ISO 13407

ISO 13407: Human Centred Design Process for Interactive Systems

Citation

ISO 13407:1999 Human-centred design processes for interactive systems.

Status

International Standard.

Lifecycle Phase

Analyse the opportunity
Build the context of use
Create the user experience
Track usage and improve

Type of Guidance

Principles and general recommendations.

Application Area

Equipment
User testing
Software
Process

Scope

This influential standard is "aimed at those managing the design process" and is now increasingly used to ensure software quality. For example, in their document, "Quality Framework for UK Government Website Design: What is a Good Government Website?" (Warning: PDF), the Office of the e-Envoy writes:

“The main body of this Framework is derived in part from ISO 13407: Human centred design processes for interactive systems (see Appendix C for details).” (p4)

The standard describes four principles of human-centred design:

Active involvement of customers (or those who speak for them).
Appropriate allocation of function (making sure human skill is used properly).
Iteration of design solutions (therefore allow time in project planning).
Multi-disciplinary design (but beware overly large design teams).

...And four key human-centred design activities

Understand and specify the context of use (make it explicit – avoid assuming it is obvious).
Specify user and socio-cultural requirements (note there will be a variety of different viewpoints and individuality).
Produce design solutions (note plural, multiple designs encourage creativity).
Evaluate designs against requirements (involves real customer testing not just convincing demonstrations).

The standard itself is generic and can be applied to any system or product.

Audience

Anyone that wants to introduce usability processes into a project or organisation.