Chapter 3
Takeaways
1. UCD must be both philosophy and methodologysomething to be believed but also practiced.
3. Adapt the design to the user. Dont expect users to adapt to the design.
4. Successful products integrate a users mental model into the design. A product should be
6. Adding a multitude of functions or features, or organizing or revealing features poorly, quickly
7. Focus on meeting mainstreamers needs and expectations. If the mainstreamer likes to use a
8. Define the features that are absolutely necessary for the user to accomplish primary, frequently
repeated tasks.
10. You really dont know who your users are unless you interact with them, research their wants
11. Use more than one UCD method to triangulate your findings. You should document what
12. Users like to feel that they are in control when they interact with a product. Control does not
13. A product that satisfies our needs and wants, that helps us work better and more efficiently, that
14. Discovery is the most important step in the UCD process.
15. If you dont consider how users feel about a product, you risk building something effective,
16. UCD is about the ongoing process discovering users and discovering what is necessary to make
the product usable for them, designing it to meet those needs, and then delivering a product that
satisfies those needs while also achieving your design goals and meeting your organizations
requirements for success.
Discussion Questions
1. How might you quantify one of the ten UCD commandments as an actual numerical benchmark
for determining success of a user experience in the real world?
context make it easier or more difficult to complete the activity?
3. Many users are intermediates/mainstreamers who just learn the minimum number of features
necessary when using a product to complete a specific goal. Given this, why do companies
create so many product features in the first place? Is it better business to give users everything
they could possibly want, or just enough features to satisfy them?
UCD Quests
1. Identify a product that you frequently use (e.g., remote control, microwave, blender, mobile
phone). Compare how many features and functionalities the product has versus how many you
normally use. Which features directly contribute to your primary purpose for using the product?
Which features dont? Find a classmate, coworker, or friend who uses the same product and
compare your answers.