Database Reference
In-Depth Information
CHAPTER 6
Conclusion
Contextual Design encourages holistic, systemic design, looking at the whole work and life
contextofuseandrespondingwithanintegrateddesignthatbroadlysupportsuseractivities.
From visioning through validation the team takes a large, loose product concept and turns
it into a detailed design that can guide product specification and rollout planning. With cus-
tomer data documented and at hand, and with the UED and UI specifications written down
andtestedwithusers,productmanagersanddesignteamscanplantheirdevelopmentrollout
using whatever methodology the company prefers. Contextual Design produces the product
concepts needed for the next step of development, whether that is to write product require-
ment documents, functional specifications, Agile user stories, orsomething else. Contextual
Designdrivestheseconceptsfromadeepunderstandingoftheusersandsupportsthedesign
team with design processes that keep that user focus front and center.
Good design has always been difficult. With the introduction of mobile devices, always
on and always connected, design has only gotten more difficult and more exciting. The po-
tential impact of a new product on human lives is more profound and more valuable than
ever.Buttodoitright,teamsneedadesignprocessthatissensitivetothelargerworldofthe
user, steeps them in that world, and guides them to use what they have learned to produce
productsthataresuccessful.Thecontextofusetodayismuchricherandmorecomplexthan
ever before; the impact on people's lives is much more profound, and the technological pos-
sibilities are much deeper and more wide-ranging.
In our industry, the design processes we use must grow to meet these new challenges.
Whereas it used to be merely desirable to immerse designers in the users' context, a deep
understanding of the users' lives is now critical to developing a successful product at all.
Designers need not only a process for going into the field and finding out about users, but
also a conceptual framework for making sense of what they discover. They need a way to
usethat data forthe purposeofinnovation andaset ofdesign principles that will drive them
to meet the challenges of modern product design
Contextual Design, augmented by the insights of The Cool Project, has met these new
challenges with new concepts, models, and activities needed to develop a modern design.
