User Centered Design (UCD):

What is UCD?
User-Centered Design is a method for designing ease of use into the total user experience with products. It enables all organizations to consistently develop products that are easy to buy, easy to set up, easy to learn, easy to use, and easy to upgrade. It calls for a multidisciplinary team to design everything the user sees and touches and to gather user input and feedback during each stage of the development process.

Is the goal to have developers automatically incorporate UCD into their timeline?
Yes, just like good hygiene, UCD should become a natural thing to do for all members of an organization, and for all products and services that have users. Just like you wouldn't leave home without brushing your teeth, project teams shouldn't deliver designs without getting user input on them.

Is UCD only appropriate for products with pervasive graphical user interfaces?
No. It is appropriate for any kind of product a user is going to use. It is being used in other companies to design everything from power station control rooms to toasters.

Who needs to know about UCD in an organization?
Everyone! Many organizations expect specific groups or persons to specialize in UCD and then magically produce wonderful products throughout the company. The only way to ensure success is for all members of an organization to "live and breathe" user data and together drive ease of use into products and services.

The UCD experts at Software Human Factors will help your organization fully implement UCD principles.