual design]] (CD, a.k.a. customer-centered design) involves gathering data from actual customers in real-world situations and applying findings to the final design.<ref>Beyer & Holtzblatt (1998). ''Contextual Design'', Kaufmann.</ref>

The following principles help in ensuring a design is user-centered:<ref>{{cite web|title=User-Centered Design Basics|url=https://www.usability.gov/what-and-why/user-centered-design.html|website=www.usability.gov|date=March 13, 2024 }}</ref>
* Design is based upon an explicit understanding of users, tasks and environments.
* Users are involved throughout design and development.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Mathur|first1=Sunita|last2=Janaudis-Ferreira|first2=Tania|last3=Hemphill|first3=Julia|last4=Cafazzo|first4=Joseph A.|last5=Hart|first5=Donna|last6=Holdsworth|first6=Sandra|last7=Lovas|first7=Mike|last8=Wickerson|first8=Lisa|date=2021-09-23|title=User-centered design features for digital health applications to support physical activity behaviors in solid organ transplant recipients: A qualitative study|url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ctr.14472|journal=Clinical Transplantation|volume=35 |issue=12 |pages=e14472 |language=en|doi=10.1111/ctr.14472|pmid=34510558 |s2cid=237492723 |issn=0902-0063|url-access=subscription}}</ref>
* Design is driven and refined by user-centered evaluation.
* Process is [[iterative design|iterative]] (see below).
* Design addresses the whole user experience.
* Design team includes multidisciplinary skills and perspectives.