We all want our customers to be satisfied with our products. The process of creating a successful user experience requires empathy with the user, insight into the needs, wants and limitations of the end user and a willingness to be open to new solutions.
First Conference and intensive training on User-Centred Design in Brussels
U² will emphasise the importance of User-Centred Design and other cutting-edge methods and their applications for industry, as well as discuss practical tools for working User-Centred Design principles into product development and keeping them there.
The activities of this User-Centred Design Conference are geared towards fulfilling the needs of product developers, design and consumer researchers and practitioners, planners, marketing and branding strategists and other managers and executives interested in the latest advanced methods and approaches to User-Centred Design practice.
Fees
Participation fees are 200 Euros by bank transfer before 30 April 2008 and 250 Euros before 15 May 2008. (Students with proof of student status: 100 Euros by bank transfer before 30 April 2008 and 150 Euros before 15 May 2008.) Places are limited. Access to the Flemish Parliament is only permitted to registered guests.
Programme
08:45 - 09:15: Registration and coffee
09:15 - 09:30: Welcome
Johan Valcke (Design Flanders), Maka De Lameillieure (Flanders InShape)
Technical Session
Session led by Ingrid Vandenhoudt (Design Flanders) and Chris Baelus (Higher Institute of Integrated Product Development, University College of Antwerp)
09:30 - 10:10
Involving users in design: principles and good practice: Prof.Dr. Peter Vink (TNO en TU Delft)
There are many ways to involve end-users in the design process. Based on a literature overview a structure will be presented that will help designers to define when and how users should be involved. This will be illustrated by design projects of paint scrapers, joysticks and vehicle interiors.
10:10 - 10:50
“Mindset and Methodologies: Creating Value Through People-Centred Design and Concept Making”: Anna Kirah, Kirah Consult & Future Alliance
In this presentation, we will learn about User-Centred Design toolkit that changes with the context of what we need to understand. We must continue to explore and create new ways to carry out research in order to create concepts that are meaningful and relevant to the needs of people in their everyday and not so everyday lives. However, perhaps more important than our toolkit is our mindset. Too often we are blinded by our education, our methodologies and the companies we work for. To truly come up with meaningful and relevant concepts whether at early stages of development, mid-development, during marketing or sales strategy development, we must be willing to take off our blinkers and experience the world far beyond what we believe our “users” are thinking about.
10:50 - 11:05: Coffee Break
11:05 - 11:45
“Product Innovation Through User-Centred Design”: Matthew White (Design Consultant)
Innovation often flows from problems to be solved. User-Centred Design involves interaction with a broad range of users to highlight problems in using product. Therefore, User-Centred Design often produces true innovation, unique products not seen before. Matthew has worked with clients to create products which are innovative and driven by a user-centred focus. His works with B&Q, the largest DIY retailer in Europe, have enabled many products to come into production and are sold in their stores. Using examples of his work and explaining the process behind the development, Matthew will show how User-Centred Design has helped him innovate and create successful products..
11:45 - 12:20
“Coming Together: Integrating UCD into Current Industrial Design and Software Engineering Practices”: Kristel Van Ael and Joannes Vandermeulen (Namahn)
With the necessity of User-Centred Design now well accepted, the most pressing issue has become one of performance: how must a company practise UCD to the greatest possible effect? The speakers, with strong backgrounds in industrial design and software engineering, will discuss pitfalls and opportunities in having UCD specialists work together with industrial designers and software engineers. The process models of these disciplines are examined and tentatively mapped. A number of cases from the speakers’ own experiences are looked at.
12:20 - 13:00
“Innovation begins with an eye!”: Alexander Grots (IDEO)
- Design Thinking as a new way of solving problems
- Insights are the fuel of innovation
- The power of story telling
13:00 - 14:15: Lunch - Parallel interactive training and workshops
14:15 - 16:15
Workshop 1
“DIY = Do - It - Yourself - A practical approach to understanding your users” : Justin Knecht (Centre for Design Innovation, Ireland)
With a focus on SMEs.
Research conducted by the Centre for Design Innovation has proven that businesses that use design innovate more often, more effectively and compete less on price. Companies that integrate design at the highest strategic levels are 2.5 times more successful than those that do not. Yet only 15% of organisations use design at this level. One of the reasons may be they just don’t know how.
User-Centred Design is all about placing people at the front end of product and service development. You’ll be taken through a straightforward process of applying User-Centred Design (Identify, Look, Involve, Try, Plan). Each step will be illustrated using tools that can be applied after the workshop.
You’ll receive a set of cards to take with you illustrating the process and tools. So you don’t even have to take notes.
Workshop 2
“Ethnographic research, a design method to drive innovation”: Jan-Christoph Zoels and Mark Vanderbeeken (Experientia)
During the workshop, Experientia partners Jan-Christoph Zoels and Mark Vanderbeeken will demonstrate how ethnographic research can be used as a tool to inform design and innovation opportunities during new product conceptualisation, or experience prototyping within a longer term R&D context. The workshop will feature examples of ethnographic techniques used in projects for major international clients, from consumer electronics to retail and mobile phones. The workshop will include an interactive part where participants will be stimulated to share insights and exchange ideas. Each participant will receive a handout containing more background on the various design research techniques.
Workshop 3
“Designing for Johnny”: Jürgen Oskamp and Tim Ruytjens (Achilles Associates)
How to discover user needs that drive new product development.
The good and the bad of personas.
Workshop 4
“Design Patterns, a Perfect Technique for User-Centred Design”: Valerie L’heureux (Human Interface Group, Belgium)
By using design patterns you can enormously increase the usability of your product as these patterns provide proven paradigms that can be repeated in related and future designs of your products. By repeating solid, user-tested solutions for common interaction problems, the cognitive effort required by the user to use your product is greatly reduced, as well as the development effort required to implement the solution.During this workshop you will learn hands-on how to identify and standardize design patterns based on a set of very interesting real-life cases. You will go home with ways of looking at your own products in an all-new and eye-opening way.
16:15 - 16:30: Coffee break
16:30 - 17:30: Conclusions from the workshops and interactive panel discussion led by Chris Baelus (Higher Institute of Integrated Product Development, University College of Antwerp)
17:30 - 17:45: Closing words by Mrs Patricia Ceysens (Flemish Minister for Economy, Enterprise, Science, Innovation and Foreign Trade)
17:45: Drinks and further networking