Human-Centered Design (HCD) delivers value by raising the quality of a product or service. Users consider a product to be well-designed when it is:
Both staff and customers benefit when an organisation’s products have these qualities. Here are some of the ways:
Users save time
A well-conceived interface saves users time in their daily work. When designers truly understand the tasks the users have to carry out with the
product, they design the user interface around these tasks. A well-designed interface can significantly reduce the number of steps required.
We know of one case where a very common task in a call center (entering a trouble ticket) took 16 manual operations (scrolling, clicking and selecting) in one user interface and 4 in another user interface. This sort of efficiency gain easily translates into euro value.
Users make better decisions and fewer errors
Displaying data essential to a task in an appropriate way (data graphics and visualisation) results in better decisions and fewer errors. Errors can have far-reaching effects that need to be dealt with; some errors can never be corrected.
Competitive advantage
HCID can make the difference between product failure and product success. A user interface that focuses on task execution increases the chances of
product acceptance by hiding its technical complexity. Although a new product can be a success among innovators and early adopters, despite poor HCID, it is only really successful when it is accepted by the early majority – who demand simplicity.
In an e-commerce context, HCID results in higher sales as customers find what they need more easily.
HCD helps to avoid resistance to new products in the workplace
As many companies will have discovered, the user interface is an easy target for complaints by employees. It may become the unwanted focus of attention, and be turned into an excuse to resist changes in work practices. Taking the user’s requirements and needs into account lessens the risk that this may happen.
Reduced cost of support
Creating user assistance (user documentation, online help or e-learning) and running call centers is costly. Although user assistance and support are often unavoidable, their scale and cost can be considerably reduced by designing an intuitive, understandable product from the very start.
Reduced cost of design and development
HCD reduces design and development costs by:
Increased job satisfaction and employee pride
Working with state-of-the-art tools that are fit for purpose can increase employees’ pride in their organisation and their work. New employees, particularly those fresh out of school, would rather not be confronted with antiquated tools and obscure procedures.
Giving organisations a more human face
User-friendly applications can give all organisations a more human face, something that is particularly important for government organisations. Citizens have a compelling right to well-designed e-government applications, especially when they are obliged to use them.
Sources
Good sources on the value of HCID include: