Multidisciplinary Design Team Research Articles

A human‐centred learning analytics approach for developing contextually scalable K‐12 teacher dashboards

AbstractThis paper describes a Human‐Centred Learning Analytics (HCLA) design approach for developing learning analytics (LA) dashboards for K‐12 classrooms that maintain both contextual relevance and scalability—two goals that are often in competition. Using mixed methods, we collected observational and interview data from teacher partners and assessment data from their students' engagement with the lesson materials. This DBR‐based, human‐centred design process resulted in a dashboard that supported teachers in addressing their students' learning needs. To develop the dashboard features that could support teachers, we found that a design refinement process that drew on the insights of teachers with varying teaching experience, philosophies and teaching contexts strengthened the resulting outcome. The versatile nature of the approach, in terms of student learning outcomes, makes it useful for HCLA design efforts across diverse K‐12 educational contexts. Practitioner notesWhat is already known about this topic Learning analytics that are aligned to both a learning theory and learning design support student learning. LA dashboards that support users to understand the associated learning analytics data provide actionable insight. Design‐based research is a promising methodology for Human‐Centred Learning Analytics design, particularly in the K‐12 educational context. What this paper adds Leveraging a longstanding, yet fluid, research‐practice partnership is an effective design‐based research adaptation for addressing the high variation in instructional practices that characterize K‐12 education. Using both quantitative and qualitative data that reflects students' developing knowledge effectively supports teachers' inquiry into student learning. Teachers' use of learning analytics dashboards is heavily influenced by their perspectives on teaching and learning. Implications for practice and/or policy Impact on student learning outcomes, alongside usability and feasibility, should be included as a necessary metric for the effectiveness of LA design. LA dashboard developers should both leverage learning data that reflect students' developing knowledge and position teachers to take responsive pedagogical action to support student learning. LA researchers and developers should utilize a long‐term, yet fluid, research‐practice partnership to form a multi‐stakeholder, multidisciplinary design team for Human‐Centred Learning Analytics design.

A multi-objective design tool for decarbonising buildings at the concept stage

To enable the move to carbon-neutral building structures with net-zero operation requires a step change in how buildings are designed. Modern buildings are designed by multidisciplinary design teams each of which has competing performance objectives. Daisy is a flexible performance-based parametric design tool which harnesses computational design workflows to enable designer-led multi-objective optimisation, allowing for the design of buildings which simultaneously achieve high performance across multiple performance objectives. A case study of designs for a 63-storey commercial building is presented that demonstrates how early design space analysis facilitates better-performing buildings across architectural and engineering performance metrics and the potential of multi-objective optimisation for enabling the move towards carbon-neutral building structures. Beyond building structures, the design methodology established for Daisy can be applied to a broad range of civil engineering optimisation problems using a flexible and accessible design space formulation that can be adapted for project-specific design requirements. Designs generated using the Daisy methodology demonstrated that by increasing the spatial daylight autonomy of the benchmark building by 14.7%, the building can be moved from the 10% of designs with the highest energy use intensity to lower than 97% of other simulated designs. However, this design change significantly increases the building embodied carbon, with the new design having a building embodied carbon which is higher than 90% of other buildings simulated. Alternatively, by reducing the spatial daylight autonomy by 32.8%, the design can have an energy use intensity which is lower than 75% of other simulated designs, with a 4.4% reduction in energy use intensity, and a building embodied carbon which is lower than 60% of other simulated designs, enabling a 1.3% reduction in building embodied carbon.

Design and Implementation of a Multidisciplinary High-Fidelity Simulation Course for the Management of Malignant Spinal Cord Compression.

