Successfully implementing a software
system can be difficult. Often enough, the promise of a solution which
streamlines tedious job activities and frees up staff for higher value
work is elusive. Unfortunately, implementations of systems to automate
your processes are often designed without one very important input… the
user. Typically, select users may be interviewed and asked to provide
documents and reports that are used regularly with the aim of informing
the design of the new and improved system, but the designers haven’t
lived a day or a week in the shoes of the end users, have they? How is
the productivity of the construction industry supposed to improve
without the valuable insights of the construction engineers?
Human-centered design involves observing how people (team members)
engage with the tools that they use to do their job. It also involves
immersion of the design team into one’s job, to experience first-hand
how people interact with processes and other team members. This paper
will explore effective methodologies used to drive and manage the design
of solutions, resulting in useful systems that solve real problems.