Los métodos más característicos del diseño centrado en el usuario -DCU-, adaptados para el desarrollo de productos materiales

Abstract

User-Centered Design or UCD was born in the 1980s, aimed at designing more useful, usable and desirable products. It has helped to optimize the understanding of the user and the requirements of his activities, and to carry out improvement actions through assessment during the product design process or PDP. Although UCD practices are general and can initially be used in any design, they have their origin in digital systems, making its applicability and its understanding for the development of materials difficult, which reduces its effectiveness and ease of use. This research starts with a literature review of the most characteristic methods for the design of material products during the PDP, and it takes those referred to digital systems as a base. It should be noted that there is evidence of the relevance of UCD methods for the generation of ideas and the definition and assessment of the product. However, the practices proposed here are still an extensive compendium, which turn it necessary to carry out future studies to define selection criteria, according to the needs of the development team. Conclusions: first, UCD methods for digital systems and for material products must have different guidelines; second, while these methods help reduce development times and the uncertainty of adoption, they are not alone a guarantee of success in the market; third, designers need to know the organization and the sector in order to develop contextualized artifacts; finally, because they are materials, there must be other methods to boost an economy that is responsible for low environmental impact and with social equity.