The user is always correct in the sense that they know, as an individual what they want. However, the user might not know what is best for
them as said by Hoekman. An example he uses is essential Steve Jobs who took
almost a dictator like stance on apple products. There should be a nice balance
between user centered design (UCD) and activity centered design (ACD).
Designer should not always provide features because one of
more users ask for them for a multitude of reasons. Reasons include things like who will use this
feature; a few people or a lot? What will it contribute to the overall design
of the product? What purpose or motivation does it serve? The list does not
end. However, features should be thought of with questions like this in mind
because the user may know what he/she may want, but that does not mean it is
the best thing for them(or the design). Its situation centered.
Hoekman says that there are several ways to get a larger “user-centered”
focus, but you must start by getting your feet wet and assuming what the user
might want. Design to a situation more than to a persona. There is no clear cut
way to go about getting a larger “user-centered” focus other than what you (the
designer) thinks is appropriate for your project, but Hoekman suggests designing
to a situation.
Situation-centric approach to research essential means that
you base the research that is being conducted around various situations. An
example would be asking users what they did with this certain thing when this
happened, because it is center based.
Observational would have worked really well with my project two. Watching people use the interface of the elliptical
machine would have given us a lot more depth in how people used it in certain
situations. An example would be someone using it casually compared to someone using
it daily. I would have observed multiple users using the same interface and
record their actions. Afterwards I would ask them why they did what they did
and for what purpose that way I have the situation and context to base some of
my research on.
Hi Raymond,
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion this is your strongest post so far and you have a pretty good handle on what Hoekman was trying to say about users and design. I think your post would've been strengthened by some references to the reading later in the chapter as well as some real-life illustrations of the concepts he talks about, since your argument gets a little weak around paragraph 2 and I'm not always sure of what you're saying--what do you mean by "assuming what the user might want"? What method of Hoekman's are you thinking of? But overall, good work on this one.