What is user-focus design in HCI?

User-focus design

User-focus design in human–computer interaction (HCI) refers to designing an interface according to the users' needs. This means we take all decisions for the interface considering the end users' preferences and abilities.

Why is user-focus design important?

An interface can be excellent in terms of usabilityUsability refers to how easily and efficiently a user can perform a task on an interface., but is of no benefit if no one uses it. Therefore, we must not ignore the end-users in the design process. User-focus design ensures that the users' needs are taken into account, and provides a high-quality user experience A user's overall experience of interacting with the interfacefor them.

How to know our users

User-focus design commands designers to know their users. The following are some things designers must keep in mind to get to know their users.

Asking who they are

This one refers to finding and defining who our users are. However, this is not usually an easy task for the following reasons.

• Users can be a group of people instead of just an individual. Different people in a group have different characteristics and preferences.

• Defining the users for generic software, such as a public website, can be more challenging as a variety of people with varying backgrounds access it.

To counter such challenges, designers must sit with the stakeholders to determine who the users are. A better way to tackle this is to think of several specific groups of users instead of generic ones.

Acknowledging different perspectives

One typical mistake made by designers is to consider themselves as the user. They make design decisions according to their own abilities and preferences. User-focus design disagrees with this, as it says that the users are probably very different from the designer. Something which may seem intuitive to the designer may not be that obvious to the user.

Talking to them

There is no better way to get to know the users' needs than to ask them directly. There are several techniques for this, including interviews, focus groups, or participatory designInvolving the users in the design process. Sometimes, users might be reluctant to communicate their preferences candidly, so the designer must apply techniques to gain their trust.

Note: To learn more about participatory design, we can visit this link.

Watching them

Often, the designer can not elicit the needs just by talking to the users. Thus, a more in-depth way of collecting data about the users is through observation and ethnographyImmersing ourselves in the users' environment to observe them closely. This provides holistic knowledge of how users actually perform tasks, and highlights major user pain points.

Using our imagination

It's not a good idea for the designer to make design decisions based on their assumptions. However, sometimes the users and enough resources are not available. In such situations, designers should rely on user personas. User personas are detailed descriptions of the characteristics of an imaginary user. When considering user personas, the designer has to make crucial decisions thinking from the persona's perspective.

Note: To learn more about user personas and how to create them, we can visit this link.