Presentation and discussion at Tilburg University Design track of Humans Aspects of IT.

1. 1
Thoughts on Product Design
Guest lecture by
Etienne Bertou, MA
Design Lead | Application New Technology | Sogeti Netherlands
Associate Researcher | TICC | Tilburg University

2. TABLE OF CONTENTS
In what order we’ll be doing things.
14 : 45ish
Introduction
Short introduction of lecture,
guest speaker, work, inspiration.
Also, who are you guys?
15 : 00 User Centered
Design
The ISO and what followed.
What is it and how is it
practiced? Field experience.
15 : 30
Design Phase
Discuss design phase scope.
“What to do when” contributes
to the success of your product.
Scope reduction & compromise.
15 : 45
Use-case time!
I can tell you a thing or two
about projects I’ve worked on
recently.
16 : 15
Hands-on
You’ll be assigned a business
idea and will be set to prototype.
Find problems, overcome them.
16 : 45
Wrap Up
Discussing the assignments,
Q&A, Shaking hands.. That sort
of thing.
2

3. Now..
INTRODUCTIONS
3

4. ABOUT
Short introduction
Etienne Bertou
R&D @ Philips Hue
Proud member @ Sogeti Labs
Associate Researcher @ Tilburg University
Design Lead @ Sogeti Application New Tech. | Mob.
Freelance work
Tesla, Vodafone, Brainport, own products
Never there
@etiennebertou
Skills
Adobe Creative Suite
81%
Engineering
85%
Product Design and Methodology
9000+
Housekeeping
15%
4
linkedin.com/in/etiennebertou

5. OBJECTIVE
THINK ABOUT ASPECTS OF PRODUCT DESIGN
GET ENTHUSED ABOUT MAKING MISTAKES
5
So we recognise them later on

6. INTRODUCE YOURSELVES
HAIT/BDM/COMM
PRE-FORMED GROUPS?
EXPERIENCE WITH DESIGN / TECHNOLOGY
6

7. Sell
Development
Design
Concept
PRODUCT DESIGN SKILLS
AS PERCEIVED OVERALL
Time Unit 03 04 05 0601 02
Coming up with a good product.
Design the product.
Implement the product.
Sell product.
7
(oversimplification)

8. PROBLEM
DESIGN SKILLS VALUED IN PHASE
NOT AS MINDSET
Design often wrongly perceived as pure visual, interface, interaction or UX
design work. It has to be “finished” to start implementation.
“Yes, this is what we need, now build it”.
Valuable skills are left out of research and implementation process.
8

9. DESIGN THINKING
IS NOT CREATING THE PERFECT SOLUTION
BUT FINDING THE BETTER COMPROMISE
WITHIN A KNOWN SCOPE
Know that the perfect product is only perfect in context. Contexts are often
unknown and can change, so striving to be better by understanding all
variables beats assuming you can make what is perfect for everyone.
9

10. DESIGN THINKING
AN EXPERIMENT OF COGNITIVE
FLEXIBILITY
10
Go for the paydirt!

11. You are late for our meeting. How will you
solve this?
11

12. Sell
Development
Design
Concept
PRODUCT DESIGN SKILLS
As it is slowly becoming
Time Unit 03 04 05 0601 02
Coming up with a good problem.
Design a better solution.
Implement the product.
Sell product.
12

13. Now..
USER CENTERED DESIGN
13
ISO 9241-210
or

14. User Centered Design
Often confused with UX, interaction design or “asking users”.
14
Broad scope: not what you do, but how you do it.
Process, not activity.

15. User Centered Design
User centered design (UCD) is a process in which the needs, wants, and
limitations of end users of a product, service or process are given extensive
attention at each stage of the design process.
Design processes derived from this:
Participatory design
Cooperative design
Evolutionairy or Rapid Prototyping
https://www.iso.org/obp/ui/#iso:std:iso:9241:-210:ed-1:v1:en
http://www.userfocus.co.uk/pdf/fable.pdf
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flRuSn0df8Q
15
Through sound design research we infer and validate user requirements in product development.

16. ISO 9241-210
Describes a set of principles
16
1. The design is based upon an explicit understanding of users, tasks and environments.
2. Users are involved throughout design and development.
3. The design is driven and refined by user-centred evaluation.
4. The process is iterative.
5. The design addresses the whole user experience.
6. The design team includes multidisciplinary skills and perspectives.

