An Overview of the User-Centered Design and Research Process
“Learn, Build, Measure” - Code for America’s Iterative process.
How does this work?
We research the system and the needs of its users. We create small, simple tools and “push” them out to users quickly to test their viability and utility. If a prototype tool is useful, it will be used. This use will be the basis upon which to legitimize further development.
What advantage does our iterative process provide?
- Iterative methods make the technology procurement and development process part of the research. Features and development decisions are data-driven.
- Actual usage data leads to lean, well-scoped, and proven software, shipped piecemeal in direct response to user feedback.
User-centered design engages users of a system or service to understand the process and the needs of its users in order to gain insights and find improvement opportunities.
Organizations and institutions that work together and rely on each other are oftentimes created in silos, creating friction between them. User centered design focuses on the people between and within organisations in order to improve their experiences. Users exist at every point of a system. Everyone from client to case manager is a “user.” Talking to a people involved at different points of the process allows us to gather a broader picture of the system that is harder to see from working at any point within it.
Through interviews, observations and design exercises with people in specific roles we gain a deeper understanding of the system through their collected attitudes, behaviors, and motivations and common issues that arise as they navigate it.