Thursday, 12 November

Week 12: User-Centered Design 2/4

Quick Check on Project 4.2 Progress

Big Picture:

1. Identify organization

2. Make contact with them

3. Apply whichever methods you need to determine a specific need for design to benefit them -- it's a real world scenario so reflect and be flexible

4. Engage in Prototype Design and Testing with the client -- and document the evolution of your design idea.

Mentor Yi Nie to Present [in Canvas Assignment 4.2 folder]

The Final Two Modes:

Prototype and Test 

• Prototype for Empathy (p. 33)

• Prototype to Test (p. 34) 

• Testing with Users (p. 35) 

• User-Driven Prototyping (p. 38)

Next Steps in Project 4.2 

Findings, based on what you found in your research create a “Composite Character Profile” (or Persona) of the potential users of your design.

Design Brief, What are the parameters for your prototype design project? In other words, what (specifically) are you trying to accomplish through your design? What is the key question in the design, i.e. what must be addressed for your design to be a success? (You may find it useful to apply the “Impose Constraints” method from the Bootcamp Bootleg document at this stage).

In this interim phase each team should start with their Design Brief and develop and test a paper prototype with your client/user group. 

Each group’s write up should show the evolution of your prototype – its iterations, indicate the rationale for them, highlight the response from testing, and indicate how your understanding of client needs improved through the prototyping process. Video might well be usefully incorporated here.

Group Time and Mentor Check in

Assignment for Tuesday, 17 November:

Continue work on Project 4.2

Read Stanford dSchool Bootcamp Bootleg pp. 9 – 11, 14, and 32 “Interview Preparation,” “Interview with Empathy,” “Extreme Users,” “Saturate and Group,” and “Impose Constraints” and UXD pp. 130 – 131 “Standards” and prepare for a quiz on the following topics:

1. Why is it necessary to prepare for an interview?
2. What steps are involved in preparing for an interview?
3. What are the seven stages of an interview with empathy?
4. Why is it important to engage with “extreme users” in a design research project?
5. What is the end goal of the method “saturate and group”?
6. What is the advantage of imposing constraints in a user-centered design process? Give examples of three areas where imposing constraints can be useful.
7. What are the six principles of user-centered design as set out by the ISO (International Organization for Standardization)? To what extent are you following these in your work on Project 4?