HCD

HCD, short for Human-Centered Design, is a problem-solving approach that places people at the center of the design process. It seeks to understand users, their contexts, tasks, and goals to create solutions that are usable, useful, and desirable.

The process typically follows iterative cycles of user research, problem framing, ideation, prototyping, and evaluation. Methods include interviews, ethnography, surveys, journey mapping, usability testing, and rapid prototyping.

Core principles include empathy, inclusivity, accessibility, collaboration across disciplines, and iteration. HCD emphasizes early and ongoing user involvement, testing with real users, and evidence-based design decisions. It is used across fields such as software, product design, healthcare, education, and public services.

Relationship to other concepts: often aligned with design thinking and user-centered design, though some organizations distinguish HCD as broader or more explicitly human-focused. Standards such as ISO 9241-210 define user-centered design processes and requirements.

Critiques: while effective, HCD can be time-consuming and resource-intensive, risk of stakeholder bias, scope creep, and challenges in measuring impact. Advocates suggest integrating HCD with agile development and clear success metrics. Note: HCD can stand for other terms in different domains.