Inclusion of Users with Special Needs in the Human-Centered Design of a Web-Portal

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-18
Author(s):  
Renate Motschnig ◽  
Dominik Hagelkruys
Keyword(s):  
Special Needs ◽  
Design Process ◽  
End Users ◽  
Design Team ◽  
Web Portal ◽  
Primary Research ◽  
Human Centered Design ◽  
Insight Into ◽  
Users With Special Needs

Human-Centered Design focuses on the analysis, specification and involvement of a product's end users as driving elements in the design process. The primary research objective of the case-study presented in this paper is to illustrate that it is essential to include users with special needs into all major steps of designing a web-portal that provides services to these special users. But how can this be accomplished in the case of users with special cognitive and affective needs? Would the “classical” Human-Centered Design Process (HCD) be sufficient or would it need to be adapted and complemented with special procedures and tools? In this paper the design team shares the strategies they adopted and the experiences they gained by including users with dyslexia in the design of the LITERACY Web-Portal. Besides providing insight into the special effort and steps needed to adapt HCD for users with special needs, the paper encourages application designers to include end-users even though - or particularly because - they have needs that are special and critical for the adoption of the product.

Inclusion of Users with Special Needs in the Human-Centered Design of a Web-Portal

2020 ◽  
pp. 272-290
Author(s):  
Renate Motschnig ◽  
Dominik Hagelkruys
Keyword(s):  
Special Needs ◽  
Design Process ◽  
End Users ◽  
Design Team ◽  
Web Portal ◽  
Primary Research ◽  
Human Centered Design ◽  
Insight Into ◽  
Users With Special Needs

Human-Centered Design focuses on the analysis, specification and involvement of a product's end users as driving elements in the design process. The primary research objective of the case-study presented in this paper is to illustrate that it is essential to include users with special needs into all major steps of designing a web-portal that provides services to these special users. But how can this be accomplished in the case of users with special cognitive and affective needs? Would the “classical” Human-Centered Design Process (HCD) be sufficient or would it need to be adapted and complemented with special procedures and tools? In this paper the design team shares the strategies they adopted and the experiences they gained by including users with dyslexia in the design of the LITERACY Web-Portal. Besides providing insight into the special effort and steps needed to adapt HCD for users with special needs, the paper encourages application designers to include end-users even though - or particularly because - they have needs that are special and critical for the adoption of the product.

Application of Direct and Indirect Human-Centered Design Techniques With Dyslexic Users

2019 ◽  
pp. 1-20
Author(s):  
Dominik Hagelkruys ◽  
Renate Motschnig
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Special Needs ◽  
Social Inclusion ◽  
Optimal Solution ◽  
End Users ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Web Portal ◽  
Human Centered Design ◽  
Design Techniques

Designing for people with special needs, especially cognitive and affective needs, can be challenging. Human-centered design (HCD), which inherently promotes user-inclusion and promises products that fit the users' needs, seems to be an optimal solution for such tasks. But can an HCD-approach be easily applied with special needs users? How much adaptation is necessary to perform classical HCD-techniques with users affected by certain difficulties? This chapter discusses the insights gathered and strategies adopted while applying human-centered design in the LITERACY-project, a project of the European Union aiming at improving social inclusion of youth and adults with dyslexia, by creating an interactive web-portal. Hopefully, this case study provides insight on and gives courage for inclusion of end-users even though—or particularly because—they have special needs.

Causing a Stir

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Camilo POTOCNJAK-OXMAN
Keyword(s):  
Design Process ◽  
Collaborative Design ◽  
Entrepreneurial Activity ◽  
Design Team ◽  
Design Processes ◽  
Early Stages

Stir was a crowd-voted grants platform aimed at supporting creative youth in the early stages of an entrepreneurial journey. Developed through an in-depth, collaborative design process, between 2015 and 2018 it received close to two hundred projects and distributed over fifty grants to emerging creatives and became one of the most impactful programs aimed at increasing entrepreneurial activity in Canberra, Australia. The following case study will provide an overview of the methodology and process used by the design team in conceiving and developing this platform, highlighting how the community’s interests and competencies were embedded in the project itself. The case provides insights for people leading collaborative design processes, with specific emphasis on some of the characteristics on programs targeting creative youth

scholarly journals Design for Empathy: A Co-Design Case Study with the Finnish Parliament

