WHAT IS USER-CENTERED DESIGN?

 User-centered design (UCD) is a collection of processes that focus on putting users at the
center of product design and development.
 User-centered design (UCD) is an iterative design process in which designers focus on the
users and their needs in each phase of the design process.
In UCD, design teams involve users throughout the design process via a variety of research and
design techniques, to create highly usable and accessible products for them.
Example: When a product team develops digital products, it takes into account the user’s
requirements, objectives, and feedback. Satisfying users’ needs and wants becomes a priority,
and every design decision is evaluated in the context of whether it delivers value to the users.
The user-centered design gives you a way of adding an emotional impact to your products.
USER-CENTERED DESIGN PRINCIPLES:
User-centered design is based on a few fundamental principles that can be applied to the
product design process:
 Users are involved in the design process from the very beginning. Critical design decisions
are evaluated based on how they work for end-users.
 Importance of requirement clarification. The product team always tries to align business
requirements with users’ needs.
 Introducing user feedback loop in the product life cycle. The product team collects and
analyzes feedback from users regularly. This information helps the team to make more
user-focused decisions.
 Iterative design process. The product team constantly works on improving user experience;
it introduces changes gradually as it gains more understanding about its target audience.
THE ELEMENTS OF USER-CENTERED DESIGN:
 Visibility: Users should be able to see from the beginning what they can do with the
product, what is it about, and how they can use it.
 Accessibility: Users should be able to find information easily and quickly. They should be
offered various ways to find information for example calls action buttons, search options,
menu, etc.
 Legibility: Text should be easy to read. As simple as that.
 Language: Short sentences are preferred here. The easier the phrase and the words, the
better.
PHASES OF UCD:
The following are the general phases of the UCD process:
 Phases of UCD

 Specify the context of use: Identify the people who will use the product, what they will
use
it for, and under what conditions they will use it.
 Specify requirements: Identify any business requirements or user goals that must be met
for
the product to be successful.
 Create design solutions: This part of the process may be done in stages, building from a
rough concept to a complete design.
 Evaluate designs: Evaluation – ideally through usability testing with actual users – is as
integral as quality testing is to good software development.
applied to the product design process:

USER-CENTERED DESIGN PROCESSES

1. User Research: Conducting research to understand the users' needs, goals, tasks, and
preferences. This can involve methods like interviews, surveys, observations, and user
testing.
2. Requirements Gathering: Based on user research, gather and document the functional
and non-functional requirements of the system. This ensures that the design aligns with
user needs and expectations.
3. Prototyping: Creating low-fidelity and high-fidelity prototypes of the interactive system.
Prototypes allow designers to quickly iterate and gather feedback from users before
finalizing the design.
 4. Usability Testing: Conducting usability tests with real users to evaluate the
effectiveness, efficiency, and satisfaction of the system. Usability testing helps identify
usability issues and gather feedback for improvement.
5. Iterative Design: Continuously iterating on the design based on user feedback and
evaluation results. Iterative design allows designers to refine and improve the system
iteratively, leading to a better user experience.
6. User Interface Design: Designing the user interface (UI) of the system to be intuitive,
easy to use, and aesthetically pleasing. UI design involves considerations such as
information architecture, interaction design, and visual design.
7. Accessibility: Ensuring that the system is accessible to users with diverse abilities and
disabilities. This involves designing for factors like screen readers, keyboard navigation,
color contrast, and alternative input methods.
8. User Feedback and Evaluation: Continuously gathering feedback from users
throughout the design process and incorporating it into the design. User feedback can
come from various sources such as surveys, interviews, usability tests, and analytics.
9. Collaboration and Communication: Facilitating collaboration and communication
between designers, developers, and stakeholders throughout the design process. Effective
communication ensures that everyone is aligned with the user-centered design goals and
objectives.
10. Documentation and Guidelines: Documenting the design decisions, guidelines, and
standards to ensure consistency and maintainability of the design. Documentation helps
communicate design rationale and guidelines to stakeholders and future designers.

By following these processes, designers can create interactive systems that are user-friendly,
efficient, and satisfying to use.