Everything for a person

Human -oriented design (SOP) is one of the most innovative approaches to the process of any development. Previously, this term was often used as a synonym for designing user (user Centered Design, OPP), but is now recognized as a separate concept.

If the OPP can be considered the phrase: “Know your user”, then Leitmotif Chop - “See the Human User” . OPP is concentrated on the study of the user in the process of interacting with the product. The result of the private security company can be a creative solution in conditions where this interaction occurs unconsciously.

For example, optimization of ordinary objects, such as switches, taps or door handles. Chop - to a lesser extent, the method, to a larger way - the way of thinking. It is pushed away from a wide context of realities: needs, capabilities and restrictions of people.

Brief story

From the very first jerks of the industrial revolution, engineering design was more focused on the product and was carried out with the minimum participation of a real user. The creation of prototypes, launching mass production, refinement took place almost independently of those who intended the result of these efforts.

A noticeable shift in the paradigm began to occur in the first half of the twentieth century. During this period, the science of human factors, or ergonomics, began to turn from theoretical calculations into applied discipline. Its development was especially advanced in the period of two world wars, when the simplicity of manipulating technology actually became the issue of life and death.

One of the founders of ergonomics is the doctor of psychology Alphons Chapanis . It is considered a pioneer in the field of application of anthropogenic and cognitive sciences in industrial design, including psychology, physiology, anthropometry. During the Second World War, Chapanis dealt with aviation security issues.

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So, he found that in some cases the cause of the crash could be a human mistake caused by the design of the pilot cabin. Pilots often confused controllers on the control panel, since they were too close to each other or were the same shape. Another of Chapanis's contributions is the first button phone created for the Bell telecommunication company.

The significance of the user for the production process began to intensify in the 1960s. Then there was a compliant or partial design (Participatory Design). For the first time, this approach began to be used in Scandinavian countries. The impetus for its appearance was the pressure of trade unions, which achieved great opportunities for workers to influence the work space.

The philosophical component was borrowed from Plato's ideas about the party democracy - the direct participation of citizens in political processes. This methodology involves attracting users to the development process at any stage - from the idea to the release and in various forms - from marketing polls to research and development (R&D).

Finally, the user/client/consumer went out of the shadow of the Sofis in the 1980s. Then the theoretician Donald Norman finalized the ideas of comprehensive design and proposed the concept of design oriented to the user.

This term was popularized by his books “Designing systems oriented to the user: new prospects for the interaction of man and computer” (1986) and “Psychology of ordinary things” (1988). In them, Norman insisted on the need to put at the forefront of any production process the needs and interests of the final user. He also called for focus on usability: the functionality of the product in terms of its usefulness and effectiveness, and ease of use and attractiveness . In the world of a constantly intensifying struggle for the client, the business seized for this concept, which promised a significant competitive advantage. The user became God, and the ability to understand him is the key to success.

Examples of Chop

Humaniate design has grown from the ideas of the OPP and is based on the installation: "Making things you need." The marketer Spencer Lanu compares the mechanisms of the private security company with the traditions of invention , when the innovator’s ability to look at the world with other eyes and use his observations to create opportunities comes to the fore.

David Kelly , the founder of the IDEO innovation company , calls this approach “climbing the design of the Maslow pyramid” and notes that empathy is based on it - the ability to put himself in the user's place and imbued with his needs and aspirations.

IDEO is recognized as one of the pioneers and flagships of the Chop philosophy. The company, created in 2012, introduced hundreds of innovative projects in healthcare, education, energy, food industry.

So, IDEO, along with Swipesense, launched the production of a hand disinfector mounted to the medical bathrobe with an online use monitoring platform. The project was aimed at combating the spread of infections in hospitals .

The company helped Oral-B change the design of toothbrushes for children, created a new-shaped pan-car , participated in the development of a device that allows you to pour a glass of wine without opening a bottle , and in creating electricity receipts for the user.

Luma Institute is another well -known consulting company promoting human -oriented design ideas. Her philosophy is that everyone is capable of innovation: individuals, organizations, companies, communities, you just need to help them reveal creative potential. For these purposes, the company has developed Luma System of Innovation - a set of tools to help integrate the ideas of the private security company into the workflow.

Chop methods

The IDEO design approach stands on three “whales”: inspiration, the formation of an idea, implementation (Inspiration, IDEATION, IMPLEMENTATION). The company adheres to the principle of open perception and freedom from prejudice. IDEO teams begin their projects with a detailed study of behavior, habits, capabilities of potential users. Then they try to optimize and “fit” the product as much as possible for their needs. The whole process is divided into stages:

• observation of a potential user or immersion in its environment;
• the generation of ideas designed to solve a certain problem discovered in
• observation process;
• creation of prototypes;
• receiving user reviews;
• Repetition of the process "Change of design - prototyping - feedback"
• before receiving a satisfactory result;
• The final implementation of the product, services, development.

The marketer Dave Thompson from Wanderful Media recommends several techniques within the COP, which help maintain creativity and the desired mood.

Ask the right questions. If you cannot get out of a creative impasse during the generation of ideas, try to paraphrase the problem that you are trying to solve.

Leave your desktop. Otherwise, intellectual stagnation may threaten you. Go to the world where people who use your product or service live. You will be surprised how quickly you find new opportunities.

Let feedback with the user become the norm. Nothing will replace the fullness of the nuances and the depth of the conversation face to face. You do not need formal research. You can test general concepts and prototypes.

Consider the design of command sports. Culture the exchange of ideas with colleagues. He will help you move further in your thoughts. At the same time, your interlocutors will bring their own, another vision.

Create the simplest working prototypes. Build cheap prototypes, which nevertheless will allow you to test your ideas. Carry out, analyze, repeat the process.

Disadvantages and prospects

Chop is not protected from criticism. One of the most popular arguments against him is high cost. Firstly, additional research is human hours and financial resources. Secondly, immersion and user study require time, thus, the entire production process is lengthened.

Also, the result of the private security company can be too specialized products suitable for individual groups of people, but unsuitable for mass use. Another argument against this approach is that it does not spread the framework and does not dare, but serves existing needs.

One of the critics of the ChOP of irony is Donald Norman , a person who has developed the OPP. He believes that obsession with the user is as dangerous as his ignoring. So, Norman recalls that most of the things surrounding us were created without the methods of private security company or opop. At the same time, they work, and some even serve as the most successful examples of technological achievements.

Norman, in particular, speaks of many ordinary objects: garden or musical instruments, sports equipment, cameras. According to him, all these things were developed without a special look at a person and his features. At the same time, they successfully took root.

Norman believes that the user is ready to sacrifice time or his convenience if he understands the activity performed. For example, a person who wants to learn how to play the violin does not stop the fact that this is not the most convenient tool or the fact that years will take years. According to Norman, the same situation develops with the user. If he explains why something was created and works in a certain way, a person will adapt to these features.

Norman considers Chop a dangerous trend. Including because increased concern to the address of the addressee makes the design too comprehensive, less consistent and can harm the basics of the activity itself.

He made a new concept designed to replace the ChOP: design, focused on activities. Norman is so summarized by his approach: “Mantra Chop - understand the action, and the tool will become clear. But this is actually wrong. Often, tools determine how the activity occurs, and not vice versa. Therefore, perhaps the belief should be different: understand the tools, then the activity will become clear.

For supporters of human -oriented design, the tool should be invisible, it should not interfere. In design, focused on activities, the tool is a starting point. ”