Excellent article about keeping grounded in design by focusing the approach with the end user in mind.
- Start with exploratory research. This is the time where researchers deliver findings and insights to the design team and client. This is also the time where most design research programs end—where designers’ imaginations (and sometimes their egos) may start to subtly compete with user insights.
- Keep researchers involved continuously. We must keep assessing design and engineering concepts with users to ensure that we have properly interpreted their needs. Ron and his team, for example, go back to the users with working prototypes to ensure we have not deviated from the original goal.
- Meet with users again and again. Even as the product is passing though mechanical engineering, we check to make sure that any production modifications made for the sake of efficiency or branding have not diluted the product’s benefits.
- Establish a set of checks and balances. This ensures that designers, engineers and the complete product development team maintain a healthy modicum of empathy for users unlike themselves.
Full article here
