Four Tips From the Department of Human Centered Design & Engineering

Here are four user-centered design principles offered by the faculty in the evening Master of Science in Human Centered Design & Engineering program at the University of Washington. When developing or defining a new tool, website, or technology remember the following:

* You are not your user. Make sure that you understand your user base or your target audience. Make decisions and choices based on the wants and needs of your target audience because these are the people who decide if your website, tool, or technology is useful.

* Evaluate early and evaluate often. Even after you have defined your problem and addressed your course of action, re-evaluate at every step to ensure you are on track.

* Define your website hierarchy. Nearly every web page function is to indicate or suggest the overall structure of the website and the location of the page within that structure. Without this structure, your users will be lost.

* Keep resources transparent. “Information transparency breeds improved behavior.” –Admiral Chad Allen