High-fidelity simulation (HFS) training is suited to high-stakes, uncommon situations such as malignant spinal cord compression (MSCC), allowing for rare hands-on practice. This pilot study was created as the first of its kind to examine educational outcomes of a radiation therapist (RTT)-led multidisciplinary radiation oncology (RO) emergency simulation course. A multidisciplinary course design team composed of RO residents, radiation oncologists, RTT course instructors, and medical physicists created a high-fidelity MSCC simulation course using collaboratively developed learning goals. Fifteen learners including RO residents, senior RTT students, and a medical physics (MP) resident participated in a live, RTT-facilitated simulation. Participants completed anonymized pre- and post-simulation standard interdisciplinary education perception (IEP) scales and a course evaluation assessing educational outcomes. Standard IEP questionnaire results showed highly favorable perceptions of respondents' own specialty and other allied specialties, with mean total pre-simulation scores of 91.76 and post-simulation scores of 94.23. The course evaluation assessed 10 learning objective domains, with significant improvements seen in self-rated post-course knowledge in 9 domains. Pre-course evaluations showed that 6/15 participants agreed or strongly agreed that they felt comfortable in their knowledge of all included domains; after course completion, 14/15 participants agreed or strongly agreed they felt comfortable in all domains. Collaboratively designed and led HFS courses are not only viable but can be an effective means of improving learning outcomes for RO residents, RTT students, and MP residents.

Effects of Virtual Reality on Complex Building System Recall

Multidisciplinary design and construction teams are challenged to communicate and coordinate across complex building systems, including architectural, structural, mechanical, electrical, and piping (MEP). To support this coordination, disciplinary 3D models are combined and coordinated before installation. Studies show that besides the use of 3D models, industry professionals sketch building components to discuss coordination issues and find resolutions that require them to recall the building components in the model. In current practices, 3D models are explored with Building Information Modeling (BIM) tools presented on 2D screens, while Virtual Reality (VR) can provide users with an immersive environment to explore. This paper presents the results of an experiment that studied the effects of VR’s immersive environment on the participants’ complex MEP system recall compared to BIM via sketching. The comparison criteria were the 3D geometry properties of the piping system and the users’ self-awareness in the model categorized under color, shape, dimension, piping, and viewpoint. The results showed significant improvement in recall of shape, dimension, and piping when the model was explored in VR.

Biomedical Engineering Students’ Perceived Learning Through Co-Curriculars

Background: Co-curricular student outcomes research has focused on connecting outcomes to activities based on the co-curricular type. Less work has explored what aspects of those co-curricular activities could lead to student outcomes. Purpose: Our research aimed to identify common elements of co-curricular activities that connected to students’ development of professional, career, or personal outcomes and can inform how we study and design co-curricular activities in engineering. Design: We recruited participants from one biomedical engineering (BME) program. We used a one-year series of four semi-structured interviews with fourteen upper-level BME students to explore students’ perceptions of their co-curricular learning. Using a qualitative, causal analysis approach, we identified elements of students’ co-curricular experiences in research or a multi-disciplinary design team, as well as other co-curricular experiences (e.g., internships, professional societies), that linked to professional, career, or personal learning outcomes that have been previously identified as important in engineering education. Findings: We identified patterns of connections between unique “experience elements” and a variety of “outcome categories” through participant activities we called “participant actions.” The most prevalent connections—those experience elements and participant actions that connected to multiple outcome categories—included the experience elements Independent Project Work, Project Work That Engages Multiple Disciplines, STEM Education Opportunities, and Mentorship from a Skilled Other as well as a participant action Reflecting on Experience. We found connections to the outcome categories of Leadership, Design, Business, Interdisciplinary Competence, Disciplinary Competence, Communication, and Career Direction Outcomes. Conclusions: Based on our findings, educators and mentors should consider the value of supporting students’ decision-making autonomy and multidisciplinary interactions in projects to support learning. They could also incorporate opportunities for students to teach each other technical content, receive structured mentorship, and reflect on their experiences as they are happening. Further, this work demonstrates a need to explore co-curricular learning processes in new ways that can lead to better understandings of students’ learning processes.

