User Centered Design (UCD) Flashcards
What is User Centered Design (UCD)?
User Centered Design is an iterative process, where the product is modified and tested repeatedly with users throughout the product lifecycle. It consists of an active involvement of users and emphasises a clear understanding of user and task requirements. It ensures the appropriate allocation between users and technology. It is also the iteration of design solutions. It is also a multi-disciplinary design.
What are the User Centered Design (UCD) software development principles?
There are 3 UCD principles. The first is to place an early focus on users and tasks. Secondly, it involves the empirical measurement and testing of product usage. Lastly, it is an iterative design with product designed, modified and tested repeatedly.
What are the usability activities per stage in the software development lifecycle?
There are 4 stages in the product lifecycle - Concept, Design, Develop and Release. For concept, the usability activities involve coming up with usability goals and objectives, user profiles & personas, interviews, field studies and task analysis. For design, it would be lo-fi paper prototypes, heuristic evaluations, focus groups and interviews. For develop, it would be the preparation, planning and execution of pre-product release heuristic evaluations, and usability testing. For release, it involves formal usability testing, surveys, interviews for feedback on system and site visits.
What are the benefits of the usability activities at the design stage?
It enables early user feedback and helps identify user needs and requirements.
Why is it important to include the user during the design process?
Including the user during the design process is essential because it ensures that the final product aligns with actual user needs and preferences, reducing the risk of costly misalignment and enabling the creation of user-friendly interfaces. User involvement leads to enhanced user satisfaction, as their input helps identify pain points and challenges, validates design decisions, and fosters innovation. It also contributes to greater efficiency and effectiveness, addresses ethical considerations, and ultimately increases market competitiveness.
What is a persona? Why is it useful?
A persona is a representation of the goals and behaviour of a hypothesised group of users (i.e. representative user, not real user). It is synthesised from the data collected from interviews or surveys with users. It is useful as it helps to focus and guide design decisions about the product with the target group in mind.
