Based on the previous conversation with Don Norman, author Trenouth then spoke to Craig Vogel about his thoughts on the subject:
Author of "Breakthrough Products", former IDSA president, and Director of Center for Design Research and Innovation, Craig Vogel shared his thoughts on activity-centered design and personas.
Experience design and activity design are the same. But knowing a person's preferences is also important because a functional solution should be complimented with lifestyle attributes.Norman is a psychologist and not a designer. His focus is on human activity which is fine. I think there is more to products than [just the] action analysis but it is an essential component.
So according to Vogel a study of activity while necessary, is insufficient. Norman says that a study of activity is not only necessary and sufficient, but it is potentially dangerous to look beyond activity as this could prove distracting, resulting in poorer product designs.
In the integrated new product development process outlined in "Breakthrough Products" Vogel says that good product design results in products that are useful, usable and desirable. Norman is a social scientist. As such his professional bias is toward measurability and hence activity-centered design. Usability is easily measured, while utility and desirability are not.
Norman's concern is valid though. Human-centered design and tools like personas can often find themselves distracted by matters irrelevant to the design. Vogel's respose is that the danger is in untrained implementation, and that a human-centered perspective and tools like personas are incredibly valuable in delivering products that are more useful, usable and desirable.
John Trenouth has a masters in design from Carnegie Mellon University and over a decade of experience designing interactive products and systems in both telecommunications and healthcare. Currently he blogs at niblettes and runs a boutique design firm Spire Innovation specializing in product innovation and design research.
