Usage-centered design is an approach to

user interface design User interface (UI) design or user interface engineering is the design of user interfaces for machines and software, such as computers, home appliances, mobile devices, and other electronic devices, with the focus on maximizing usability and the ...

based on a focus on user intentions and usage patterns. It analyzes users in terms of the roles they play in relation to systems and employs abstract (essential)

use cases In software and systems engineering, the phrase use case is a polyseme with two senses: # A usage scenario for a piece of software; often used in the plural to suggest situations where a piece of software may be useful. # A potential scenario ...

for

task analysis Task analysis is the analysis of how a task is accomplished, including a detailed description of both manual and mental activities, task and element durations, task frequency, task allocation, task complexity, environmental conditions, necessary cl ...

. It derives visual and

interaction design Interaction design, often abbreviated as IxD, is "the practice of designing interactive digital products, environments, systems, and services." Beyond the digital aspect, interaction design is also useful when creating physical (non-digital) produ ...

from abstract

prototypes A prototype is an early sample, model, or release of a product built to test a concept or process. It is a term used in a variety of contexts, including semantics, design, electronics, and software programming. A prototype is generally used to ...

based on the understanding of user roles and

task case Task may refer to: * Task (computing), in computing, a program execution context * Task (language instruction) refers to a certain type of activity used in language instruction * Task (project management), an activity that needs to be accomplish ...

s. Usage-centered design was introduced by

Larry Constantine Larry LeRoy Constantine (born 1943) is an American software engineer, professor in the Center for Exact Sciences and Engineering at the University of Madeira Portugal, and considered one of the pioneers of computing. He has contributed numerous ...

and Lucy Lockwood. The primary reference is their book.

Usage-centered design methods

Usage-centered design is largely based on formal, abstract models such as models of interaction between user roles, UML workflow models and

and role profiles. Usage-centered design proponents argue for abstract modelling while many designers use realistic

personas A persona (plural personae or personas), depending on the context, is the public image of one's personality, the social role that one adopts, or simply a fictional character. The word derives from Latin, where it originally referred to a theat ...

scenarios In the performing arts, a scenario (, ; ; ) is a synoptical collage of an event or series of actions and events. In the ''commedia dell'arte'', it was an outline of entrances, exits, and action describing the plot of a play, and was literally pi ...

and high-fidelity

. The techniques have been applied with particular success in complex software projects, some of which have been reported in case studies.See, for example, Windl (2002) and Strope (2003)

Usage-centered design and activity-centered design approach

Usage-centered design share some common ideas with

activity-centered design Activity-centered design (ACD) is an extension of the Human-centered design paradigm in interaction design. ACD features heavier emphasis on the activities that a user would perform with a given piece of technology. ACD has its theoretical unde ...

. It is concerned more with the activities of users but not the users per se. Constantine (2006) presents an integrated framework where the models of Usage-centered design are enriched with concepts from the Activity theory.

References

Citations

Bibliography

*Constantine L. Activity Modeling: Toward a Pragmatic Integration of Activity Theory with Usage-Centered Design, 2006 *Constantine L., and Lockwood, L. "Structure and Style in Use Cases for User Interfaces." In M. van Harmelan, Ed., ''Object Modeling and User Interface Design.'' Boston: Addison-Wesley, 2001. *Constantine L., and Lockwood, L. ''Software for Use: A Practical Guide to the Essential Models and Methods of Usage-Centered Design.'' Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley, 1999. (Russian translation 2004, Chinese translation 2004, Japanese translation 2005.) *Constantine, L. “Usage-Centered Software Engineering: New Models, Methods, and Metrics.” In Purvis, M. (ed.) ''Software Engineering: Education & Practice.'' Los Alamitos, CA: IEEE Computer Society Press, 1996. *Constantine, L. "Essential Modeling: Use Cases for User Interfaces.” ''ACM Interactions, 2'' (2): 34-46, April 1995. *Strope, J. (2003) “Designing for Breakthroughs in User Performance.” In L. Constantine, ed., ''Performance by Design: Proceedings of forUSE 2003, the Second International Conference on Usage-Centered Design.'' Rowley, MA: Ampersand Press. *Windl, H. (2002) “Designing a Winner: Creating STEP 7 lite with Usage-Centered Design.” In L. Constantine, ed., ''forUSE 2002: Proceedings of the First International Conference on Usage-Centered Design.'' Rowley, MA: Ampersand Press.

Usage-centered design methods

Usage-centered design and activity-centered design approach

References

Citations

Bibliography

Further reading