Sideffect GamePlan: Development of an alcohol and other drug serious game for high school students using a systematic and iterative user-centred game development framework

Serious games have shown to be effective in improving motivation to learn, knowledge and retention, thus are being increasingly used for alcohol and other drug (AOD) education. This paper outlines the development of an online AOD serious game for in-class use by Australian secondary school teachers for students in Years 9–10. Adapted from Edwards et al. (2018), the seven-step systematic and iterative user-centred development framework included: (1) Forming an expert multidisciplinary design team, (2) Defining the problem and establishing user preferences, (3) Incorporating the evidence base, (4) Serious game design, (5) Incorporating behavioural and psychological theory, (6) Developing a logic model and investigating causal pathways, and (7) User testing. High school students (n = 8), health and physical education teachers (n = 7), and parents (n = 8) were engaged throughout different stages of the development process to inform development and provide feedback on considerations for promoting engagement, acceptability, and usability of the game amongst both students and teachers. Overall, participants rated game acceptability and usability favourably and would recommend the game for learning about AOD. Constructive feedback and suggestions for improvements from user testing sessions were implemented to form the final version of the game and module. The next step is to test Sideffect GamePlan in a simulated classroom environment before piloting in school settings.

Designer Selection for Complex Engineering System Design Projects Considering the Disciplines Demanded

Currently, technological advances and developments are leading to the rapid emergence of high-end technology products, accompanied by a variety of customer requirements, which will lead to engineering system design projects becoming more complex. Therefore, complex engineering design projects require designers with multidisciplinary backgrounds who can work together and approach complex problems. However, when company supervisors assign designers with interdisciplinary knowledge to complex projects, the knowledge gap of each discipline between designers will cause communication conflicts, which directly affects the efficiency of team communication and complex project execution. Therefore, it is very important for the design company to select a portfolio of designers with efficient interdisciplinary background communication. Thus, the main objective of our research is to propose a method to support company supervisors and their approach to the design team selection problem for complex engineering system design projects with consideration of the project’s required basic technical competence, personal competence, and multidisciplinary knowledge communication between the designers. The proposed method can help design firms to select the best multidisciplinary collaborative design team for complex engineering system design projects.

A Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic: Experience of the University of Botswana

The outbreak of COVID-19 presented many challenges to the global community. The scientific community developed vaccines to mitigate the virus spread and morbidity. Higher Education institutions shifted their research and development activities toward developing COVID-19 interventions. The University of Botswana set up a multi-disciplinary design team that responded to society’s COVID-19 needs. An agile methodology and co-creation process to design medical assistive devices was adopted for the study. These methods are human-centred, participatory, and have the added advantage of developing impactful, value-added, and acceptable products. This paper reports on the experiences of developing assistive breathing devices in response to the COVID-19 crisis. Experience gained from the study has enabled universities to continue to build local capacity in research and development to respond effectively and efficiently to future pandemics and any pressing societal challenge.

Development of a bespoke 3D-printed spinal brace for lumbar support

Low back pain (LBP) is a significant contributor to disabilities in the UK. Many factors cause LBP, including poor posture, obesity, and spinal fractures, all resulting in spiralling healthcare costs. If spinal fractures are not properly braced, they can lead to weakened vertebrae in the spine and larger risks that can reoccur. There are many problems with flexible, semi-rigid and rigid braces currently available on the market. We present the user-centred design approach undertaken by a multidisciplinary design team consisting of product designers, design engineers, technical specialists, and healthcare professionals to develop a bespoke 3D-printed spinal brace using a digital design workflow.