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 99-108
Author(s):  
Enni-Kukka S E Tuomala ◽  
Weston L Baxter
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Design Process ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Human Centered Design ◽  
Design Considerations ◽  
Design Case Study ◽  
Empathy Gap ◽  
Ongoing Project

AbstractGlobalisation and the mixing of people, cultures, religions and languages fuels pressing healthcare, educational, political and other complex sociocultural issues. Many of these issues are driven by society's struggle to find ways to facilitate deeper and more emotionally meaningful ways to help people connect and overcome the empathy gap which keeps various groups of people apart. This paper presents a process to design for empathy – as an outcome of design. This extends prior work which typically looks at empathy for design – as a part of the design process, as is common in inclusive design and human centered design process. We reflect on empathy in design and challenge the often internalised role of the designer to be more externalised, to shift from an empathiser to become an empathy generator. We develop and demonstrate the process to design for empathy through a co-creation case study aiming to bring empathy into politics. The ongoing project is set in the Parliament of Finland, and involves co- creation with six Members of the Parliament from five political parties. Outcomes of the process and case study are discussed, including design considerations for future research.

Adapting a stand-alone computerized cognitive test battery for online use – A case-study in the context of users with special needs

2016 ◽  
Vol 63 ◽  
pp. 757-768
Author(s):  
Dominik Hagelkruys ◽  
Christina Böhm ◽  
Renate Motschnig ◽  
Semion Kertzman ◽  
Alexander Sirota ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Special Needs ◽  
Test Battery ◽  
Cognitive Test ◽  
Users With Special Needs

scholarly journals LHF Connect: a DIY telepresence robot against COVID-19

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 418-431
Author(s):  
Maria Rosanna Fossati ◽  
Manuel Giuseppe Catalano ◽  
Marina Carbone ◽  
Gianluca Lentini ◽  
Danilo Caporale ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Design Process ◽  
Multidisciplinary Team ◽  
End Users ◽  
Design Approach ◽  
User Centered Design ◽  
Related Product ◽  
Telepresence Robot ◽  
Do It Yourself ◽  
Service Blueprint

This contribution describes a case study of a “do-it-yourself” (DIY) opensource service and related product to help combating the COVID-19 emergency. It illustrates the birth of LHF Connect, a project designed to facilitate communication between patients isolated in COVID-19 hospitals’ ward and their relatives. LHF Connect is a teleoperated robot that can move in autonomy around the hospital. A User Centered Design approach, methods and specific tools helped in managing crucial steps of the design process such as i) the collection of needs coming from the context, stakeholders and end-users; ii) defining the service blueprint; iii) imagining finishing concepts; and iv) managing the communication activities. The initiative has been promoted by a multidisciplinary team of researchers (mainly roboticists with the help of specific competences coming from Design discipline).

scholarly journals Applying a Human-Centered Design to Develop a Patient Prioritization Tool for a Pediatric Emergency Department: Detailed Case Study of First Iterations

10.2196/18427 ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. e18427
Author(s):  
Jessica Schiro ◽  
Sylvia Pelayo ◽  
Alain Martinot ◽  
François Dubos ◽  
Marie-Catherine Beuscart-Zéphir ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Emergency Department ◽  
Design Process ◽  
Waiting Time ◽  
Situation Awareness ◽  
System Analysis ◽  
Pediatric Emergency ◽  
Pediatric Emergency Department ◽  
Human Centered Design ◽  
Patient Prioritization

