Characterizing the Application of Design Ethnography Techniques to Improve Novice Human-Centered Design Processes.

Abstract

Design is a central, distinguishing feature of engineering, requiring the development of technical solutions to societal problems. Successful design solutions must not only be technically sound, but also well-adapted to the context and culture in which they will be used. However, the most commonly used methods for eliciting and characterizing stakeholder preferences do not typically reveal critical stakeholder and contextual information. Through the studies described in this dissertation, I explore the use of design ethnography during front-end engineering design phases to capture both stakeholder preferences and contextual knowledge to inform engineering design decision making. Design ethnography is a set of primarily qualitative data collection and analysis techniques that have been adapted from the field of anthropology to augment the engineering design process. Studies from the fields of human-computer interaction and product development have demonstrated that design ethnography techniques are cost-effective and lead to more successful products. However, the design ethnography literature lacks critical understanding of the major barriers and factors that influence design ethnography success, methodologies for synthesizing and applying design ethnography data, best practices to engage with stakeholders, developmental trajectories of novice to expert skill acquisition, and case studies of how design ethnography has been implemented in diverse settings.

The studies detailed in this dissertation employ a mixture of quantitative and qualitative research methods to address these gaps in the literature. Through this research, I have characterized novice design ethnography implementation strategies and identified internal and external factors that affect design ethnography execution; investigated correlations between information processing ability and the quality of product requirements developed; established a framework for evaluating and directing design ethnography stakeholder interviews; developed a case study within a global health design context; and interpreted the findings within a theoretically grounded model to represent novice to expert development. This body of work informs strategies and processes for engaging with stakeholders and understanding broader contexts in design work to improve design decision making within both design professional practice and engineering education.