Within my profession, I had the opportunity to participate in a customer workshop that focussed on the design of an interface for industrial robots. While I can’t share details about the project for confidentiality reasons, the experience itself was incredibly enlightening for me and my research topic and provided a unique, hands-on experience.
The workshop began with an in-depth discussion about the problem and the customer’s needs for their clients and their expectations. This was followed by development of personas, mapping of user journeys and brainstorming of initial concepts. These early stages of the process were essential for understanding the core requirements and user needs. As the day progressed, we developed and refined the ideas and came up with new insights that had not previously been considered. This process emphasised the importance of early cooperation between different teams as new solutions and directions emerged through discussion and collaboration.
As we progressed and as a follow-up for the workhops, we created user journeys, wireframes, and user interfaces, which were continuously refined through client feedback. This iterative approach allowed us to build a clearer picture of the design requirements and adapt to the project’s evolving needs.
For my research topic, this workshop was an invaluable experience, as it firstly highlighted the impact of external (and internal) influences on user interfaces – in that case in industrial environments. Factors such as poor lighting conditions, dust, and the use of gloves had a significant effect on how the touch interface should be designed. This sparked my interest in exploring how different (in that case environmental) factors influence the usability and design of interfaces, leading to my new initial idea for my master’s thesis topic: Internal and External Influences on User Interfaces and User Experience: Towards Holistic Understanding and Adaptive Design Strategies, which was later expanded to Adaptive and Context-Aware User Interfaces: Strategies for User-Centered Design and Optimizing User Experience in Response to Internal and External Influences.
