Use-centered design

Use-centered design is a design philosophy in which the focus is on the goals and tasks associated with the use of certain technology, in contrast to "user-centered design" approach, where the focus is on the needs, wants, and limitations of the end user of the designed artifact. Bennett and Flach (2011) have drawn a contrast between dyadic and triadic approaches to the semiotics of display design. The classical 'user-centered' approach is based on a dyadic semiotic model where the focus is on the human-interface dyad. This approach frames 'meaning' as a process of interpreting the symbolic representation. That is, meaning is constructed from internal information processes. From this dyadic perspective, the design goal is to build interfaces that 'match' the users internal model. In contrast, the 'use-centered' approach is based on a triadic semiotic is based on a triadic semiotic model that includes the work domain (or ecology) as a third component of the semiotic system. In the triadic system, the work domain provides a ground for meaning outside of the human information processing system. In this, triadic semiotic system, the focus is on the match between the constraints in the work domain and the mental representations. From this 'use-centered' approach the goal is to design displays that 'shape' the internal mental representations so that they reflect validated models of the work domain. In doing this, work analysis and multi-level means ends representations of work domain constraints (i.e., Abstraction Hierarchy) are the typical methods used to specify the 'deep structure' of a work domain. By building configural display representations that conform to this deep structure -- it is possible to facilitate skilled interactions between the human and the work domain. Thus, an emphasis on 'use' rather than 'user' suggests a more problem-centered focus for interface design. Note that it remains important to respect the real limitations of human information processing systems through the use of graphical displays that support efficient chunking of information. However, the main point is that the organization MUST be consistent with the demands of the work or problem domain, if the interactions that result are expected to be skillful. In the end, the representations must be 'grounded' in the use-domain!

Use-centered design was first coined by John Flach and Cynthia Dominguez (Flach, J. M. & Dominguez, C. O. (1995). Use-centered design: Integrating the user, instrument, and goal. Ergonomics in Design, 3, 3, 19-24.)