Suppliers of electronic products such as HD recorders or (semi) professional medical equipment are increasingly confronted with complaints from users. The product shows no technical or functional flaws, and yet it fails to meet expectations, because customers use it in other ways than intended by the designer. And despite designers’ efforts to develop user-friendly products, users still encounter problems. Product developers seem ill-equipped to include user-friendliness in the design process from the very start.

Research project ‘Design for Usability’

In order to provide designers and product developers with tools to create user friendlier products, the three Dutch technical universities have started the ‘Design for Usability’ research project in 2007. About 15 people collaborate in this project, of which the 5 PhD projects can be seen as the main component.

This IOP IPCR project is partially subsidized by the ministry of Economic Affairs (under supervision of NL Agency). The companies Océ, Philips, T-Xchange and Indes are closely involved in the project, as well as Unilever, who recently joined the project. These companies provide information and cases from their daily practice and serve as a sounding board for the project members.

Aim of the project

The Design for Usability project aims at improving the usability of electronic professional and consumer products by creating new methodologies and methods for user-centered product development which can be applied in practice.

Outcomes of the project

In order to put the outcomes of the research project into practice two symposia were organised in 2009 and 2010. On November 10th, 2011 a third and final symposium will be held in Utrecht. An other example of putting the outcomes of the research into practice is the card set ’25 recommendations for usability in practice’, developed by Jasper van Kuijk as part of his PhD thesis. Furthermore a ‘Design for Usability’ workbook is being made, which will be finished by the start of 2012.