In this series, we will talk to teams within Triad to find out what makes them tick. In this blog, our fast-growing User-Centred Design team explains what they do and why they love it!
User-Centred Design – The setup
Lucille Harvey heads the User-Centred Design (UCD) team. In three years, the team has grown from two individuals to a team of nine UX Designers.
User Experience (UX) refers to the overall experience someone has on a digital platform or service. UX is an umbrella term which encompasses many elements. This includes user research using robust methodologies to understand users’ goals and needs.
Because we have recruited staff from diverse backgrounds, we now have skills across the spectrum of UX, including UX design and user research. The team’s specialities include Service Design, Accessibility, UI (user interface) design and Information architecture.
We work on projects as teams of 1-2 and collectively build our community and practice. We have a community of practice meetup every fortnight that the whole team takes turns running.
User-Centred Design… and Triad
Triad uses technology to help solve problems for our customers. Ultimately, we are improving users’ lives, which often benefits the public.
Our mission is to ensure that the systems we build are user-friendly. They need to meet the needs of those who use them, at minimum. We participate in researching and understanding users’ needs. This helps us influence the design and build process before evaluating the digital products and services with users to obtain feedback and behavioural data on the design’s effectiveness.
Creating a User-Centred Culture
When we recruit, we look for UX Designers who are good conversationalists. They will have the skills to ask questions, be inquisitive, listen, and negotiate. They will see collaboration and criticism as opportunities to improve the solution continually. They will know when they need help or support from colleagues or the wider UCD team. They will also be driven by self-improvement; they need to stay ahead of the curve and regularly attend industry meet-ups to listen to other experts and learn from others in the industry.
Our UX Designers can choose to be certified by the Neilsen Norman Group, a world leader in UX and UCD
Creativity is cool!
We work with diverse clients. Every challenge is always different. They all require creativity to help create a user-centric solution.
Right now, our consultants are helping with the migration of computer systems, ensuring that not just the process, but the documentation and the support is user centred. Another team is helping our clients untangle complicated legislation and present it in an easy-to-consume manner. Other consultants are helping to design tools to give local authority planners the information they need to make more sustainable housing development decisions.
As a team, we love the opportunity to find creative solutions to problems. We can often involve our clients in workshops with fun, engaging activities that can spark creativity and generate fantastic ideas.
If you have a question for Lucy or the Triad team, please get in touch.
