When exploring development solutions for your web application, you have undoubtedly encountered the phrase “human-centered design.”
Understanding this concept is important if you want to create an intuitive and enjoyable product for your customers.
Human-centered design is a development approach used by those in the goods and services industries to solve problems.
It relies on a multi-stage approach to create pertinent content or digital products for your potential clients. This approach is all about viewing the problem from your customer's point of view.
#Stages of Human-Centered Design
#Discovery
The first step of this design approach is to gather information on your customers / users.
This can be achieved through meeting with customers or observing them as they perform their work. The goal is to get an understanding of their needs and frustrations.
The information gathering stage will vary between industries, as you should seek to understand how your product or service improves the lives of clients.
Here's more on user research methods and how much user research you should do.
#Design
The next phase of human-centered design involves putting the gathered information into action.
You will identify what capabilities your product needs to serve your clients. This is especially important if you are entering a crowded industry, as you must simultaneously work to fill a need and set yourself apart from competitors.
Design sprints and prototyping should be a part of your phase two process.
Here's more on design sprints and how to generate viable design ideas quickly.
#Development
The third step in the human-centered design process is implementing the solution or product.
This means developing and launching the product on the appropriate platform, whether that's Web, Mobile or Connected devices.
By viewing problems from the customer's perspective, you significantly increase your chances of connecting with them in a dynamic way. In turn, this will help you build your brand and develop a sense of loyalty to your company or product.
#Maintenance
And the final step is to maintain and measure the performance of your solution or digital product.
Human-centered design puts an emphasis on the end users, and end user changes are continually changing.
To have a successful product, you must make regular customer research and touchpoints a part of your content or product maintenance cycle.
Here's more on how to measure the success of a mobile or web app.
#Benefits of Human Centered Design
Human-centered design has become the go-to approach for developing both tangible products and web applications due to its clear benefits.
It is an effective means of connecting with customers and generally results in a higher-quality product.
Additional benefits of human-centered design include:
#Gain a Better Understanding of the User
Remember, when you are designing an application or product, your focus should be on the front-end user.
Starting your design process by looking at things from their point of view is essential towards planning the project. You will gain a much more detailed understanding of your user and how you should best serve them with your creation.
When you take the time to ask questions and get to know your customer base, you will be better equipped to design a quality product. This client-centered approach will be apparent to users once your product is ready to hit the market.
#You Can Better Identify the Problem
The service industry is all about problem solving. The key to generating interest in your product and closing the sale lies in demonstrating why it is useful.
Starting your design process without a human-centered approach can result in misidentification of the problem entirely.
As noted above, the first stage in the human-centered approach involves gathering information from potential clients. Even if they cannot pinpoint the issue, they can communicate the negatives of an experience. This will allow you the opportunity to discern the difference between the problem itself and the symptoms of the problem.
During phase one, do not be afraid to ask the hard questions.
This is especially important if you are working on redesigning one of your existing products or applications. Encourage the customer to be honest about their experience and tell you which parts of the product experience were negative.
#Boost Confidence During the Design Process
The design process is time-consuming by nature. However, you can take steps to streamline it and get your product to market more efficiently.
The human-centered design approach is effective at accomplishing this goal because it can help you be more confident in the process.
You can charge forward in the process knowing that you have clearly identified the problem and are working to meet the needs of your clients.
#Prototyping
During phase two of the human-centered design approach, you have the opportunity to test before rolling out your complete product. This allows you to identify and fix problems with your design on a small scale.
Prototyping improves the effectiveness of your product during phase 3 and can protect you from errors that can damage your reputation.
#Reduce Costs and Time
Since the human-centered approach is more efficient, it will help your bottom line while also allowing you to better the lives of your consumers.
From problem identification to the prototyping phase, the entire process will save you time and money when compared to traditional design philosophies.
Human-centered design will help you differentiate your digital product. This will save you a lot of time on re-work.
It will also help you focus your product roadmap on features that are the most pertinent for your users. This will allow you to take an agile approach to development that saves a lot of time.
Here's more on agile product development: The Art of MVP Planning.
#Contact With Pulp
If you are ready to implement human-centered design into your business model, then you need With Pulp.
Our collaborative team of computer engineers, developers, and artists can help you deliver a high-quality finished digital product that will improve the user experience and boost sales.
If you are ready to get started, contact With Pulp and find out how we can revolutionize your design practices.