Client-Centered Services. By Tal Bloom Published: April 22, 2013 “Just as we ask our clients to focus on users when making design decisions for their Web site, shouldn’t we similarly focus on our clients when making service decisions for a project?” As UX professionals, we practice user-centered design—which means we stay focused on users and their needs when designing a Web site, product, or service for a client.
We may spend days, weeks, or sometimes even months surveying or interviewing users or conducting diary studies or focus groups. Often, we create personas to crystallize our understanding of users and their needs. Ultimately, a Web site exists for the sake of its users. If users are not able to find or comprehend the information or functionality that a client’s Web site provides, it won’t be useful to them. To actually put this into practice, though, we need to convince our clients to follow our UX approach. Figure 1—Consider your client’s goals and user needs to create a usable design and useful content.
The Four Waves of User-Centered Design. In the fall of 1988, a small group of professionals from the technology industry gathered at Bentley College (now University) in Waltham, Mass., to discuss the topic of user advocacy and assistance. These gatherings were informal, simply a group of professionals with a shared passion for improving the quality of technology for the user. Eventually, at the urging of participants, these meetings were formalized into a seminar series and, not long after that, an Information Design Certificate program. Though the term user experience did not yet exist, it was clear to the program designers (myself included) that there was a need for this type of formal instruction given that few, if any, formal programs existed in the U.S. at the time.
We quickly adopted a holistic view of the domain including the study of human behavior, design, research methods, management, and testing. While much has changed over the years, the core guiding principles of the program have remained constant: Conclusion. Recommended Usability, UCD, UX Links and Tools - Resources - Paul D. Hibbitts, Vancouver, Canada. Design: UCD process. The Roots of User-Centered Design — Beyond Wireframing: The Real-Life UX Design Process.