THE PSYCHOLOGICAL EXPERIENCE OF USER OBSERVATION

DS 68-7: Proceedings of the 18th International Conference on Engineering Design (ICED 11), Impacting Society through Engineering Design, Vol. 7: Human Behaviour in Design, Lyngby/Copenhagen, Denmark, 15.-19.08.2011

Year: 2011
Editor: Culley, S.J.; Hicks, B.J.; McAloone, T.C.; Howard, T.J. & Badke-Schaub, P.
Author: Gerber, Elizabeth
Series: ICED
Section: Human Behaviour in Design
Page(s): 468-479

Abstract

While scholars have studied what design practices accomplish, few have considered how people feel when enacting these practices and the implication of these feelings on design work. An eighteen-month ethnographic study of a high-tech firm examined the psychological experience of engaging in the practice of user observation. The study finds that user observation supports regular exploration. Regular observation supports curiosity, or the tendency to focus attention and seek answers to unanswered questions. Results suggest how design work practices can be designed to help employees manage in uncertain conditions.

Keywords: USER OBSERVATION; PSYCHOLOGY OF DESIGN; JOB DESIGN; DESIGN PRACTICE; DESIGN COGNITION

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