Creating and Testing a Model-Driven Framework for Accessible User-Centric Design

Abstract: Despite growing interest in user-centric design (UCD), there is limited discussion and critique of how to implement such an approach in a commercial design environment. This paper examines the approach taken to gain knowledge of product use in order to evaluate a framework for user-research that draws on UCD theory through a number of commercial case studies. User-centric enquiry must fit into the design process where the aim is to create commercially viable output economically and efficiently, and where errors resulting from insufficient user consideration are mitigated cost-effectively; something that is rarely discussed in literature. This paper documents a university-affiliated design team’s efforts to guide user-led design practice and product insight acquisition with the implementation of a model-driven, user-centred, design approach.