User-centred design as a risk management tool

Numerous risks have been identified to and from the design process. The most prominent approach to address design shortcomings is user-centred design (UCD); however, current implementations of UCD tend to overemphasise differences between users which make it less acceptable as a viable approach to the process of design and the goal of risk management. Three cases are discussed that illustrate a progression of design approaches from a lack of consideration of the user (accommodation; Control room design) to a more limited consideration of user needs through the consultation of guidelines (e-commerce website design) to an attempt to consider user needs through detailed study (assimilation; Consumer product design). It is proposed that the assimilation of user task behaviour in the design life-cycle will ensure the inclusion of usability considerations, thereby enabling UCD to be utilised as a risk management tool.