Comments on: Seeking examples of design informed by user research… http://www.adaptivepath.com/blog/2007/01/10/seeking-examples-of-design-informed-by-user-research/ Adaptive Path Blog Thu, 08 Jan 2009 17:15:56 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.3 By: pauric http://www.adaptivepath.com/blog/2007/01/10/seeking-examples-of-design-informed-by-user-research/#comment-35990 pauric Thu, 11 Jan 2007 14:44:46 +0000 http://www.adaptivepath.com/blog/2007/01/10/seeking-examples-of-design-informed-by-user-research/#comment-35990 In my realm of embedded interfaces, web apps on devices, I practice something that could be called 'method acting persona' or 'become the user'. I take an existing device and understand how it is used, who uses it, what it is used for etc. I then try to become a user myself. I think this can only work well when you have a physical device, also, there is a hit in the time it takes to get this method up and running. This works for me as an innie with the luxury of being able to plan according to a long term roadmap. I'm not sure a consultant could afford the extra lead time. I find myself being the most creative and productive with this method. I enter a mode of being always on, in terms of solving issues and creating soltuions. I am dyslexic and this feels like a much more intuitive way to design than some of the more traditional UCD approaches. I would say it allows for a lot more creativity. Its easier to get a view of the larger picture, gives me more focus on the overall solution. In one particular design I created a widget which was a functional representation of the device within the web management interface. Being both the designer and user I was able to work from both sides on the interface. I instantiated the widget across all aspects of the interface, from information display to configuration to navigation, each instance a tailored version of a core interaction. Resulting in, what I feel anyway, was a unified approach to the look and feel. Something I'm not sure would have happened as well if I focused on a set of users or activities. In my realm of embedded interfaces, web apps on devices, I practice something that could be called ‘method acting persona’ or ‘become the user’. I take an existing device and understand how it is used, who uses it, what it is used for etc. I then try to become a user myself.

I think this can only work well when you have a physical device, also, there is a hit in the time it takes to get this method up and running. This works for me as an innie with the luxury of being able to plan according to a long term roadmap. I’m not sure a consultant could afford the extra lead time.

I find myself being the most creative and productive with this method. I enter a mode of being always on, in terms of solving issues and creating soltuions. I am dyslexic and this feels like a much more intuitive way to design than some of the more traditional UCD approaches. I would say it allows for a lot more creativity. Its easier to get a view of the larger picture, gives me more focus on the overall solution.

In one particular design I created a widget which was a functional representation of the device within the web management interface. Being both the designer and user I was able to work from both sides on the interface. I instantiated the widget across all aspects of the interface, from information display to configuration to navigation, each instance a tailored version of a core interaction. Resulting in, what I feel anyway, was a unified approach to the look and feel. Something I’m not sure would have happened as well if I focused on a set of users or activities.

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