Understanding the Human-Centered Design Process

Abstract

This chapter will provide practical guidance on applying the principles of user-centered design to ensure the quality of consumer-facing products and services by illustrating the activities associated with a “typical” human-centered design project. The activity framework described may be modified and applied to any number of product and service design pursuits, from web-, software-, and mobile-application design to medical instrumentation design and human services workflow design. The outlined activities provide a starting point for understanding how practical, tactical human-centered design approaches support the creation of usable, accessible, effective tools and services.