Applying User-centred Design to Modern Software Products

Introduction

The following report evaluates “Applying user-centred design to modern software products” based on ISO 9241-210 standard. “ISO 9241-210 provides a set of requirements and recommendations for human-centred design principles and activities throughout the life cycle of Computer interoperability systems” (ISO, 2010). Understand the product and develop the product according to requirements of the product are the main two factors must undertake by the designers when develop any product. Understanding requirements of products comprises with other similar product, discuss user needs who will use the product, and analysing current product design to discover the problems. Development may include creation of various products until it produces a suitable product (Preece, 2002). “Definition of User-centred design (UCD) is a design philosophy where the end-user’s needs, wants and limitations are a focus at all stages within the design process and development lifecycle” (Beal, 2018). International standard for user-centred design used to call as ISO 13407. It updated in year 2010 and re-issued as ISO 9241-210. Bringing it under other ISO usability standards (Travis, 2018). Key principles of user centred design standard ISO 9210-210.

• Design of a system based on a clear understanding of users
• User centred evaluation drives and refine the design
• User involvement for design
• User experience of the design
• Iteration of the design process
• Multiple Skills and Prospects of the design team

 (ISO 9241-210, 2010)

History of User Centred Design

In the late 1980s, Norman wrote about UCD. However, web designing and commercialisation has taken place for Norman ideas in that days. For example, its advanced iterative usability testing to make websites more user-friendly and workable. The advancement of technology, including general usage test methods and their flaws and the smartphone, reflected the early Norman’s early comments in the 1980s and endorsed UCD applications in 2010 (Still & Crane, 2017).

Discussion of descriptive account of what UCD involves

The products developed by UCD have optimised for final users and determine how the end user wants to use the product or products they need. User- centred design can break into four typical User centred Design (UCD) activities, such as analysis, design, implementation, and deployment in the life of an average life-span (Beal, 2018)

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The memory, processing speed, and colour monitors now come in many types of interfaces and creating computer software around the users, this program call user-centred design. User goal is very important in UCDs and Designers focus on what to do at the end. The planner shall determine the functions and provisions necessary to achieve those objectives. But it always has the user’s preferences and needs. ISO 9241-210 User-centred design (UCD) is one of major approaches to undertaking interaction design projects, but there are other ways to work out. Designers often include users in every project in the best UCD approach. Commencement of the project, designer’s advice by the users to consult whether the proposed project will satisfy the user needs. Nowadays designers carry out extensive research to determine what are the goals of users and then users help to create concepts of designers’ ideas. users involve assessing and test prototypes of the design (Saffer, 2018).

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The user-centred design (UCD) process describes stages through system development life cycle and focuses on gaining a deeper insight into anyone who uses the product. User-centred design methodologies are important to know UCD process does not have certain procedures for each phase. There are basic principles that have user-centred designs. “Design bases upon an explicit understanding of users, tasks, and environments; it drives and refined by user-centred evaluation; and addresses the whole User experience.”  Many variations of the UCD process can incorporate into waterfall, agile, and other approaches (usability.gov, 2018). In software design and development, agile systems are common 
with the attention and reality of their customers test-driven approach. Agile in organisations as an efficient and effective way to produce software that make the change and user-centred design fits well with Agile. Mind you, user-centred design also fits in with other development methodologies, including the waterfall methodology. 

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UCD applied to modern computer software products

Many industries which build modern computer software products, carry out extensive user-level research to create these comprehensive products. Such as kiosk systems in a supermarket uses heavy user researches for the software creativity. Because users’ research is prominent among web designers and human-computer interactions. The point of doing user researches are important and It generates understanding and empathy (Klimczak, 2013).

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Organisations need Human-Computer Interface (HCI) professionals to help them to do well in the job when building interactive systems by using user centred design process. HCI specialists involve in designing and testing a wide range of consumer products to video recorders from mobile phones. Nowadays, many institutions provide a useful service for their customers (N.A, 2017). The goal of developing successful software products is to produce and present applications that meet user needs and requirements. Experts in UCD follow a variety of strategies, understand the user, practice, the environment to which the application attach and the team of UCD prefer to communicate with a graphic representation concept of customers Instead of describing group long scripts.