Background Overcrowding in the emergency departments has become an increasingly significant problem. Patient triage strategies are acknowledged to help clinicians manage patient flow and reduce patients’ waiting time. However, electronic patient triage systems are not developed so that they comply with clinicians’ workflow. Objective This case study presents the development of a patient prioritization tool (PPT) and of the related patient prioritization algorithm (PPA) for a pediatric emergency department (PED), relying on a human-centered design process. Methods We followed a human-centered design process, wherein we (1) performed a work system analysis through observations and interviews in an academic hospital’s PED; (2) deduced design specifications; (3) designed a mock PPT and the related PPA; and (4) performed user testing to assess the intuitiveness of the icons, the effectiveness in communicating patient priority, the fit between the prioritization model implemented and the participants’ prioritization rules, and the participants’ satisfaction. Results The workflow analysis identified that the PPT interface should meet the needs of physicians and nurses, represent the stages of patient care, and contain patient information such as waiting time, test status (eg, prescribed, in progress), age, and a suggestion for prioritization. The mock-up developed gives the status of patients progressing through the PED; a strip represents the patient and the patient’s characteristics, including a delay indicator that compares the patient’s waiting time to the average waiting time of patients with a comparable reason for emergency. User tests revealed issues with icon intuitiveness, information gaps, and possible refinements in the prioritization algorithm. Conclusions The results of the user tests have led to modifications to improve the usability and usefulness of the PPT and its PPA. We discuss the value of integrating human factors into the design process for a PPT for PED. The PPT/PPA has been developed and installed in Lille University Hospital's PED. Studies are carried out to evaluate the use and impact of this tool on clinicians’ situation awareness and prioritization-related cognitive load, prioritization of patients, waiting time, and patients’ experience.

Cost reallocation in social housing projects considering the desired values of end-users

2014 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 352-367 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joyce de Andrade Ruiz ◽  
Ariovaldo Denis Granja ◽  
Doris C.C.K. Kowaltowski
Keyword(s):  
Design Process ◽  
Social Housing ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Single Case ◽  
End Users ◽  
Single Case Study ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Housing Projects ◽  
Cost Constraints

Purpose – Challenges in social housing projects (SHP) in Brazil are mainly related to design and construction quality and cost constraints. Value delivery to end-users must be a goal, however, jointly considered with the restrictions of such developments. In the SHP context, tight cost constraints frequently have a negative impact on delivering value to end-users. The purpose of this paper is to put forward the proposition that value enhancement can be achieved by reallocating costs to better meet the attributes most valued by end-users, without increasing initial project costs. Design/methodology/approach – A set of tools used in value methodology (VM) is adopted to assist a systematic process with the goal of attaining an optimal functional balance between costs and value delivery to end-users. Desired values were indicated by users in a previous study, resulting in an Index of General Significance. A single case study was carried out to test the approach in a SHP. Opportunities for improvement guided by the desired values of end-users were evaluated. Findings – The VM approach suggests that initial project cost constraints do not necessarily induce value loss for end-users, a recurrent problem that designers and stakeholders frequently face in such contexts. Improvements were made possible through simple cost reallocation. Research limitations/implications – A single case study was carried out to validate this approach. To create a generalized approach for other similar context further tests should be undertaken. Practical implications – The proposed VM approach was shown to be efficient in assessing decisions which designers and stakeholders must take, bearing in mind cost constraints and improvements in value delivery to end-users. Social implications – Currently in Brazil, end-users’ perceptions are rarely considered into the design process of SHP. The research shows that the proposed approach could be used in similar contexts of social housing to enrich the design process and attain higher satisfaction levels. Originality/value – An important lesson learned was that subjective parameters based on the desired values of end-users could be combined with technical and functional analysis, thus an objective improvement process was devised. The approach can have clear implications for the product development of SHPs to best match the end-user's value propositions, without neglecting financial and economic needs in such a context.

scholarly journals Italianità and internationalism: Production, design and mediation at Alessi, 1976–96

Modern Italy ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-57 ◽  
Author(s):  
Grace Lees-Maffei
Keyword(s):  
Product Design ◽  
Design Process ◽  
Mass Production ◽  
Design Team ◽  
Design History ◽  
Primary Research ◽  
Secondary Material ◽  
The Family ◽  
Italian Design ◽  
Post War

SummaryThis article considers the Italian household product design company Alessi as quintessentially Italian and international. The interplay of mass-production and craft techniques at Alessi, an extended design process and the presentation of the family in company publicity exemplify the ambiguities identified within Italian design. The extent to which Alessi typifies Italian post-war design is questioned with reference to the company's international design team and the marketing of its products to foreign consumers as manifestations of italianità. The findings are based on primary research in Milan and the Alessi factory, including a series of interviews with designers, retailers, curators and media workers, combined with secondary material centred upon design history.

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