Why Interviews are the Nucleus of HCD
“There’s no better way to understand the hopes, desires, and aspirations of those you’re designing for than by talking with them directly.” This quote comes directly from the introduction of the Interview section in the Field Guide to Human-Centered Design and I honestly couldn’t agree more with the statement. I deeply believe that the communities we design for are the ones who understand their own dilemmas best; these folks usually know exactly what they need or want out of the final design. The Equity Centered Community Design Field Guide aptly refers to these people as “living experts.” Just listening to what they have to say, with no biases or preconceived notions, can really clarify the issue at hand and lead to new solution ideas that otherwise wouldn’t have been considered.
It is incredibly important during the inspiration phase to include diverse groups so the results of the interviews will truly represent the community as a whole. This attention to diversity should not only continue into later stages of inspiration, including co-creation sessions and conversation starter workshops, but should permeate every step of the process from beginning to end. It’s not just about inclusion either; actually acknowledging the barriers that keep diverse members from being included in such projects helps to create a sense of understanding within the group and hopefully will lead to more inclusiveness later on. A solution can only be considered successful if it accommodates every member of the community.
My group is dealing with community gardens for our human-centered design project. For a system like this where technical factors can not be overlooked, it would be greatly beneficial to our investigation if we conducted expert interviews. It is important for us as the designers to understand the “system-level view of [our] project area,” such as the logistics of gardening and the procedures regarding Fayetteville’s common spaces. Talking with these knowledgeable individuals will give us important insight into the administration side of community gardens. However, group interviews will also be imperative for our understanding of the community’s feelings towards the subject. These gardens would be for them so considering their wants and needs surrounding food production and recreational, shared spaces is a must. Especially for my team, interviews will definitely be the nucleus of our inspiration phase!
Source: Field Guide to Human-Centered Design by IDEO and Equity Centered Community Design Field Guide by Creative Reaction Lab