UCD education beyond the textbook | Leurs & Mulder

Rotterdam University Chi Nederland Conferentie 2009 Leiden, June 11, 2009 UCD Education Beyond the Textbook Practicing a Human-Centered Attitude Bas Leurs & Ingrid Mulder Rotterdam University School of Communication, Media and Information Technology (CMI) b.l.f.leurs@hro.nl / i.j.mulder@tudelft.nl

Rotterdam University Chi Nederland Conferentie 2009 Research center on human centered ICT Leiden, June 11, 2009 Education ning s is on desig the Emphasi n for innovatio ting humane omple real w orld by c uman- in a h ev ery stage ign trajectory Human des Technology centered Centered (ICT) Starti n user g from eli n c innov eeds to im iting (laten t intera ative tech plement ) c n conte tive medi ology an xt of a in a d use real-l • Rotterdam University ife • School of Communication, Media and Information Technology • Six bachelor courses (communication, multimedia design, software engineering)

Rotterdam University Chi Nederland Conferentie 2009 Challenging learning environments Leiden, June 11, 2009 Throughout their education, students work on several projects in multi-disciplinary teams In which they apply their knowledge and skills The projects are characterized by a human centered approach Human centered research and evaluation techniques are key throughout the process At the end of each project, both project outcomes and process are assessed Students have to reflect upon used methods and tools during their design and development process. They need to motivate whether their approach was effective and successful.

Rotterdam University Chi Nederland Conferentie 2009 Challenging learning environments Leiden, June 11, 2009 Throughout the project, students encounter many questions. Either they define the questions themselves, or the project coach opens the debate What does the user want or need? How do we gain insights in the target group? How do we gain insights in the context of use? How are we going to test the first prototype? In all stages of a project, methods and tools are required to elicit information from and about users • Methods to obtain information about needs, desires, capabilities and limitations of people in an early stage of the design process (e.g., focus groups, photo ethnography, persona’s) • Methods for validating/evaluating decisions/artefacts in later stages (e.g., paper prototyping, use cases, usability testing)

Rotterdam University Chi Nederland Conferentie 2009 The Human Centered ICT Toolkit Leiden, June 11, 2009 To assist the students in this quest for the right method, an overview of methods has been developed

Rotterdam University Chi Nederland Conferentie 2009 Reference cards Leiden, June 11, 2009 Each tool listed in the toolkit’s overview has been described in a reference card • A title • A brief description • When to use it • Why to use it • Points of interest • References to literature and online resources

Rotterdam University Chi Nederland Conferentie 2009 From Toolkit to mindset Leiden, June 11, 2009 Ideally the teachers should be the ambassadors of new concepts and approaches

Rotterdam University Chi Nederland Conferentie 2009 From Toolkit to mindset Leiden, June 11, 2009 f the hers o rticipated in A workshop was c al tea a Sever r courses p . lo 5) bache kshop (n=1 erent r ff the wo ants had di are organized to present ip w Partic ounds: soft marketing, r , backg ring, design ent. e em engine ject manag o and pr the Toolkit to the teaching staff • To gain buy-in from the teaching staff • To develop a shared understanding of the overlapping fields of SE and HCI • To discuss the possibilities and opportunities for implementing the Toolkit into the curriculum

Rotterdam University Chi Nederland Conferentie 2009 Workshop: approach Leiden, June 11, 2009 Participants were asked to sketch how a human centered process should look like This drawing could be made either in small groups or individually After the assignment, each group or participant had to present the results briefly Consequently, the Toolkit was presented and explained in more detail Note! ing t olkit he To t was The presentation of the Toolkit was followed by a discussion; an Intr oduc ssignmen ea n exploration of the possibilities and opportunities to implement the a fter th l to focus o n the tia ee essen rities betw o toolkit into the curricula t simila gs and not ferences. n f drawi size the di a emph

Rotterdam University Chi Nederland Conferentie 2009 Workshop: results Leiden, June 11, 2009 ups in gro orked cussion ipa nts w dis All partic to a vivid eing lead ere b Whic h ings w the draw while . made The draw ings show approac ed conse h: the us nsus abo er is cen ut the and solut tral, and ions are v decisions process i alidated t n an itera hroughou tive man t the ner ed that The discussion show da the teaching staff ha ing on shared understand on the UCD and agreed up hing UCD importance of teac ents properly to the stud

Rotterdam University Chi Nederland Conferentie 2009 Workshop: at the end... Leiden, June 11, 2009 The discussion smoothly moved into how to the Toolkit could be implemented into relevant programs: ‘Can I s how this my stud to ents?’ my c ourse s for se thi eering?’ ‘Ca nIu Engin Us ability

Rotterdam University Chi Nederland Conferentie 2009 Implementing the toolkit Leiden, June 11, 2009 Usability Engineering • Decisions were made more efficiently: the Toolkit turned out very helpful in finding and selecting the appropriate tools • The Toolkit also broadened the students’ horizon (finding exotic methods) Design Projects • Toolkit has been implemented to support the design rationale • The use of the Toolkit is not prescribed to the students, students are merely advised by project coaches to use it • Currently, students do not always use the Toolkit. It might be fruitful to provide project coaches with some training for promoting the use of the Toolkit Graduation Project • The student needs to anticipate on questions or problems and how to solve them • The student starts with a research plan which is summarized in a ‘roadmap’ • The roadmap envisions the process, steps that need to be taken, questions that need to be answered, methods which they are going to use etc. • The roadmap seems valuable for students as well as their graduation supervisors

Rotterdam University Chi Nederland Conferentie 2009 Implementing the toolkit Leiden, June 11, 2009

Rotterdam University Chi Nederland Conferentie 2009 Discussion and conclusions Leiden, June 11, 2009 Educating Human Centered ICT has a tendency to focus on the outcome rather than the process The process can be teached, the outcome cannot The Toolkit is not just another handbook on human centered design; it entices students and teaching staff to reflect upon methods and tools being used Understanding which methods and techniques to use is crucial for multi-disciplinary teamwork (either in schools or industry) Implementing the Toolkit in project based education might not only improve the skills and knowledge of the students, but also contributes to a Human Centered attitude

Rotterdam University Chi Nederland Conferentie 2009 Some comments from students and practitioners Leiden, June 11, 2009 My professor likes your site :) Jonathan (Student) I just wanted to say a massive thank you for making the Generic Work Process publicly available online. It’s a fantastic resource and just what I was looking for to help define some foundations for our new UX team. Nik When doing research for the thesis, I found your "Generic Work Process - version 1.0" toolkit, and I'm impressed with the effort put into this map! /too lkit/ Balder (Student) ro.nl/cmi/hci project.cmd.h

UCD education beyond the textbook | Leurs & Mulder

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UCD education beyond the textbook | Leurs & Mulder — Presentation Transcript