Modelling transdisciplinary pedagogy: A method for collaborative curriculum design

This article explores a transdisciplinary, collaborative, curriculum design project to promote institutional belonging as a driver of student engagement, and to equip graduates with the fluency to work across disciplines. It demonstrates a facilitated method, to construct learning outcomes that break with typical subject-based knowledge and associated hierarchies of expertise. After considering a small number of precedents, the authors use curriculum models to inform a design specification. Following the formation of a multidisciplinary design team, a development tool (Lego® Serious Play®) was selected for a design workshop. A qualitative analysis of the workshop transcript was then used to inform the learning outcomes for a common module to be taken by all first-year undergraduates. Finally, the article considers how the process provided a framework for collaborative design that has been implemented in further projects, and led to the creation of a growing community of practice. The project provides insights for others embarking on collaborative curriculum design initiatives, especially where transdisciplinary learning is an objective.

Future of Houses

The Future of Houses: Designing for a Circular Economy, is an interactive, educational VR experience born out of a larger project at Curtin University, Western Australia, that seeks to communicate scientific research into ‘Energy Futures’. Produced in a tertiary environment in 2021 by Kath Dooley and collaborators working across disciplines, the project is a single-player VR experience that combines 360-degree video and a computer-generated environment constructed using Unreal Engine. Designed for a user with an interest in ecomedia, The Future of Houses seeks to educate them on the topic of the circular economy (CE), this being a cycle of design and consumption based on the principles of material reuse and recycling. Curtin University researchers have produced significant work in this area through the Curtin University Sustainability Policy Institute (CUSP). One CUSP initiative is the Legacy Living Lab (L3) in Fremantle, Western Australia, a building that was constructed according to CE principles, so as to be easily assembled and dissembled, therefore facilitating recycling and reuse. The Future of Houses harnesses interactive, digital storytelling techniques, resulting in an educative and entertaining VR experience. This begins with a linear 360-degree stereoscopic video component that addresses the viewer in first-person tense, introducing CE concepts and profiling the Legacy Living Lab (L3) as one example of a CE building. After watching the video, the user then has the ability to enter a gamified virtual environment where they can explore the features of L3 as an active participant, gaining further information about sustainable features. Working in tandem, the two components seek to take the user on a transformational journey, drawing upon notions of The Hero’s Journey (Campbell 1949) and Mezirow’s phases of transformational learning in adult education (2006). The result is a project that creates a personal encounter with a CE building, which might influence the user’s future decision making related to house design and construction. A focus on user experience during the development of the work functioned as a means to unite a multidisciplinary team of sustainability researchers and narrative designers, overcoming different vocabularies and approaches to VR development. The facilitator, a screenwriter and director, moved into the territory of game developer when collaborating with a team of VR programmers on the conceptualisation of a project with multiple interactive elements. Bibliography Campbell, Joseph. The Hero with a Thousand Faces. Pantheon Books. 1949. Dooley, Kath (Director/Producer). The Future of Houses: Designing for a Circular Economy. VR experience Curtin University. 2021. Mezirow, Jack. An Overview of Transformative Learning. In Lifelong Learning: Concepts and Contexts. Edited by P. Sutherland & J. Crowther. New York and London: Routledge. 2006.

Participatory Design and Process Testing to Optimize Utility, Usability, and Acceptability of a Mobile Game for Promoting Evidence-Driven Public Health Decision-Making in Resource-Constrained Settings.

Innovative game-based training methods that leverage the ubiquity of cellphones and familiarity with phone-based interfaces have the potential to transform the training of public health practitioners in low-income countries such as Liberia. This article describes the design, development, and testing of a prototype of the Figure It Out mobile game. The prototype game uses a disease outbreak scenario to promote evidence-based decision-making in determining the causative agent and prescribing intervention measures to minimize epidemiological and logistical burdens in resource-limited settings. An initial prototype of the game developed by the US team was playtested and evaluated by focus groups with 20 University of Liberia Masters of Public Health (UL MPH) students. Results demonstrate that the learning objectives—improving search skills for identifying scientific evidence and considering evidence before decision-making during a public health emergency—were considered relevant and important in a setting that has repeatedly and recently experienced severe threats to public health. However, some of the game mechanics that were thought to enhance engagement such as trial-and-error and choose-your-own-path gameplay, were perceived by the target audience as distracting or too time-consuming, particularly in the context of a realistic emergency scenario. Gameplay metrics that mimicked real-world situations around lives lost, money spent, and time constraints during public health outbreaks were identified as relatable and necessary considerations. Our findings reflect cultural differences between the game development team and end users that have emphasized the need for end users to have an integral part of the design team; this formative evaluation has critically informed next steps in the iterative development process. Our multidisciplinary, cross-cultural and cross-national design team will be guided by Liberia-based public health students and faculty, as well as community members who represent our end user population in terms of experience and needs. These stakeholders will make key decisions regarding game objectives and mechanics, to be vetted and implemented by game design experts, epidemiologists, and software developers.

