Written by Michael Feder
Reviewed by Kathryn Uhles, MIS, MSP, Dean, College of Business and IT
Human-centered design (HCD) is a design thinking method that puts people at the center of the creation, problem-solving and design process. It advocates for understanding people’s needs, desires and behaviors and then innovating solutions or products for them. Whether a business is creating a product or service from the ground up or focusing on product innovation and development, human-centered design can be a critical part of the process.
The concept has roots in the broader philosophy of design thinking , which involves approaching problems from a user-focused perspective. It’s a process of empathizing with users, defining their needs, ideating solutions, prototyping, testing and iterating. Human-centered design adds a layer of specificity, emphasizing a true understanding of users’ needs before designing solutions.
Joseph Aranyosi
Associate Dean, College of Business and Information Technology
To get a better understanding of human-centered design in business, we sat down with Joseph Aranyosi, an associate dean of the College of Business and Information Technology at University of Phoenix.
Aranyosi explains: “HCD can be applied to any industry that delivers products or services; e.g., manufacturing, healthcare, finance. It’s most readily seen in software and technology, e.g., the iPhone, smartphone apps, but can also be applied to customer service, production processes, inventory management, banking and payment processes, etc.”
To create an end product that truly resonates with users, HCD relies on the following core principles :
Design-thinking principles ensure that designers are open to feedback and as adaptive as possible.
We also spoke with J.L. Graff, MBA, an associate dean of UOPX’s College of Business and Information Technology, to learn more about employing HCD. He advises to consider the following:
There is no one step-by-step approach for applying HCD, as each project is unique and has its own number of stages to progress through. However, a typical framework involves the following stages:
Inspiration comprises the initial research and understanding of user needs. Here, designers must learn more about what needs they’re trying to fulfill. A few critical steps in this process are:
Once you’ve chosen your primary problem, it becomes the focus of your design efforts moving forward.
After identifying a problem worth solving, it’s time to brainstorm, prototype and refine. Here’s what this process might look like:
You’ll likely go through several prototyping, testing and refining cycles.
As you refine your prototype, revisit the earlier stages and adjust as needed. For instance, if you find that your product needs more features than you anticipated, go back and reevaluate your approach. You may need to redesign or add features to the existing prototype.
“HCD focuses on key features first and then explores additional features or refinements to existing features in later iterations; i.e., satisfy your core purpose really well and then refine or add to it in subsequent steps,” Aranyosi says.
Through this iterative process, you have to walk and rewalk through each stage in order to arrive at the right solution.
Here are a few areas where HCD has made a beneficial impact:
These examples demonstrate the power of human-centered design for a local and worldwide community.
Human-centered design is a highly collaborative process that relies heavily on soft skills , such as teamwork, communication and empathy. Here’s why soft skills are so important:
When a team works well together, they are well positioned to create solutions that genuinely resonate with users.
Human-centered design is not without its challenges and limitations, including:
While implementing HCD can be a long, difficult process, it’s worth the pursuit for a more comprehensive and useful solution or product.
Graff shares: “Research continues to show that nearly two-thirds of implementation efforts fail. While HCD does have its challenges and limitations, I believe that the time and effort of using HCD is worth the investment. For organizations facing resource constraints, which is a valid concern, I would only add that the absence of the human-centered design may result in increased training and support costs, increased stress, lower user satisfaction, and possibly a negative impact to the product/service quality and aesthetics.”
If you’re looking to learn more about HCD, Aranyosi notes that it’s taught in several business courses at UOPX, especially those involving project management. Learn more about flexible, online business programs with a fixed tuition at University of Phoenix. Here are several programs to consider:
A graduate of Johns Hopkins University and its Writing Seminars program and winner of the Stephen A. Dixon Literary Prize, Michael Feder brings an eye for detail and a passion for research to every article he writes. His academic and professional background includes experience in marketing, content development, script writing and SEO. Today, he works as a multimedia specialist at University of Phoenix where he covers a variety of topics ranging from healthcare to IT.
Currently Dean of the College of Business and Information Technology, Kathryn Uhles has served University of Phoenix in a variety of roles since 2006. Prior to joining University of Phoenix, Kathryn taught fifth grade to underprivileged youth in Phoenix.
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