Designing for Users
Designing with users in mind for HCDE can very well mean designing for most of humanity, as many people have the same basic needs and wants. Things that people look for in products is how well it works, how easy it is to use, and how much the person needs or wants it. These aspects can also be defined as the usability, feasibility, and desirability of the product.
Usability is how well the product works, such as if it does what it is advertised to do smoothly. Low usability can come from the designer not conducting thorough research or usability tests. For example, Alexa would not be very usable if it did not understand different voice pitches.
Feasibility describes how convenient it is to use the product. If a product is very difficult to use, most people are not going to use it. In addition, if the product is too big or the person does not have the necessary tools to assemble it, the user will either not get it or be annoyed that they need to go out of their way to make more purchases in order to use the product. For example, IKEA products have a negative stigma when it comes to assembling them because of how hard it is to follow the instructions.
Desirability is how much people need or want the product. Even though a product is easy to use and works as it is supposed to, nobody is going to get it unless they need or want it. Desirability is not as general as usability and feasibility when it comes to designing for a large pool of users, but there are certain desirable aspects of objects that many people look for. For example, every new iPhone that comes out has a very high desirability because of the status that comes with the new shiny technology. Status and having new technology makes people feel good about themselves, which makes the product desirable.
If an item meets all three standards, it does not necessarily have to be confined to one user group, as demonstrated by Beth Kolko, CEO of Shift Labs. Kolko’s lab designed a product, Drip Assist, that low resource hospitals could use in place of a fluid pumps. However, since fluid pumps are so expensive (low desirability) and hard to use and fix (low feasibility), the little Drip Assists were purchased by more than just the intended users. They can now be seen in hospitals throughout the United States, where fluid pumps could potentially be afforded, instead of in primarily the targeted low resource hospitals.
This product is an example of how if someone designs a product for a specific user that matches all three of the before mentioned factors, their design can become applicable to many more because the core needs are the same throughout most communities.
