174
Sensemaking in Safety Critical and Complex Situations
to combine agile and user-centred development and discuss three common challenges
in user-centred agile development ( UCAD). Key take aways from the chapter are:
• The importance of exploring, understanding and framing the problem, in
order to:
• Solve the right challenge.
• Propose solutions that fit the context of use.
• Make sure user needs drives ideation – not the love of technology.
• The importance of user involvement and contextual testing as a team effort to:
• Enable interdisciplinary decision-making and collaboration.
• Enable continuous learning and improvement based on feedback.
• Create solutions that work in real-life scenarios and contexts.
A BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO USER-CENTRED DESIGN
The aim of UCD is to create solutions that fit the needs of the users, in their contexts of use. Therefore, an explicit understanding of contextual user needs is key
( e.g. Forlizzi & Battarbee, 2004; Pruitt & Grudin, 2003; Sengers, Boehner, David, &
Kaye, 2005; Vetere et al., 2005). U sers – not t echnology – are in focus throughout
the design process ( Hartson & Pyla, 2012; Rubin & Chisnell, 2008). As sensemaking
is dependent on cues from key systems, training, physical environments and social
contexts of use, a user-centred approach is recommended for designing technology
that is to assist human sensemaking.
UCD is used synonymously with human-centred design ( HCD). However, some
argue there are slight differences between these terms – for example, that swapping
“ human” for “ user” emphasizes that we are talking about real people with emotions and psychological preferences – not some abstract “ user”, and that a number of
stakeholders may be impacted instead focusing in on a selected user group. As UCD
extends usability and includes a holistic user experience ( UX), user-centred work is
often referred to as “ UX work”.
ucD core PrinciPleS
The core principles of UCD are ( ISO, 2019):
1. The design is based upon an explicit understanding of users, tasks and
environments
2. Users are involved throughout design and development
3. The design is driven and refined by user-centred evaluation
4. The process is iterative
5. The design addresses the whole UX
6. The team includes multidisciplinary skills and perspectives
Gould and Lewis ( 1985) underline how early and continuous focus on users, empirical
measurement of usage and iterative design are core UCD traits. Still, there is a wide range
in the degree of user contact in UCD processes – from thinking about the user via different
Sensemaking in Safety Critical and Complex Situations
to combine agile and user-centred development and discuss three common challenges
in user-centred agile development ( UCAD). Key take aways from the chapter are:
• The importance of exploring, understanding and framing the problem, in
order to:
• Solve the right challenge.
• Propose solutions that fit the context of use.
• Make sure user needs drives ideation – not the love of technology.
• The importance of user involvement and contextual testing as a team effort to:
• Enable interdisciplinary decision-making and collaboration.
• Enable continuous learning and improvement based on feedback.
• Create solutions that work in real-life scenarios and contexts.
A BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO USER-CENTRED DESIGN
The aim of UCD is to create solutions that fit the needs of the users, in their contexts of use. Therefore, an explicit understanding of contextual user needs is key
( e.g. Forlizzi & Battarbee, 2004; Pruitt & Grudin, 2003; Sengers, Boehner, David, &
Kaye, 2005; Vetere et al., 2005). U sers – not t echnology – are in focus throughout
the design process ( Hartson & Pyla, 2012; Rubin & Chisnell, 2008). As sensemaking
is dependent on cues from key systems, training, physical environments and social
contexts of use, a user-centred approach is recommended for designing technology
that is to assist human sensemaking.
UCD is used synonymously with human-centred design ( HCD). However, some
argue there are slight differences between these terms – for example, that swapping
“ human” for “ user” emphasizes that we are talking about real people with emotions and psychological preferences – not some abstract “ user”, and that a number of
stakeholders may be impacted instead focusing in on a selected user group. As UCD
extends usability and includes a holistic user experience ( UX), user-centred work is
often referred to as “ UX work”.
ucD core PrinciPleS
The core principles of UCD are ( ISO, 2019):
1. The design is based upon an explicit understanding of users, tasks and
environments
2. Users are involved throughout design and development
3. The design is driven and refined by user-centred evaluation
4. The process is iterative
5. The design addresses the whole UX
6. The team includes multidisciplinary skills and perspectives
Gould and Lewis ( 1985) underline how early and continuous focus on users, empirical
measurement of usage and iterative design are core UCD traits. Still, there is a wide range
in the degree of user contact in UCD processes – from thinking about the user via different