Enhancing human-centered design methods through jobs to be done

Muitas vezes, a criação de produtos digitais tende a priorizar o Design da interface ao invés de focar em como resolver os problemas do usuário. Para realizar uma pesquisa de usuário mais profunda e criar produtos melhores, a metodologia Jobs To Be Done (JTBD) pode ser uma adição viável à caixa de ferramentas geral de UX. Apesar de o framework JTBD já existir há algum tempo, ele ganhou popularidade entre os UX Designers recentemente. No entanto, no momento desta pesquisa, não há pesquisas ou informações suficientes disponíveis sobre como combinar essas metodologias. Portanto, esta pesquisa realizou um estudo comparativo entre a metodologia Jobs To Be Done (JTBD) e a Metodologia UX, a fim de entender se sua fusão é viável e benéfica na realização de User Research. Por meio de uma revisão de literatura seguida de uma pesquisa online, entrevista UX e entrevista JTBD, buscou-se entender as diferenças e semelhanças nas informações obtidas com cada framework. Por fim, com as informações obtidas, aplicamos os resultados a artefatos tangíveis, incluindo uma Análise do Concorrente, Persona do Usuário e Mapa de Jornada do Cliente, a fim de comparar visualmente a metodologia UX com o framework JTBD. Este estudo levou a insights positivos sobre a combinação das metodologias JTBD e UX, pois concluímos que a fusão não é apenas alcançável, mas necessária para a metodologia HCD. As descobertas seriam benéficas para a comunidade de design, bem como para as empresas e instituições que investem no desenvolvimento de software e aplicativos e, mais importante, para o usuário final.Often, the creation of digital products tends to prioritize the Design of the interface instead of focusing on how to solve the user’s problems. In order to undertake deeper User Research and build better products, the Jobs To Be Done (JTBD) methodology might be a feasible addition to the general UX toolbox. Despite that the JTBD framework has been around for a while now, it has gained popularity among UX Designers just recently. Nevertheless, at the moment of this research, there is not enough research or information available about how to combine these methodologies. Therefore, this research carried out a comparative study between the Jobs To Be Done (JTBD) methodology and the UX Methodology, in order to understand if their merge is viable and beneficial in carrying out User Research. Through a literature review followed by an online survey, UX interview and JTBD interview, we sought to understand the differences and similarities in the information obtained with each framework. Finally, with the information obtained, we applied the results to tangible artifacts, including a Competitor Analysis, User Persona and Customer Journey Map, in order to visually compare the UX methodology with the JTBD framework. This study led to positive insights about the combination of JTBD and UX methodologies, as we concluded that the merge is not only attainable but necessary for the HCD methodology. The findings would be beneficial to the Design Community, as well as the companies and institutions investing in software and app development, and most importantly, for the end user

The Meaning of ‘Good Design’ in the Age of Smart Automation: Why Human-Centered Design Needs Ethics

The increasing adoption of smart automation has improved people’s lives in several ways, but it has also brought a host of new problems such as deskilling, deepening of structural inequalities, new forms of exploitation, loss of privacy and hindering of human liberties. This paper begins by assuming that such issues are the consequence of poor design and takes the opportunity to analyse what “good design” should mean in turn. Following insights from mediation theory and philosophy of technology, it surveys the general inherent complexities of automation and argues that Human-Centered Design (HCD) continues to endorse an instrumentalist conception of technology. This paper shows that such a conception of human–technology relations significantly limits designers capacity to approach design from a genuinely ethical standpoint. The paper concludes with a sketch of principles that HCD should incorporate to become a truly humanist and ethically-minded design approach

To Be or Not to Be the Servitization Dilemma and the Role of Design

This article seeks to answer the question of how value proposition is created using a human-centred approach in the context of deservitization, in general, and service dilution, in particular. The article aims to describe the journey of a company which undertook service dilution and used human-centred design to create a new product-oriented value proposition. The study adopted a research through design approach in conjunction with a single case study of an engineering and manufacturing services provider that recently initiated a service dilution process. Within the framework of university-business collaboration, a design project was developed. The main insights of the study pertain to the role of human-centred design as a way of learning and surpassing the pure exploitation of existing capabilities during the service dilution process. Learning by design is also seen as a potential alternative learning process that fuels exploration during the service dilution process

Evaluation and Design of Potting Production Process Improvements for the Non-Profit Organization, Growing Grounds Farm

