Communicating actionable user research for human-centered design

Abstract

AbstractIn human-centered design, user research drives design decisions by providing an understanding of end users. In practice, different people, teams, or even companies manage each step of the design process, making communication of user research results a critical activity. Based on an empirical study of current methods used by experts, this paper presents strategies for effectively communicating user research findings across organizational or corporate boundaries. To build researcher–client relationships, understand both user and client needs, and overcome institutional inertia, this paper proposes viewing user research clients asusersof user research outcomes. This reframing of the crafting of communication across boundaries as a parallel internal human-centered design process we refer to as adouble ethnography.