Future context scenarios for user-centered advanced design

Abstract

Background Companies that have created user-centered innovations are attracting attention in the face of unstable situations in which technology leveling up and market disruptive companies emerge. This calls for the development of user-centered new products and new businesses, rather than technology or market-oriented tasks, leading to the expansion of the role of predecessors that have been in charge of future design in the enterprise. The purpose of this study is to suggest an appropriate method for identifying future user-centered design opportunities for the role of advanced design. Methods This study was conducted through literature research and case development. First, the literature study on advanced design is conducted to understand the present roles of advanced design distinguished from production design and product planning and the changing role requirements. Second, based on the literature research on the context-based design process Vision in Product Design (ViP), we propose three stages of the process: 'present context analysis', 'future context restructure', and 'future idea generation'. Third, we compare the design scenario methodology suitable for expressing the user-oriented context and the future strategy scenario methodology for predicting the future environment. Fourth, we use this together to construct the future user context into scenarios and proposed framework. Fifth, this study was applied to the case of Design Scenario for Future Clothing Management. Results As a result of developing the case according to the process, the framework was applied in the order of the process to create a scenario expressing the future context for the advanced design of the subject. Based on this, five different idea scenarios were developed, expressing the concept of new products and new businesses considering future opportunities. Conclusions The context-driven design process consists of three stages: 'present context analysis',; future context restructure', and 'future idea generation'. Based on this, the step-by-step activities of the future context scenario composition process were proposed as seven activities of 'context factor analysis through current user research', 'future context variable deduction', 'future context element organization', 'future context scenario creation', 'future opportunity variable deduction', 'future Idea element generation', and 'future idea scenario creation'. A framework for these stages was suggested.