Tom Stewart - If UCD is so great, why are more systems not perfect?

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9.30 Saturday 10 November 2012 Tom Stewart, Founder System Concepts

If UCD is so great, why are more systems not perfect?

User centred design is now mainstream. It's widely accepted as the best way to create

usable systems. Not everyone follows the ISO standard for UCD (ISO 9241-210 previously

known as ISO 13407) but the basic principles seem unarguable. Start by understanding the

users and context. Then set measurable objectives and test potential designs against these

objectives with typical users. Keep refining the design till it meets the objectives. What could

possibly go wrong? In this presentation we discuss a number of real world stumbling blocks

which mean that even when the process is followed properly ( and not doing it properly is

one of the first stumbling blocks), the results are not always what was wanted. Issues

include failing to get management buy-in, testing with the wrong users and fixed project

schedules which preclude fixing known problems.

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This document and it’s content is Copyright ©2012 [Tom Stewart] and UCD UK Limited.

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If UCD is so great, why are

more systems not perfect?

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Actually, IT projects have a

long history of failure

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Typical reasons for failure

1. The technology didn’t work

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Me = Mistake edition

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Typical reasons for failure

1. The technology didn’t work

2. Unrealistic ambitions

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• Other thoughts “the new system will let everyone be customer facing so customer

service will be great!”

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Typical reasons for failure

1. The technology didn’t work

2. Unrealistic ambitions

3. Rejected by users

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User feedback

“in the FCO’s long history of

ineptly implemented IT

initiatives, Prism is the most

badly-designed, ill-

considered one of the lot”

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UCD is the solution

but not everyone gets it (Google user centred design)

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But most do (Google images for User Centre Design)

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Standards trivia

• Started as ISO 13407

• “Human centred” to

reflect more stakeholders

• Revision is part 210 of

ISO 9241 series

• Part 210 contains “shalls”

ie can claim conformance

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Warning!

Photos from this point are NOT

from the actual project or client

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Plan the human-centred

design process

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Plan the human-centred design process

• What can go wrong?

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Plan the human-centred design process

• What can go wrong?

– Phased development with no time to

incorporate feedback after initial phases

– Organisational changes exposed

‘accidentally’ during design consultation

• Lessons

– Plan for time to incorporate feedback

– Don’t use IT to force organisational change

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Understand and specify

the context of use

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Understand and specify the context of use

• What can go wrong?

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Understand and specify the context of use

• What can go wrong?

– Scope and position of new product assumed

by remote teams

• Lesson

– Communicate context of use as early as

possible to as many stakeholders as possible

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Specify the user

requirements

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Specify the user requirements

• What can go wrong?

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Specify the user requirements

• What can go wrong?

– Project team “hadn’t decided who would use

system”, planned to install then see “who took

to it best”

• Lesson

– Be absolutely clear about target user

characteristics

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Produce design solutions

to meet user requirements

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Produce design solutions to meet user

requirements

• What can go wrong?

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Produce design solutions to meet user

requirements

• What can go wrong?

– Too early focus on detail, users reluctant to

criticise what appear to be fully worked designs

• Lesson

– Keep design concepts simple prior to initial

evaluation

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Evaluate the designs against the

requirements

• What can go wrong?

– Not test at all

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Evaluate the designs against the

requirements

• What can go wrong?

– Not test at all

– Test with wrong users and tasks – managers

instead of staff

• Lesson

– Test with real users and their tasks

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Iterate where appropriate

• What can go wrong?

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“Most government IT

therefore remains trapped in

an outdated model, which

attempts to lock project

requirements up-front and

then proceeds at a glacial

pace. The result is repeated

system-wide failure”

Report published by the Institute for

Government, March 2011

www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk

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Iterate where appropriate

• What can go wrong?

– Not enough time to iterate, made worse by

contractual straightjackets

• Lesson

– Plan better, gain management buy in to

agile/ucd process to minimise risk as part of

organisations IT governance

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020 7240 3388

www.system-concepts.com

Tom Stewart

tom@system-concepts.com

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“Many forms of Government design process have

been tried, and will be tried in this world of sin and

woe. No one pretends that democracy user

centred design is perfect or all-wise. Indeed, it has

been said that democracy user centred design is

the worst form of Government design process

except for all those other forms that have been

tried from time to time."

‘based’ on a speech by Winston Churchill, 1947