Introduction to Human-Centered Design
EPICS High School Workshop
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
Carla Zoltowski
A little about me…B.S. in Electrical Engineering, Purdue
University, 1985M.S. in Electrical Engineering, Purdue
University, 1987Triplets born 1992Ph.D. in Engineering Education, Purdue
University, 2010Lecturer in Electrical and Computer
Engineering 2001 – 2003EPICS Education Administrator, 2003 -
Key TopicsHuman-Centered Design… Human-Centered Design as a Process Human-Centered Design as a Mindset Connecting Design Practice, Education, and
Research
Continuing with your design Specification Development
Stakeholder AnalysisObservation and Interviewing
Conceptual: Brainstorming and Creativity
EPICS Design Process
Specification Development Phase: Goal is to understand “what” is needed by understanding the context, stakeholders, requirements of the project, and why current solutions don’t meet need, and to develop measurable criteria in which design concepts can be evaluated.
Understand and describe context (current situation and environment) Create stakeholder profiles Create mock-ups and simple prototypes: quick, low-cost, multiple
cycles incorporating feedback Develop a task analysis and define how users will interact with project
(user scenarios) Compare to benchmark products (prior art) Develop customer specifications and evaluation criteria; get project
partner approval
Gate 2: Continue if project partner and advisor agree that have identified the “right” need, and if no existing commercial products meet design specifications.
Spec or Requirement
Origin How will you know if you achieved it?
Completed?
1. Sound audible in classroom
Project Partner Requirement
Test in classroom
1.1 Sound range between 15 dB and 85 dB
Project Partner Requirement of audible sound
1.2 Variable output
2. Project should be educational
Project Partner Requirement
Pre-, post-test?Interview students?
EPICS Design Process
Knowing Your Stakeholders
US
THEM(Project Partner, or user? )
Thinking about the needs of the project partner.
US THEM
(Project Partner)
Knowing Your Stakeholders
(Users)Hearing the needs of the project partner.
US
THEM
(Project Partner)
Knowing Your Stakeholders
(Typical User)
Asking the project partner and “typical” users about their needs.
Hearing the needs of project partner and “typical” user(s).
US
THEM
(Project Partner)
Knowing Your Stakeholders
(Users)
Hearing the needs of all stakeholders.
US?
THEM?
Knowing Your StakeholdersProviding all stakeholders with a role in the design.
Cultural Lenses: Janus Face of Culture
Within a culture, people are similar.
Even within a culture, people are different.
Positives• Easy to learn and
remember images• Allows us to use
patterned responses tuned to images
Negatives• Oversimplifies• May blind us to
exceptions• Sometimes difficult
to detect changing dominant images
Positives• A much more
realistic outlook• Encourages us to
focus on individualsrather than groups
Negatives• Complexity can
be overwhelming• Individual actions
difficult to interpret• Optimal responses
not always clear
Image used with permission from Dr. Brent Jesiek. Taken from Brent Jesiek (2012), "Global Competency: Problem Solving with People," http://globalhub.org/resources/5173
Stakeholder AnalysisFrom Dean Nieusma (2012), "Seeing Social Power: Technology Design for User Empowerment," http://globalhub.org/resources/5178
1. For a project you are working on, characterize the intended beneficiaries and how your proposed technology is intended to meet their needs.
Stakeholder AnalysisFrom Dean Nieusma (2012), "Seeing Social Power: Technology Design for User Empowerment," http://globalhub.org/resources/5178
2. Identify as many distinct social categories within the targeted beneficiary community as you can.
Consider:• Age• Sex/Gender• Relevant income categories• Racial/Ethnic/Familial Association• Geography/physical location• Level of education• Ability/Disability• …
Stakeholder AnalysisFrom Dean Nieusma (2012), "Seeing Social Power: Technology Design for User Empowerment," http://globalhub.org/resources/5178
3. Identify and characterize the various project implementers—all groups external to the beneficiaries that participate in design and implement the project.
