Description
To design a product that responds efficiently and empathetically to users, understanding people- their needs, preferences, and behaviors- is a necessity. When products are designed with human users and operators in mind, products that are pleasant to use and intuitive come to fruition. A human centered approach we will discuss is contextual inquiry.
Designing a human-centered system can seem like an easy and obvious task, however, they take skill to design well. Because of its “obvious” reputation, few people put in the effort to observe the context carefully and understand the root causes of the problems. As Arthur Conan Doyle had Sherlock Holmes say, “The world is full of obvious things which nobody by chance ever observes.”
This approach can be applicable to a range of situations and can even be seen in action in start-ups, libraries, and elsewhere.
We aim to help session attendees gain skills that would help them better understand their user. “Contextual Inquiry involves conducting interviews, sketch work patterns, and analyze data to identify key points of tension and failure.” The purpose of going through this process and adding an additional step is to help designers identify solutions, design new processes or technologies based on their interview data, and then prototype, test, and implement effective and better informed solutions.
Who should attend this session:
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Aspiring UX designers who want to learn about human-centered design.
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Project managers
Neha Bhomia
Graduate Student @ University of Michigan School of InformationI'm a masters candidate at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Pursuing Master's in Health Informatics, interested in Data Manipulation and Analysis.
Min Jin Kim
I'm a 2nd yr graduate student studying HCI at the University of Michigan. Mental health and digital wellness are huge passions of mine!
Danny Teng
Angela Chih
Graduate Student @ University of Michigan School of InformationUX/UI Designer and Researcher, Freelance Graphic Designer, Health Informatician, and Innovations & Entrepreneurship