Human-Centred Design
Human-centered design (HCD) - also known as user-centered design – is an approach that helps ensure that the product being designed – such as systems, equipment, procedures, services, or regulations - is useful and usable and will support skilled performance in the workplace so that intended operational benefits can be realized.
An HCD approach involves taking into account the HP principles to enable the "building in" of safety and the "building out" of hazards. Its goal is to make it easy to use the product effectively and reduce the risks of unintended consequences. Human-centred designs prevent human errors and allow safe control by human operators. To that end, HCD is based on an explicit understanding of users, their tasks and why they might respond in certain ways, and their work environments.
HCD can be used to support safe and effective design of almost any product, whether a system, a piece of equipment or technology, a process or procedure, or a document, It also supports the implementation of such products in the workplace.
Features of an HCD approach
A concept of use (or operation)
HCD starts with a "concept of use" that describes:
- the desired performance outcomes of using the product being developed; and
- how users will interact with the product to achieve the desired outcomes.
The concept of use is based on:
- baseline assumptions about what the users need to know and are able to do;
- how they will do it; and
- a description of the operational context (including assumptions about the environment in which the design will operate and to what other systems or elements of a system it connects). For example, in developing a new technology, it is at this early stage that decisions are made about what functions the technology will perform and what will be the role of the humans interacting with it.
A focus on user needs and capabilities
An HCD approach focuses on user needs and capabilities, with the identification of design requirements that lead to features and functions needed to support human performance, that make it easy to use the product as intended.
Multi-disciplinary design teams
An HCD approach uses is driven by multi-disciplinary design teams and stakeholder representatives and is refined by user-centred evaluations. Users, both direct and indirect, are engaged throughout the design process to make sure that use of the product will result in the expected performance outcomes, and that it can be used as expected without needing any “work-arounds”.
Iterative testing to improve design effectiveness
An HCD approach uses an iterative process that considers the whole user experience under varying conditions of use, building on lessons learned through multiple analyses, simulations and scenarios. Unwanted or unexpected user behaviours are considered in terms of why the user made such decisions and design features are adjusted to enable more effective use of the product.
It also allows identification of any associated procedures and the knowledge or skill gaps that will need to be addressed to support effective implementation.