Abstract
Human-centered design (HCD) training offers the potential to improve both team processes and products. However, the use of HCD to improve the quality of team science is a relatively recent application, and its benefits and challenges have not been rigorously evaluated. We conducted a qualitative study with health sciences researchers trained in HCD methods. We aimed to determine how researchers applied HCD methods and perceived the benefits and barriers to using HCD on research teams. We conducted 1-hour, semi-structured interviews with trainees from three training cohorts. Interviews focused on perceptions of the training, subsequent uses of HCD, barriers and facilitators, and perceptions of the utility of HCD to science teams. Data analysis was conducted using Braun and Clarke's process for thematic analysis. We interviewed nine faculty and nine staff trained in HCD methods and identified four themes encompassing HCD use, benefits, challenges, and tensions between HCD approaches and academic culture. Trainees found HCD relevant to research teams for stakeholder engagement, research design, project planning, meeting facilitation, and team management. They also described benefits of HCD in five distinct areas: creativity, egalitarianism, structure, efficiency, and visibility. Our data suggest that HCD has the potential to help researchers work more inclusively and collaboratively on interdisciplinary teams and generate more innovative and impactful science. The application of HCD methods is not without challenges; however, we believe these challenges can be overcome with institutional investment.
Highlights
Human-centered design (HCD) training offers the potential to improve both team processes and products
We investigate a unique initiative taken at the University of Pittsburgh focused on training clinical and translational researchers in the use of HCD in order to foster improved collaboration and greater innovation
We identified the following themes, which cut across faculty and staff: Theme 1: Participants Applied a Variety of HCD Methods in a Broad Range of Research-Related Contexts
Summary
Human-centered design (HCD) training offers the potential to improve both team processes and products. Human-centered design (HCD) training offers a promising toolset for researchers for enhancing the creativity and productivity of research teams by improving both team processes (e.g., communication, collaboration) and products (e.g., innovative and impactful science). HCD, a pragmatic approach to problem solving that draws from social science methodologies and is widely used in fields such as engineering and computer science, is “a flexible yet disciplined approach to innovation that prioritizes people's needs and concrete experiences in the design of complex systems” (p.1) [10] It uses a systematic flow of well-structured activities designed to elevate voices that might not be otherwise heard, increase creativity, improve workflow processes, facilitate stakeholder buy-in, and generate more and better solutions to complex problems [11,12,13,14,15,16]. We investigate a unique initiative taken at the University of Pittsburgh focused on training clinical and translational researchers in the use of HCD in order to foster improved collaboration and greater innovation
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