UCD the development of user-centered design in China

UCD full NAME USER-CENTERED DESIGN, Chinese is called "user-centric".

At present, the most fire of all concepts is UCD, the OLD-TIMER. In the first published in 1986, "Design psychology ," the system summed up, the author is called Donald A. Norman, Apple's Advanced technology department vice president. In 2006, Norman the concept of "activity-centered", and stepped out of the realm of advocating users. Theoretically art how to say all can be right, perhaps this is "realm", so something not watch, otherwise pull far. ）

Http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User-centered_design

Norman uses the term "user-centered design" to describe design based on the needs of the user, leaving aside and what he C Onsiders to is secondary issues like aesthetics. User-centered design involves simplifying the structure of tasks, making things visible, getting the mapping right, Exploi Ting the powers of constraint, and designing for error.

Usually say UCD, ALWAYS and UED, UE, UX, UI these "U series" terminology is not clear, the impression of understanding than ued earlier, almost 2004 before and after the UE to know the same time to understand the UCD, but did not pay much attention to. I first to UCD and UED TWO-bit understanding, also did not care about the difference, anyway is to "design for users" that meaning.

Many peers do not pay attention to the difference between UCD and UED, UCD is "USER-centric design", ued is "user experience design." No wonder, the meaning is similar, modelling is similar. I understand the UCD is a kind of "faith", ued is only one of the "target", are not operable. Continue to deduce, UCD thought is applicable to the whole industry and technical fields, any link of the general manager. Because of the ambiguity of function location, it can not be quantified and evaluated. In the final analysis, UCD itself should not be a position, more should not be a department.

October 2005, uigarden.com Online, Chinese called UI Garden. Although Uigarden's domain name is only about the UI, I still deliberately left it to the UCD concept section. Uigarden website content biased academic, but its forum is the domestic UCD and related SERIES NOUN concept The earliest Chinese discussion area, at that time the industry more leading practitioners, including now in the river, some "characters" were mixed over, now still can find their old posts. Write this diary, I specially turned over a lot of old posts, feeling the past few years changed little. Strongly recommend determined to engage in "user experience" peers are going to turn over the uigarden old posts, by the way more words, but also strongly recommended to engage in "web design" peers are going to turn over the old Blueidea posts. Add up the meaning, strongly recommended to engage in "web design + user Experience = Internet Products" Peers to turn over blueidea+uigarden old posts, fill the foundation, perhaps also can see some truth. (2004 I turned over 03 years ago Blueidea Forum all posts, 2008 I turned over 07 years ago Uigarden Forum all posts)

Personally think that Uigarden has a very important historical position, especially the UCD and the promotion of related ideas. Comparing the Uigarden with the Blueidea is the meaning of the particular environment at that time, not the content scale and technical content. March 2007, the domestic several senior practitioners initiated the Ucdchina is another way, to the book as the medium, through the line to meet the "UCD Book CLUB", the theme of the month to discuss, as of 09 the country has eight points. In the July 2008, Ucdchina used aggregated blog content, and artificial selection of content model accumulation summary, with the topic organization to form a large community, and further promote practitioners to understand UCD related theoretical knowledge.

Early peers in the Internet to preach UCD theory, easy to be misunderstood as running rivers and lakes, anyway, how to say all right, is doing things can't go on. On the one hand because knowledge changes too fast and new, practice cannot keep up, on the other hand, it is because we do not have too much clarity, can not be justified. 2007 years ago we talked about UCD mainly to the designers (Professional) crowd, and soon won the recognition of the designers (or the sympathy of comrades). But we slowly discovered that only the designer respected UCD thought also cannot shake the user experience the strategic layer, the scope layer, is insufficient to improve the product quality, therefore we gradually put the center to the product Manager (managment) crowd. As of 2009, UCD thought has been widely paid attention to by Internet practitioners.

Ucdchina published in April 2009, "UCD spark COLLECTION"for the relevant field of the first original Chinese publications, content from the author group Write blog. It should be said that the UCD theory in China MILESTONE Memorial. But objectively speaking, this book content value is limited, has not formed the knowledge system, many "the conclusion" also merits scrutiny.

In my own observation, UCD, although ostensibly to gain a lot of attention, even respect, but in essence does not make much contribution to the Internet product itself. As I wrote in July 2008 based on the traditional industry in the design of the judgment "Internet product design breakthroughs will not be in the field of Internet technology, SNS will not, UCD not, SEO is more impossible." ”

From 1999 to 2009, the development of the ten-year web design was heavily influenced by various foreign acronyms. In the full enjoyment of foreign advanced experience summed up, I often feel that they have been "fooled", out of the Times and cultural background of "reference" is actually very stupid. Being bothered by too many sums, the original is more frightening than no summary.