Postable peak flow meters: Improving remote patient monitoring from the home

As healthcare providers globally adapt/change their practices because of the ongoing global pandemic, a greater emphasis is being placed on remote/telemedicine diagnostic/monitoring models. To support such a model, especially for respiratory diseases—ie, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), or interstitial lung disease (ILD)—it is essential that data are collected over a sustained time period. As such, the distribution of portable medical devices to patients’ homes poses a significant logistical challenge. We present the user-centred design approach undertaken by a multidisciplinary design team consisting of product designers, design engineers, electronics/programming experts, and healthcare professionals to develop a postable modular peak flow meter.

Contribution of the co.LAB Framework to the Collaborative Design of Serious Games: Mixed Methods Validation Study.

BackgroundMultidisciplinary collaboration is essential to the successful development of serious games, albeit difficult to achieve. In a previous study, the co.LAB serious game design framework was created to support collaboration within serious game multidisciplinary design teams. Its use has not yet been validated in a real usage context.ObjectiveThe objective of this study was to perform a first assessment of the impact of the co.LAB framework on collaboration within multidisciplinary teams during serious game design and development.MethodsA mixed methods study was conducted, based on 2 serious game design projects in which the co.LAB framework was used. The first phase was qualitative and carried out using a general inductive approach. To this end, all members of the first serious game project team who used the co.LAB framework were invited to take part in a focus group session (n=6). In a second phase, results inferred from qualitative data were used to define a quantitative instrument (questionnaire) that was designed according to the Checklist for Reporting Results of Internet E-Surveys. Members of both project teams (n=11) were then asked to answer the questionnaire. Quantitative results were reported as median (Q1, Q3), and appropriate nonparametric tests were used to assess between-group differences. Finally, results gathered through the qualitative and quantitative phases were integrated.ResultsIn both phases, the participation rate was 100% (6/6 and 11/11). Verbatim transcripts were classified into 4 high level themes: (1) influence on collaborative dimensions; (2) impact on project course, monitoring, and efficiency; (3) qualitative perceptions of the framework; and (4) influence of team composition on the use of the framework. The web-based questionnaire was then developed according to the 7 dimensions of collaboration by Burkhardt et al. In both projects, the co.LAB framework had a positive impact on most dimensions of collaboration during the multidisciplinary design and development of serious games. When all collaborative dimensions were aggregated, the overall impact of the framework was rated on a scale from –42 to 42 (very negative to very positive). The overall median score was 23 (Q1, Q3: 20, 27), with no significant difference between groups (P=.58). Most respondents also believed that all serious game design teams should include a member possessing significant expertise in serious game design to guide the development process.ConclusionsThe co.LAB framework had a positive impact on collaboration within serious game design and development teams. However, expert guidance seems necessary to maximize development efficiency. Whether such guidance can be provided by means of a collaborative web platform remains to be determined.

Using a Co-design Approach to Create Tools to Facilitate Physical Activity in Children With Physical Disabilities.

