Human centred design (HCD)

❓What is it

• It is an iterative design practice that places the human user at the center of the design and development process. It emphasizes empathy, rapid prototyping, and user feedback to create solutions that are tailored to the needs, preferences, and contexts of the end users.
• The guiding elements are
  • Holistic Approach: HCD takes into account the complete user experience, not just the product or service itself.
  • Collaborative and Interdisciplinary: HCD thrives on collaboration and often involves multidisciplinary teams.
  • Iterative Process: Rather than a linear progression, HCD is iterative, often requiring multiple cycles to arrive at the best solution.
  • User Feedback: Constant feedback from users is integral. This feedback loop ensures that designs are always in tune with user needs and contexts.
  • Focus on Experience and Emotion: Beyond just usability, HCD looks at the emotional responses and overall experiences of users.
• HCD always starts by understanding and empathizing with the end-users. Designers immerse themselves in the user's environment to gain a deep understanding of their needs, challenges, and contexts from both a functional and emotional lens.
• Insights gathered during the empathy phase help in defining the real problems and needs of the users. This involves re-framing the initial problem in terms of user needs, and are transformed into potential opportunities with associated hypothesis.

🔑 Key Benefits / Why is this important

• Positioning the user at the heart of discovery increases the likelihood that any subsequent solution ideas and opportunities will be solving valuable problems for users, and not just providing an additional list of features and functions that the team think are worthwhile.

🛠 Techniques supporting this practice

• Empathy mapping
• User journey mapping
• User interviews
• Observational study
• Surveys