Stakeholder AnalysisFrom Dean Nieusma (2012), "Seeing Social Power: Technology Design for User Empowerment," http://globalhub.org/resources/5178
4. Identify categories of social power that vary among implementers and between implementers and beneficiaries
Consider:• Financial• Educational• Professional• …
Strategies to Hear Stakeholders
1. Have an open mindset to understanding the stakeholder needs• Observation vs. Interpretation• Beginner’s Mind
Adapted from IDEO’s Human Centered Design Toolkit: http://www.ideo.com/work/human-centered-design-toolkit/
Strategies to Hear Stakeholders
2. Develop a Research Plan• Individual Interview• Group Interview• In Context Immersion• Self-Documentation• Community-Driven Discovery• Expert Interviews• Seeking Inspiration in New Places
Adapted from IDEO’s Human Centered Design Toolkit: http://www.ideo.com/work/human-centered-design-toolkit/
Exercise #2: Observation vs. Interpretation
1. Describe what you see happening in the picture.
Adapted from IDEO’s Human Centered Design Toolkit: http://www.ideo.com/work/human-centered-design-toolkit/
Exercise #2: Observation vs. Interpretation
2. Write down two interpretations of this person’s behavior.
Adapted from IDEO’s Human Centered Design Toolkit: http://www.ideo.com/work/human-centered-design-toolkit/
Develop an Interview Plan for Users*
1. Start with “comfortable” knowledge (e.g. what do you do for a living? where are you from?
2. Ask about bigger (relevant to the project) questions. What are their dreams for the future?
3. Probe deep. Ask the highly relevant questions related to your project.
Adapted from IDEO’s Human Centered Design Toolkit: http://www.ideo.com/work/human-centered-design-toolkit/
* - that you may not be familiar with.
Develop an Interview Plan for Project Partners
1. Ask “Who? What? When? Where? And How?” questions: https://sharepoint.ecn.purdue.edu/epics/teams/Shared%20Documents/Project%20Partner%20meeting%20planning%20document.pdf
2. Keep an open attitude throughout the interview.
3. Show attention by body language.
4. Focus on content and ideas. Make mental notes of questions to ask when the speaker is finished.
5. Ask probing questions that will provide opportunity for details to emerge.
Used with permission from Prof. Megan Sapp Nelson.
Exercise #2: Observation vs. Interpretation
2. List 3-5 questions to ask her to determine which (if any) interpretation is correct.
Adapted from IDEO’s Human Centered Design Toolkit: http://www.ideo.com/work/human-centered-design-toolkit/
EPICS Design Process
Expanding the Design Space
BrainstormingBrainstorming can be done individually
or as a teamTeam brainstorming = Taking advantage
of the contributions of the teamSum is greater than the individuals
Theory is to stimulate our brains to use our whole brain to expand the options to include the best solution
Brainstorming rules Explain the entire procedure to the team Choose one facilitator
Records ideas and participates in the generation of ideas.
Record ideas that are easily visible to the whole team.
Rotate around the group with each person getting to add one idea per rotation. Let members say “pass”Move quickly.
NO value judgments. Write ALL ideas down Facilitator treats ALL ideas the same
Continue until the entire team is passing
Brainstorming – 6-3-5Group of 6 peopleEach person writes down 3 ideasPass to right, next person adds to
paper for 5 minutes..Ideas can be new, extend, or modify
original ideasNo verbal communication during
activity
Brainstorming – 6-3-5 PracticeGet in groups of 6; select one project
from your groupEach person writes down 3 ideasPass to right, next person adds to
paper for 5 minutes..Ideas can be new, extend, or modify
original ideasNo verbal communication during
activity
Each groupHow many different ideas did your
group come up with?
Did you start running out of new ideas?
Triggers Triggers are specific tools to actively bump your brain out of its ruts.
They are designed to get you thinking from a different perspective. Many triggers are available (crazy, creative people are always thinking up more), and some are listed below.
Other’s Shoes – Reconsider the problem from the perspective of a
plumber, civil engineer, physician, child, attorney, basketball player, etc. You can keep this close to your personal comfort level by picking roles you know something about, like plumber perhaps, and then expand to more fanciful ones, like princess.
Nature – How does nature deal with this issue, or how would you do it if you were Mother Nature?
Opposite – How would you solve the opposite problem (from “cut down a tree” to “grow a tree”)? Or, consider the opposite of some of your ideas (from “cut with a saw” to join with “hot glue”).
Random – Use random words, pictures, movie titles, professor names to generate more ideas.
More Triggers Analogy – Consider what has similar function but different appearance
(automatic clothes washer to washboard), what has similar appearance but different function (washboard to cheese grater), or what has a similar name and different use (bottle cap to baseball cap)?
Craziest Idea – take the craziest idea and try use the kernel to get to a practical solution (“Cut down a tree with scissors” to “cut with large hydraulic shears”).
Boundaries/Constraints – Remove, adjust, or explore the boundaries of the problem. (If the problem is a better way to wash clothes, what about recycling the old shirt into a new shirt instead of washing? Does it have to be “wash” or can it be “clean” or “deodorize”?)
Anthropomorphize – Consider yourself to be the piece of equipment or process. Or consider yourself a molecule flowing through the system. (For “Why is this part failing?” think- “Am I getting hot anywhere, where do I feel the stress?”)