Introduction: There is a lack of effective interventions available for Pediatric Physical Therapists (PPTs) to promote a physically active lifestyle in children with physical disabilities. Participatory design methods (co-design) may be helpful in generating insights and developing intervention prototypes for facilitating a physically active lifestyle in children with physical disabilities (6–12 years).Materials and methods: A multidisciplinary development team of designers, developers, and researchers engaged in a co-design process–together with parents, PPTs, and other relevant stakeholders (such as the Dutch Association of PPTs and care sports connectors). In this design process, the team developed prototypes for interventions during three co-creation sessions, four one-week design sprint, living-lab testing and two triangulation sessions. All available co-design data was structured and analyzed by three researchers independently resulting in themes for facilitating physical activity.Results: The data rendered two specific outcomes, (1) knowledge cards containing the insights collected during the co-design process, and (2) eleven intervention prototypes. Based on the generated insights, the following factors seem important when facilitating a physically active lifestyle: a) stimulating self-efficacy; b) stimulating autonomy; c) focusing on possibilities; d) focusing on the needs of the individual child; e) collaborating with stakeholders; f) connecting with a child's environment; and g) meaningful goal setting.Conclusion: This study shows how a co-design process can be successfully applied to generate insights and develop interventions in pediatric rehabilitation. The designed prototypes facilitate the incorporation of behavioral change techniques into pediatric rehabilitation and offer new opportunities to facilitate a physically active lifestyle in children with physical disabilities by PPTs. While promising, further studies should examine the feasibility and effectivity of these prototypes.

The Process of Designing Integrated STEM Learning Materials: Case Study towards an Evidence-based Model

This study models the process of designing learning materials for integrated STEM (iSTEM) in secondary education, as gone through by four multidisciplinary teams of STEM teachers in Flanders (Belgium). In order to identify the crucial, counterproductive, and missing activities in the observed design processes, the learning materials developed by each team were assessed with respect to the key principles of iSTEM education. Crucial activities in the observed design processes appeared to be the formation of a multidisciplinary design team, a brainstorm on themes, the identification and linking of STEM contents, and the exploration of a feasible, engaging student challenge with interrelated subproblems. The observed processes lacked a specification of the targeted learning goals and the inclusion of research-based instructional strategies aiming at these goals. The evidence-based model of the iSTEM design process resulting from this study can fuel teacher training programs and empower pre- and in-service teachers to create high-quality integrated STEM education.

Co-designing engaging and accessible data visualisations: a case study of the IPCC reports

Creating scientifically rigorous and user-friendly data visualisations can play a critical role in making complex information more accessible to wider audiences and supporting informed decision-making. ‘Co-design’ encapsulates a way of approaching data visualisation that ensures a deep and shared understanding between those creating the visuals (e.g. information designers, content experts, cognitive scientists) and the audience/users. This essay describes co-designing data visualisations with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). A multidisciplinary design team made up of information designers and cognitive and social scientists worked closely with IPCC authors and staff to develop data visualisations for the Summary for Policymakers (SPM) of the Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5 °C and the Special Report on Climate Change and Land. In this essay, the authors consider the three crucial elements that underpin a successful co-design process—practical tools and a flexible method; cognitive science and psychology to better understand the needs of users; and the importance of trust and leadership. The authors reflect on the application of the co-design approach in an IPCC context, noting specific challenges and including recommendations for future IPCC reports. The mutual learning experience of the special reports indicates a shift towards a design culture within parts of the IPCC that recognises the value of telling a compelling visual story while retaining scientific integrity—an approach that has been retained for the Working Group I contribution to the Sixth Assessment Report.

Evolution of a mass casualty drill design team: A program evaluation.

