What is it about?
In ergonomics, human-centred design (HCD) is defined as “an approach to systems design and development that aims to make interactive systems more usable by focusing on the use of the system and applying human factors/ergonomics and usability knowledge and techniques”. HCD is a group of methods that primarily involve utilising knowledge about human beings to create products and services that effectively address their desires and needs. In practical use, “human-centred design” and “user-centred design” can sometimes be used synonymously. However, the use of “human-centred design” highlights the effects of the design on other stakeholders rather than those traditionally regarded as users. Initially, HCD became popular in the business sector, specifically focusing on commercial physical products and services. This paper explore the potential to use HCD in policymaking.
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Why is it important?
Policy is inherently driven to meet the needs of citizens. The policy process tends to involve multiple stakeholders with diverse aspirations, interests and viewpoints which exacerbates the ‘wicked’ nature of policy problems and may be regarded as a principal cause of policy failure. A core challenge in policymaking is to effectively address the diverse needs and expectations of the population. Policy failure may also be attributed to the populace’s incapability to comprehend or accept the rational intentions of the policy. This complexity requires us to reconsider our approach to policy problems to deal with the increasingly complex societal challenges.
Perspectives
Government and policy academics are increasingly adopting human-centric design (HCD) in policymaking to deal with increasingly complex societal challenges. However, current research is mainly concerned with the potential implication of general design or design thinking approaches in public policy rather than focusing on the application of specific human-centred design (HCD) techniques. Although “design” and “human-centred design” are often used interchangeably in studies on policy design, it is important to make a clear distinction between these two concepts to employ appropriate methods when delivering public policies and services. Besides, comprehensive guidance on the application of human-centered design in policymaking will empower policymakers to maximize the effectiveness of these tools. The research findings indicate that HCD techniques such as personas, prototypes, and simulation are increasingly used in policymaking. However, there are three key limitations to applying HCD in policymaking, namely inclusion, alignment with the current policy system and the risk of oversimplification. Successfully addressing these obstacles will facilitate the advancement and execution of HCD in policymaking.
Phuong Anh (Violet) Nguyen
University of Nottingham
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: WIP - Human-centred design in Policymaking: Bibliometric analysis and systematic review, October 2024, ACM (Association for Computing Machinery),
DOI: 10.1145/3673805.3673852.
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