This report focuses on the potting production process for the non-profit organization (NPO) Growing Grounds Farm (GGF), and aims to promote a standardized workflow system to enhance the working experience for Transitions‐Mental Health Association employees and volunteers. This project takes careful consideration into the process improvements proposed so to support the double bottom line of economic and social objectives. To address the equally important objectives, the Human Centered Design toolkit created by IDEO, specifically for third sector organizations, was integrated with the traditional Industrial Engineering design process methodology. Feasible alternatives were developed and evaluated based on the objectives. The selected alternative was thoroughly assessed using facility evaluation and a simulation. The proposed improvements of the minimum viable alternative increased the total output by roughly five percent and increased facility space by ten percent. The minimum viable alternative met the objectives however; additional research and design must be conducted and tested to further minimize bottlenecks within the system before the implementation can be recommended

Sanitation as a Business: Unclogging the Blockages

The first Unclogging the Blockages conference took place in Kampala, Uganda in February 2014 with the aim of putting on the table some of the major challenges facing the scale up of sustainable sanitation as well as collaborating towards innovaive soluions. This report summarizes the discussions and takeaway messages from the conference, including concrete action plans developed around a number of thematic areas. [KEY FINDINGS]Market based approaches are key to addressing some of the main barriers for scaling sustainable sanitation solutions. Participants came away with a much richer understanding of the principles and key tenets of sanitation as a business. A push for greater integration in sanitation programming between the housing, energy, business, health, and education sectors will allow for sustainable city and district-wide sanitation services.Unlocking finance for businesses and households and embedding monitoring within all work is critical. One interesting outcome of the group work was a suggestion to form a Global Sanitation Financing Alliance.Supporting sanitation businesses to be successful in the realities of the market requires on-the-ground, real time, market-focused technology development and R&D. A variety of these technologies were on display at the meeting

Experiences With Prenatal Care Delivery Reported by Black Patients With Low Income and by Health Care Workers in the US: A Qualitative Study

IMPORTANCE: Black pregnant people with low income face inequities in health care access and outcomes in the US, yet their voices have been largely absent from redesigning prenatal care. OBJECTIVE: To examine patients\u27 and health care workers\u27 experiences with prenatal care delivery in a largely low-income Black population to inform care innovations to improve care coordination, access, quality, and outcomes. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: For this qualitative study, human-centered design-informed interviews were conducted at prenatal care clinics with 19 low-income Black patients who were currently pregnant or up to 1 year post partum and 19 health care workers (eg, physicians, nurses, and community health workers) in Detroit, Michigan, between October 14, 2019, and February 7, 2020. Questions focused on 2 human-centered design phases: observation (understanding problems from the end user\u27s perspective) and ideation (generating novel potential solutions). Questions targeted participants\u27 experiences with the 3 goals of prenatal care: medical care, anticipatory guidance, and social support. An eclectic analytic strategy, including inductive thematic analysis and matrix coding, was used to identify promising strategies for prenatal care redesign. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Preferences for prenatal care redesign. RESULTS: Nineteen Black patients (mean [SD] age, 28.4 [5.9] years; 19 [100%] female; and 17 [89.5%] with public insurance) and 17 of 19 health care workers (mean [SD] age, 47.9 [15.7] years; 15 female [88.2%]; and 13 [76.5%] Black) completed the surveys. A range of health care workers were included (eg, physicians, doulas, and social workers). Although all affirmed the 3 prenatal care goals, participants reported failures and potential solutions for each area of prenatal care delivery. Themes also emerged in 2 cross-cutting areas: practitioners and care infrastructure. Participants reported that, ideally, care structure would enable strong ongoing relationships between patients and practitioners. Practitioners would coordinate all prenatal services, not just medical care. Finally, care would be tailored to individual patients by using care navigators, flexible models, and colocation of services to reduce barriers. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: In this qualitative study of low-income, Black pregnant people in Detroit, Michigan, and the health care workers who care for them, prenatal care delivery failed to meet many patients\u27 needs. Participants reported that an ideal care delivery model would include comprehensive, integrated services across the health care system, expanding beyond medical care to also include patients\u27 social needs and preferences

Using operational scenarios in a virtual reality enhanced design process

Maritime user interfaces for ships’ bridges are highly dependent on the context in which they are used, and rich maritime context is difficult to recreate in the early stages of user-centered design processes. Operations in Arctic waters where crews are faced with extreme environmental conditions, technology limitations and a lack of accurate navigational information further increase this challenge. There is a lack of research supporting the user-centered design of workplaces for hazardous Arctic operations. To meet this challenge, this paper reports on the process of developing virtual reality-reconstructed operational scenarios to connect stakeholders, end-users, designers, and human factors specialists in a joint process. This paper explores how virtual reality-reconstructed operational scenarios can be used as a tool both for concept development and user testing. Three operational scenarios were developed, implemented in a full mission bridge simulator, recreated in virtual reality (VR), and finally tested on navigators (end-users). Qualitative data were captured throughout the design process and user-testing, resulting in a thematic analysis that identified common themes reflecting the experiences gained throughout this process. In conclusion, we argue that operational scenarios, rendered in immersive media such as VR, may be an important and reusable asset when supporting maritime design processes and in maritime training and education