The number of mass casualty incidents (MCIs) is increasing. While many healthcare systems have not experienced an MCI, the need for preparedness is ever present. The unique challenges of MCI preparedness require the use of simulation, which has been found to be an effective model for training in medical environments. To determine common discussion points when a multidisciplinary team designed and implemented in situ MCI simulation drills to enhance our emergency preparedness plan. This was a retrospective qualitative evaluation of the multidisciplinary mass casualty drill design team's weekly meeting minutes documents. These documents provided insight into the evolution of a mass casualty drill design team and the advancement of our emergency response plan. Continuous discussions surrounding resource restraints helped to inform the emergence of the three themes, which were "Staff," "Space," and "Stuff." These three themes were further broken down into different subthemes, but there was a continued focus on resource scarcity. Our results indicate the use of an MCI drill design team and in situ simulations assisted in better understanding of how hospital departments struggled with resource scarcity and provided opportunities to strengthen the emergency preparedness response plan. Incorporating a multidisciplinary mass casualty drill design team helped to ensure different perspectives and department needs were acknowledged and addressed through the in situ simulation trainings.

A Critical Pathway for Mass Casualty Incident Preparedness.

Rates of mass casualty incidents (MCIs) have been on the rise in the United States, highlighting the need for health care systems to have an emergency response plan. Trauma centers are fundamental during MCIs and serve a crucial leadership role in preparedness for them. The purpose of this study was to describe the design and implementation of simulated MCI drills at an American College of Surgeons verified Level I trauma center in the Midwest. A quasi-experimental time-series design was utilized to determine MCI simulation effects on staff performance using an emergency department checklist to measure emergency department throughput time. A multidisciplinary MCI design team developed a checklist for the emergency department, which identified tasks required to complete it. The 16-item checklist, Critical Pathway Management methodology, was used to identify the critical pathway for patient throughput during a surge. Two in situ MCI simulation drills were conducted in the emergency department (October and December 2019), and Critical Pathway Management identified the primary patient throughput rate limiters as notification and inpatient nursing staff presentation. Emergency department throughput decreased from a mean of 15 to 11 min (reduction of 26.7%) between the two time periods after focusing on rate-limiting tasks. This quality improvement project demonstrated that the use of institution-specific checklists and Critical Pathway Management to identify critical pathways and potential rate limiters led to patient throughput improvements.

Harmonizing evidence-based practice, implementation context, and implementation strategies with user-centered design: a case example in young adult cancer care

BackgroundAttempting to implement evidence-based practices in contexts for which they are not well suited may compromise their fidelity and effectiveness or burden users (e.g., patients, providers, healthcare organizations) with elaborate strategies intended to force implementation. To improve the fit between evidence-based practices and contexts, implementation science experts have called for methods for adapting evidence-based practices and contexts and tailoring implementation strategies; yet, methods for considering the dynamic interplay among evidence-based practices, contexts, and implementation strategies remain lacking. We argue that harmonizing the three can be facilitated by user-centered design, an iterative and highly stakeholder-engaged set of principles and methods.MethodsThis paper presents a case example in which we used a three-phase user-centered design process to design and plan to implement a care coordination intervention for young adults with cancer. Specifically, we used usability testing to redesign and augment an existing patient-reported outcome measure that served as the basis for our intervention to optimize its usability and usefulness, ethnographic contextual inquiry to prepare the context (i.e., a comprehensive cancer center) to promote receptivity to implementation, and iterative prototyping workshops with a multidisciplinary design team to design the care coordination intervention and anticipate implementation strategies needed to enhance contextual fit.ResultsOur user-centered design process resulted in the Young Adult Needs Assessment and Service Bridge (NA-SB), including a patient-reported outcome measure and a collection of referral pathways that are triggered by the needs young adults report, as well as implementation guidance. By ensuring NA-SB directly responded to features of users and context, we designed NA-SB for implementation, potentially minimizing the strategies needed to address misalignment that may have otherwise existed. Furthermore, we designed NA-SB for scale-up; by engaging users from other cancer programs across the country to identify points of contextual variation which would require flexibility in delivery, we created a tool intended to accommodate diverse contexts.ConclusionsUser-centered design can help maximize usability and usefulness when designing evidence-based practices, preparing contexts, and informing implementation strategies—in effect, harmonizing evidence-based practices, contexts, and implementation strategies to promote implementation and effectiveness.