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The aim of successful software product development is to produce and deliver the application which fulfils user needs and demands. In User centred design, specialists follow a diverse set of strategies, for understanding users, scenarios, an environment where they have to deploy the application. Development teams in industry, prefer the customers communication using a graphic representation concept rather than description documentation (Iqbal & Fahad Khan, 2014). 

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Conclusion

The software development methodology permitted to the project team could focus on the needs and requirements of the system. This is an enhanced satisfaction and acceptance of the system. The creation of expert panels permitted application of deliberations not only from software engineers, according to the practice test, the weaknesses of the designs that helped improve the solution. However, UCD is not always running. It depends on users for the vision of all the designers. Sometimes it has a product or service that is not underestimated. For example, the creators may base themselves on types of users who are editable or user-friendly. UCD can be simple since audiences’ rate for products used by millions of people. UCD is a one of the invaluable approaches from other approaches to designing (Saffer, 2018).

References

• ISO (2010). Ergonomics of human-system interaction – Part 210: Human-centred design for interactive systems. Retrieved from https://www.iso.org/standard/52075.html
• Preece, J. (2002). Human-computer interaction. Harlow: Addison-Wesley, p.350.
• Beal, V. (2018). What is user- centred design (UCD)? Webopedia Definition. Retrieved from https://www.webopedia.com/TERM/U/user_centered_design.html
• Travis, D. (2018). ISO 13407 is dead. Long live ISO 9241-210! Retrieved from https://www.userfocus.co.uk/articles/iso-13407-is-dead.html
• ISO 9241-210 (2010). ergonomics of human-system interaction – part 210: Human-centred design for interactive systems
• Still, B., & Crane, K. (2017). Fundamentals of User-Centred Design: A Practical Approach [Ebook] (1st ed., pp. 19-21). Chapman and Hall/CRC. Retrieved from https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/uocuk/reader.action?docID=5130865&query=%20page%2021

• Beal, V. (2018). What is user- centred design (UCD)? Webopedia Definition. Retrieved from https://www.webopedia.com/TERM/U/user_centered_design.html
• Saffer, D. (2018). Designing for interaction (2nd ed., p. 34). Berkeley, CA: New Riders.
• usability.gov. (2018). User- centred Design Basics | Usability.gov. Retrieved from https://www.usability.gov/what-and-why/user-centered-design.html
• Klimczak, E. (2013). Design for Software [Ebook] (1st ed., p. 322). John Wiley & Sons. Retrieved from https://www.dawsonera.com/abstract/9781119943693
• N.A (2017). Interactive Systems (Chapter 1, p. 9 Retrieved from https://www.cs.uct.ac.za/mit_notes/human_computer_interaction/pdfs/HCI.pdf
• Iqbal, H., & Fahad Khan, M. (2014). Assimilation of Usability Engineering and User-Centred Design using Agile Software Development approach. International Journal Of Modern Education And Computer Science, 6(10), 23-28. doi: 10.5815/ijmecs.2014.10.04
• Saffer, D. (2018). Designing for interaction (2nd ed., p. 35). Berkeley, CA: New Riders.

Image References

• Image 1- https://usabilla.com/blog/a-cry-for-looking-to-other-methods-for-user-centered-design/
• Image 2- https://www.usability.gov/what-and-why/user-centered-design.html
• Image 3- https://www.researchgate.net/publication/249657336_Operating_Human_Computer_Interaction_Approach_in_Design_Phases_of_Software_Developing_Process/figures?lo=1
• Image 4- http://talkaboutdesign.com/static/object.php?id=ENhIzbHLyu&utm_content=ios&utm_source=designhunt&utm_medium=social
• Image 5- https://software.intel.com/en-us/articles/enabling-great-user-experiences-with-user-centered-design
• Image 6- https://www.netsolutions.com/insights/user-experience-design-process/