Towards an understanding of the consequences of technology-driven decision support for maritime navigation

The maritime industry is undergoing a transformation driven by digitalization and connectivity. There is speculation that in the next two decades the maritime industry will witness changes far exceeding those experienced over the past 100 years. While change is inevitable in the maritime domain, technological developments do not guarantee navigational safety, efficiency, or improved seaway traffic management. The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has adopted the Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships (MASS) concept to define autonomy on a scale from Degrees 1 through 4.\ua0 Investigations into the impact of MASS on various aspects of the maritime sociotechnical system is currently ongoing by academic and industry stakeholders. However, the early adoption of MASS (Degree 1), which is classified as a crewed ship with decision support, remains largely unexplored. Decision support systems are intended to support operator decision-making and improve operator performance. In practice they can cause unintended changes throughout other elements of the maritime sociotechnical system. In the maritime industry, the human is seldom put first in technology design which paradoxically introduces human-automation challenges related to technology acceptance, use, trust, reliance, and risk. The co-existence of humans and automation, as it pertains to navigation and navigational assistance, is explored throughout this thesis. The aims of this thesis are (1) to understand how decision support will impact navigation and navigational assistance from the operator’s perspective and (2) to explore a framework to help reduce the gaps between the design and use of decision support technologies. This thesis advocates for a human-centric approach to automation design and development while exploring the broader impacts upon the maritime sociotechnical system. This work considers three different projects and four individual data collection efforts during 2017-2022. This research took place in Gothenburg, Sweden, and Warsash, UK and includes data from 65 Bridge Officers (navigators) and 16 Vessel Traffic Service (VTS) operators. Two testbeds were used to conduct the research in several full mission bridge simulators, and a virtual reality environment. A mixed methods approach, with a heavier focus on qualitative data, was adopted to understand the research problem. Methodological tools included literature reviews, observations, questionnaires, ship maneuvering data, collective interviews, think-aloud protocol, and consultation with subject matter experts. The data analysis included thematic analysis, subject matter expert consultation, and descriptive statistics.\ua0The results show that operators perceive that decision support will impact their work, but not necessarily as expected. The operators’ positive and negative perceptions are discussed within the frameworks of human-automation interaction, decision-making, and systems thinking. The results point towards gaps in work as it is intended to be done and work as it is done in the user’s context. A user-driven design framework is proposed which allows for a systematic, flexible, and iterative design process capable of testing new technologies while involving all stakeholders. These results have led to the identification of several research gaps in relation to the overall preparedness of the shipping industry to manage the evolution toward smarter ships. This thesis will discuss these findings and advocate for human-centered automation within the quickly evolving maritime industry

NURSING INTERRUPTION DYNAMICS: THE IMPACT OF WORK SYSTEM FACTORS

Interruptions occur frequently in healthcare work systems. Hands-free Communication Devices (HCDs) were implemented in healthcare work systems to support the interruption process. However, from a sociotechnical systems perspective, HCDs may introduce new complications and unintended consequences to the work system. Research gaps exist in investigating the complexity of HCD interruptions in the real-world context. This dissertation aims to understand HCD interruption dynamics in the nursing work systems, using qualitative research methods. The first study examined the major differences between face-to-face and HCD-mediated interruptions, based on 30 hours of field observations in the acute care setting. Three major differences included: (1) The available cues to understand interruptee’s interruptibility, (2) The delivery of interruption content, and (3) The options to manage interruptions. The results uncovered facilitators and barriers that appeared to influence nursing work in the interruption process. The second study explored HCD interruption dynamics in more depth. It examined which system factors impact the interruption dynamics and how they influence nurses’ decisions and performance regarding the use of HCDs, based on 15 hours of field observations and 15 in-depth interviews with registered nurses in the pediatric intensive care units. This study was framed by the meso-ergonomics paradigm and activity theory. A descriptive model of HCD interruption dynamics was developed, comprising of five proximal system factors, 17 indicator and moderator system factors, and four distal system factors. These system factors interact and create integrated causal chains to impact interruption dynamics and influence the nurses’ decisions and performance regarding the use of HCDs. Specifically, the proximal system factors immediately impact interruption dynamics, the indicator or moderator system factors provide partial inputs and contextual circumstances of the proximal system factors, and the distal system factors are further down the causal chain. The results of the dissertation provided the basis for improving the design of interruption-mediating tools as well as the nursing work system, to better support the HCD-mediated interruption process, which may ultimately enhance the quality and safety of healthcare work systems