Combine – Take different ideas and see what happens if you add them together, or combine them in some other way (Problem: “wash clothes” – combine “spray with a hose” and “pound on a rock” to “spray with wet rocks”)
Other – Brainstorm your own trigger or find a trigger in a reference.
Brainstorming - SCAMPER Substitute – can you use a different method, device, or
material or changed the environment? Combine – can you combine ideas together to produce
a better idea? Adapt – what ideas are similar that could be emulated
or adapted to fit the current need? Modify, Minify, Magnify – can you change the current
idea, make it smaller or larger in some way? Put to other uses – can you use the idea in a new way? Eliminate – are there any ideas that have been shown
to not work? Reverse, Rearrange – would an opposing idea give you
additional information, or can you interchange the key elements of the idea to form a new one?
Practice with Triggers Other’s Shoes Nature Opposite Random Analogy Craziest Idea Boundaries/
Constraints Anthropomorphize Combine
Each groupWere using the triggers helpful in
generating more ideas?
Prototypes
Prototyping….rough, quick, very iterativeIDEO working with Gyrus ACMI to design
new apparatus for operating on delicate nasal tissues
Prototype: whiteboard marker, 35 mm film canister and clothespin
Mouse for ApplePrototype: roller ball from
tube of Ban Roll-on deodorant to the base of plastic butter dish
From IDEO HCD Toolkit
What do people desire?
What can be financially viable?
What is technically and organizationally feasible?
D.Mindsets
http://dschool.stanford.edu/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/BootcampBootleg2010v2SLIM.pdf
D.Mindsets
http://dschool.stanford.edu/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/BootcampBootleg2010v2SLIM.pdf
D.Mindsets
http://dschool.stanford.edu/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/BootcampBootleg2010v2SLIM.pdf
Characteristics of “beginning designers”
Accept “problem” as given – surface level issues Skip research – pose solutions immediately Fixate on first ideas – disconnect from “problem” Make premature design decisions Few or confounded experiments Unfocused way of troubleshooting Unaware or unable to deal with complexities,
tradeoffs, competing issues Design “haphazardly” or in a linear fashion (recipe) Tacit designing with little self-reflection
(From Crismond)
Characteristics of “informed designers”
Recognize ambiguity and complexities – “explored the challenge”
Do research on the problem, test assumptions Practice idea fluency (problem evolves with design ideas) Delay decisions until they explore the challenge Use words, sketches, prototypes to explore ideas Conduct valid experimental tests Focus on key problems when troubleshooting Consider benefits and trade-off when making decisions Design in a managed way – strategic and iterative Practice reflective thinking – learn THROUGH design
From Crismond
Outcome Space of Students’ Experience of Human-Centered Design
Needs,info from
higher levelstakeholders
Design Process and Integration
LacksDesign
LinearDesignProcess
Integratedand
IterativeDesignProcess
VeryIntegrated
DesignProcess,Iterative
EmpathicDesign
Broadercontext,
relationship
EmpathicDesign
Involvesusers Commitment
ContextDesign
inContext
KeepsUsers’Needsin Mind
User isseen as
informationsource
ServiceUser infoInput toLinear
Process
Lacksappreciation
ofusers
Technology-Centered
Technology-Centered
Threshold
ExperienceResults suggest that critical or immersive
experiences involving real clients and users were important in allowing the students to experience human-centered design in more comprehensive ways.
All students in “Commitment” had critical experience. Sejal’s wake-up call
All students in “Empathic Design” had immersive experiencesRapid prototyping experienceAssessment trip to developing country
New Way of ThinkingBeing introduced to human-centered
design concepts brought a new way of thinking about design. Andres: I think it was mostly having more
things to think about or introducing ideas and ways of thinking about things that you wouldn’t always think about normally or wouldn’t come up with on your own.
Gina: I didn’t think in terms of user-centered design when I came to college. You just think an engineer designs things.
Context of Experience Impact of academic context on experience of
designNot focus of study, but requires further study Initially surprised about the degree to which
students discussed aspects of the course.For most students, design experience was very
much situated in academic context. Most students described multiple experiences
from different contexts. Area to explore is how the student perceived
various experiences and the impact of those different perceptions on their learning. Realness of design Approached design differently because of context
Acknowledgements James Huff and Monica Cardella contributed to the
creation of these slides Resources
Stanford D-School: https://dschool.stanford.edu/groups/designres
ources/ http
://dschool.stanford.edu/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/BootcampBootleg2010v2SLIM.pdf
IDEO Human-Centered Design Toolkit: http
://www.ideo.com/work/human-centered-design-toolkit/