Situation

We use user centred design methods in product development processes to create usable, valuable and successful products. We use a small set of methods over and over again because we are familiar with them and can easily ‘tweak’ them a little to our situation. But using the wrong method can lead to bad design decisions. With over 200 methods and techniques available, how do you choose what’s best? I initiated UCDtoolbox and in collaboration with the TU Delft I created a platform to solve this challenge.

Go to UCDtoolbox.com
Task

UX Lead for the project from start to finish.

Activities
  • Literature research on methods, method collections and selection variables
  • Creating a method collection cardset as a result
  • Research on method selection with partners of the Design for Usability program and attendees at several conferences
  • Developing and testing the selection procedure
  • Designing and prototyping an interface to encompass the selection procedure
  • Evaluating the UI with students, DfU partners and attendees at several conferences
  • Describing this process and results in a Master thesis, accompanied by its appendices.
  • Further developing the UI and setting up post-graduate project
  • Responsible for the content being created by experts from Dutch, Belgian and English universities and companies.
  • Led a small design team of 2 developers and an intern that helped delivering the private beta of the UCDtoolbox in early 2013
  • Presenting the research and results at conferences and writing about it in a book “Design for Usability – Methods & Tools: A practitioners guide”
  • Responsible for the project to co-funding partners Delft University of Technology, the Dutch ministry of Economic Affairs and Chi Netherlands.
  • Redesigned the UI from scratch to a fully responsive website in 2016
More about the process of creating UCDtoolbox

 

Results

A valuable free of charge resource to find, learn and apply a  method for user centered design (still holds only 34 methods at this point though due to lack of funding).

A closer look at the project

Master Thesis and Appendices

The research

UCDtoolbox started as a graduation project at the Design for Usability program at Delft University of Technology. The basics of the selection procedure are explained in this video.

The private beta

The initial launch of UCDtoolbox in 2013 was on a custom build CMS and developed with tailor made code. In 2017 the current public beta went live, but you can click on the video to get a short tour of the old interface.

Evaluation

The UCDtoolbox was tested at various conferences, with students at universities and with the industrial partners of the Design for Usability program. Click the play button to see a testimonial of a user.

research & design at