17. Application of the ISO
Design models of your solution concepts
17
Evaluate what could be done better, validate design choices made
Draw conclusions and improve your design. Reiterate.
Or revise your review methodology..
Research heavy: Thorough research of user needs & solution in early & late design

18. User Centered Design
18
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mcZKWhjr9o

19. HOW PROFESSIONALS DO IT
19
http://www.sapdesignguild.org/resources/ucd_process.asp http://www.sapdesignguild.org/editions/edition10/ucd_overview.asp http://www.sapdesignguild.org/editions/edition10/ucd_overview.asp
or “random graphics with iterations”
yes, it’s all

20. User Centered Design
In name it is the dominant design approach.
Deviation not accepted, although process itself often misunderstood or cut short.
20
Suppression of alternative design processes, such as:
Self Design (reliable in narrow scope)
Genius Design (draws upon experience, imaginative analogy, and psychological
fundamentals)
Activity focused Design (tasks derived a priori, from logical interpretation of the
domain)
http://alistapart.com/column/looking-beyond-user-centered-design

21. User Centered Design
Be wary of sampling or biases;
address issues that are central to the product;
focus on new insights instead of affirmation.
21
http://alistapart.com/column/looking-beyond-user-centered-design
Achieving best results over time is key, so always be critical of a process and its evangelists.
Patterns and approaches can sometimes suit various contexts.
Use the popularity of the term. Evaluate with your target group in iterations and learn.

22. UI vs UX vs UCD
Discussion time & Break

23. Now..
DESIGN PHASE
23

24. EARLY
DESIGN PHASE DIMENSION
Time Unit 03 04 05 0601 02
24
LATE

25. Early Design
Expensive parts to change later are the first, second and third concern. Narrow down scope. Examples are:
Main functionality
What main features are built on the
hardware that is required? How will this
answer the needs you’ve uncovered?
Usage
Can the solution be used by the end-users?
Hardware used
What technology do you choose for fulfilling
the user & business requirement? Tablet vs.
Smartphone vs. Desktop vs. In-car screens.
Navigational Structure
Decide how users will eventually navigate
from one interface state to another, how to
access functionality.
25
etc.

26. Late Design
Completing the design and refining made choices. Protect the product throughout development.
Navigation rearrangement
As long as the overall structure of
applications stays intact, content or layout of
menu’s can change.
Typography
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur
adipiscing elit. Aliquam finibus odio ut nisl
gravida laoreet. Suspendisse turpis velit.
Branding
What technology do you choose for fulfilling
the user & business requirement? Tablet vs.
Smartphone vs. Desktop vs. In-car screens.
Colors
Decide how users will eventually navigate
from one interface state to another, how to
access functionality.
26
etc.

27. Prototyping
Evolutionary vs. Rapid
27
Prototype Fidelity: Final product resemblance?
With who do you test?
How do you test?
Two case studies: http://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007%2F978-3-540-73105-4_42

28. Rapid Prototyping
28

29. Now..
USE CASES
29

30. Philips Hue Beyond
30

31. Tesla P85
31

32. Delight
32

33. 31
Now..
ASSIGNMENT

34. *INSERT BUSINESS PROBLEM*
Early design phase is a go! Brainstorm. The first scopes, narrow this thing down.
Decide on platform
What possible hardware solutions would you consider? Why?
Who to ask? What other technologies do you need?
Main functionality
What are the main functionalities of your product? Think about
what the limits are of your hardware?
Navigation
How would I navigate through your interface? What is the main
structure?
CREATE SOMETHING & SHARE

35. 31
Now..
WRAP UP

36. QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
Ask away
118
I need more resources.
Ask Suleman for specific journals, send me a tweet with what you’re looking for. Better yet, start designing and see what works and what doesn’t with certain
methodologies in business settings.
How can I use this now?
Just realise that it is imperative to involve the user to generate context for your design problems. Nobody will ever advocate to just do what you think is best
without reflecting to the outside world. If you are reflecting only to yourself (or your group), you are creating art, not designing a product for others.
Want to get in touch?
I’m opening up a google group where people can join and chat about product design from an industry and academia perspective. If you’re interested, let me
know.