Last updated on 10 March 2020
Human-centered design (HCD) is important for creating digital products on mobile, because it helps creators understand the fragmented contexts involved. Many of us overlook these methods, because we work in a pressure cooker, where there isn’t enough time, budget, or resources to go that extra mile.
By understanding people’s contexts, our experience comes closer to theirs, and our products better fit their needs.
It Doesn’t Have to Be Expensive
Here’s what makes guerrilla-style HCD perfect for this: it’s cheap, fast, and effective, if not exactly perfect. Prototyping and light-weight UX testing are great ways to inject some understanding into the process of creating digital products.
It’s About Context
The added benefit of taking a human-centered approach, even guerrilla-style, is that product teams can get a better understanding of the people we’re designing and building for. It’s important for us to know who they are, but it’s perhaps more helpful to be sensitive to the multi-layered contexts in which they’ll be using what we make.
So, Let’s Get Started
My friend Wouter Sluis-Thiescheffer and I gave some talks and workshops on guerrilla-style HCD for mobile back in 2012. Click here for the (slightly updated) slides.