Defamiliarising Design

This paper proposes a model for human-computer interface design. Design activities are integrated into the early stages of the discovery process to bring stakeholders together and help them reach common goals and explore the project through collaboration. The model offers an environment for dealing with the complexity inherent to the design process when the aim is a human-centered design. The proposed model guides and structures the move around a central axis that represents the evolving users' interests by bringing all stakeholders to collaborate in design activities. Everyone's engagement around that central line, their dialogues and their exchange of information lead to the convergence of viewpoints and to enrichment of project knowledge for the team, more successful design, and development of the project in a timely and more economically efficient manner. INTRODUCTION This paper discusses the problematic of design of human-computer interface (HCI) when a team composed by client, user, designer, and all other stakeholders collaborate. The paper proposes a model where design activities are staged to assist the team to achieve meaningful communications and align their focus on users' needs and wants. The ongoing development and increasing complexity of computer interfaces such as the Internet, or using a software program, impact not only our professional work, but also our social and economic interactions. HCI continually generates new opportunities and problems which design has to address (Löwgren, & Stolterman, 2004). At the same time, unsuccessful design is generally accepted to be a direct result of an inadequate approach at the conceptual level, and in many cases, the inadequate approach is caused by miscommunication, misinterpretation, and lack of understanding among team members (Kleinsmann et al. 2007, Carrara et al. 2009). Being design practitioners and researchers, we presume that design activities have, in the early stages of design process, the potential to bring a diverse team together, help them focus on common goals, and achieve meaningful communication. This also means that the team should meet face-to-face and discuss diverse aspects of the project. As mentioned by Oak (2010), "face-to-face talk is an essential part of the collaborative practice of design, and occurs in tandem with the aforementioned modes of representation and communication (such as sketches and gestures)". In summery this paper outlines how design activities may be used as a method to help the team collaborate efficiently toward usercenteredness. We will discuss the problematic of the research, its methodological approach and the proposed model. We then present how the model was validated.

The reason for undertaking this research came as a need to understand the users, their interactions and activities in the natural context. Understanding these three factors gives rise to the effective outcomes of design processes. For clarification and validity of this research, the next paragraph and sections will highlight the issues and contributions from different fields of architecture, interaction design, urbanism, psychology, anthropology, healthcare, human-computer interaction, user experience design and business respectively. Humans need to be understood in order for their needs to be met as they are the core of any process. For these needs to be met, the environment they interact with should comply with their activities. One of the many ways this can be achieved is by adhering to the aspect of design that appeals to human needs in the built environment. Where the built environment here refers either the virtual (intangible) and physical (tangible) environment. The most prominent aspect of the human anatomy that appeals more to the design process beyond taste and smell are the auditory, visual and tactile aspect respectively. All these aspects work in unison to enhance the user experience in any given environment, especially the built environment. The attributes of the built environment that combine to form a system, designer should follow to design effective environments are the psychological and the physical attributes, as these should be understood before designing environments for human. Understanding human needs in the natural environment is crucial to creating systems and processes tailored to their needs. For effective representation of information, stressing the need for clarity, simplicity and order is important in addition to making things visible. Though a few things need to be considered such as individual differences and variation in addition to accessibility issues. This will result in a happier and satisfied user, as it will reduce confusion, mis-interpretation, error and ultimately frustration. Over the years, computing has drifted from personal computing to ubiquitous systems which is totally becoming smaller and Intangible making it possible for people to communicate seamlessly. This has created the affordance of designers and researchers to develop systems and processes that support such with the consideration of outliers who are people with special needs or capabilities. People with special needs abound everywhere, but to what extent has their needs been met? This leads the researcher to design with a purpose. Design research is a process employed by designers to solve design problems by seeking to understand human needs, which can be achieved when the researcher takes time to observe and participate in human activities. Researching with outliers and people with special needs is crucial for effective and useful functionality because collaborating with such stake holders gives meaning to inclusive design. Interdisciplinary collaboration and participatory design is crucial to the design process especially in the built environments, and therefore the design process should be seen as an avenue for interdisciplinary learning and inclusion. This invariably brings knowledge of each discipline, group and stakeholder represented to the table. This allows for knowledge sharing leading to the adoption of patterns in a unified manner that draws from the collaborative design process in interdisciplinary teams and collaborative groups.

1997

Designers of interactive systems often work in environments that am continuously changing. External, uncontrollable change is rapidly becoming a daily impedim~t in many designers' lives. In this age of rapid technologml progression and heightened competition, systems designers must be able to prepare for, cope with, and even pdbrm better because of inevitable change. 13ecauM the nature of user interbce design is to make complicated technology usable, user intedltce designers tve especially afkcted by design changes.

The reason for undertaking this research came as a need to understand the users, their interactions and activities in the natural context. Understanding these three factors gives rise to the effective outcomes of design processes. For clarification and validity of this research, the next paragraph and sections will highlight the issues and contributions from different fields of architecture, interaction design, urbanism, psychology, anthropology, healthcare, human-computer interaction, user experience design and business respectively. Humans need to be understood in order for their needs to be met as they are the core of any process. For these needs to be met, the environment they interact with should comply with their activities. One of the many ways this can be achieved is by adhering to the aspect of design that appeals to human needs in the built environment. Where the built environment here refers either the virtual (intangible) and physical (tangible) environment. The most prominent aspect of the human anatomy that appeals more to the design process beyond taste and smell are the auditory, visual and tactile aspect respectively. All these aspects work in unison to enhance the user experience in any given environment, especially the built environment. The attributes of the built environment that combine to form a system, designer should follow to design effective environments are the psychological and the physical attributes, as these should be understood before designing environments for human. Understanding human needs in the natural environment is crucial to creating systems and processes tailored to their needs. For effective representation of information, stressing the need for clarity, simplicity and order is important in addition to making things visible. Though a few things need to be considered such as individual differences and variation in addition to accessibility issues. This will result in a happier and satisfied user, as it will reduce confusion, mis-interpretation, error and ultimately frustration. Over the years, computing has drifted from personal computing to ubiquitous systems which is totally becoming smaller and Intangible making it possible for people to communicate seamlessly. This has created the affordance of designers and researchers to develop systems and processes that support such with the consideration of outliers who are people with special needs or capabilities. People with special needs abound everywhere, but to what extent has their needs been met? This leads the researcher to design with a purpose. Design research is a process employed by designers to solve design problems by seeking to understand human needs, which can be achieved when the researcher takes time to observe and participate in human activities. Researching with outliers and people with special needs is crucial for effective and useful functionality because collaborating with such stake holders gives meaning to inclusive design. Interdisciplinary collaboration and participatory design is crucial to the design process especially in the built environments, and therefore the design process should be seen as an avenue for interdisciplinary learning and inclusion. This invariably brings knowledge of each discipline, group and stakeholder represented to the table. This allows for knowledge sharing leading to the adoption of patterns in a unified manner that draws from the collaborative design process in interdisciplinary teams and collaborative groups.