Denna studie syftar till att utforska integrationen av metoder för persuasive design i designprocessen för att på ett mer effektivt och pricksäkert sätt uppmuntra önskade användarbeteenden. Med bas i forskningen av Fogg och Cialdini fokuserar studien på att föreslå sätt att inkorporera persuasive design i den befintliga designprocessen hos en verklig kommunikationsbyrå. Genom en fallstudie som involverar dokumentgenomgång och workshops med intressenter strävar studien efter att få insikter i byråns designprocess och identifiera möjligheter för integrering av persuasive design. Den resulterande modellen fungerar som en riktlinje för att gemensamt definiera kritiska användarparametrar med kunder. Centralt för modellen är formuleringen av målbeteenden, vilka vägleder designarbetet mot att motivera och uppmuntra användare att utföra önskade beteenden. Genom att integrera metoder för persuasive design syftar modellen till att förbättra användarcentreringen och effektiviteten i designprocessen, även i situationer där direkta användarinsikter är begränsade. Studien avslutas med att betona vikten av målbeteenden för att styra en mer målinriktad designprocess och därigenom bidra till skapandet av skräddarsydda och relevanta designlösningar som överensstämmer med användarnas behov och preferenser. Sammantaget ger resultaten praktiska rekommendationer för att integrera metoder för persuasive design i designprocessen för att främja utförandet av önskade användarbeteenden. / This study aims to explore the integration of persuasive design methods within the design process to encourage desired user behaviors more effectively and accurately. Grounded in the research of Fogg and Cialdini, the study focuses on proposing ways to incorporate persuasive design into existing design processes, particularly within the context of a real communication agency. Through a case study involving document analysis and workshops with stakeholders, the research seeks to gain insights into the agency's design process and identify opportunities for integrating persuasive design. The resulting model serves as a guideline for collaboratively defining critical user parameters with clients. Central to the model is the formulation of goal behaviors, which guide design efforts towards motivating and encouraging users to perform desired actions. By integrating persuasive design methods, the model aims to enhance user-centredness and the effectiveness of the design process, even in situations where direct user insights are limited. The study concludes by emphasizing the importance of goal behaviors in directing a more targeted design process, thereby contributing to the creation of tailored and relevant design solutions that align with user needs and preferences. Overall, the findings provide practical recommendations for integrating persuasive design methods into the design process to promote the execution of desired user behaviors.

This thesis explores a concept by Sonvox AB called VoiceUp. The concept is that of a mobile application that communicates with a wearable voice measuring device and visualizes voice information in a way that helps singers. Sonvox current main product is VoxLog—a system for long-term voice monitoring, mostly used for research purposes. Sonvox believes that their voice analysis technology could be relevant to a larger audience. The main goal for the thesis is to explore if a wearable voice measuring device could be relevant to singers, and in what ways. To do this, a needs analysis was conducted where song teachers and singers were interviewed. In order to draw statistical conclusions about the occurrence of needs, a survey was conducted where people with an interest for singing were the targeted respondents. Based on the result from the needs analysis, the VoiceUp concept was refined, resulting in an idea of a product that measures and visualizes how much the user sings and speaks with the aim to increase singers motivation to practice singing more regularly. Based on theory related to self-tracking, a design proving the concept was created, resulting in a mockup and a simple prototype. The mockup and the prototype can together be seen as one example of how self-tracking technology could be relevant to singers.

Hitachi Energy, one of the largest transformer manufacturers in the world, has a factory based in the small town of Ludvika, Sweden. Here, all of the production is carried out, from order to delivery, and the key to reaching the rest of the world lies within the Swedish railway network. Utilizing specialized railway wagons, Hitachi Energy transports the transformers to the industrial ports for further export to the rest of the world. To ensure safe transportation, with loads exceeding 400 tons, transportation consoles made for this exact purpose are used to carry the transformer's weight and keep them in place during transportation. However, with their current solution having stayed the same for many years, they now aspire to a new solution for the transportation consoles to fulfill both the physical and human-centered demands better. In this master's thesis, in industrial design engineering, a new solution for transportation consoles is being developed. To ensure the quality of the project, a design process with four stages - a learning phase, an ideation phase, a development phase, and a delivery phase - has been used. Three research questions have been in focus during the project:  What are the needs and requirements for the new transportation console? How can we identify both user needs and product requirements for the new transportation consoles through an industrial design engineering approach? How would a completely new solution for transportation consoles be designed and used in detail?  Several industrial design methods have been utilized in these phases to gain a broad knowledge of the problem and generate ideas. A product cycle analysis was conducted based on interviews and observations to better understand the product. When the knowledge was gathered, several brainstorming methods, scamper, and virtual prototyping were used to generate several new solutions and ideas. To test and develop the concepts in detail, computer-aided engineering has been used, with computer-aided design to virtually prototype the concepts and finite element analysis to verify them. The learning phase showed the need for a more user-friendly solution and how a slimmer console profile could improve the workers' overall experience. Multiple concepts of solving these problems in different ways were found in the ideation phase. After design reviews with the stakeholders and consultation with the supervisors, a final concept, Arc, for a new transportation console was chosen to continue with into the two later stages of the process. Arc's foundation lies within a human-centered design and the people interacting with it weekly. It has several advantages compared to the previous design, with its adjustability and slim design facilitating the workload and enabling easier transportation. Analyses of its durability against external accelerations have been conducted, leaning towards a promising outcome. However, further testing and verifications are needed to ensure its durability before use.

Målgruppen er unge i alderen mellem 20-29 år, der bor i en etværelseslejlighed i Malmö og har flere udfordringer ved affaldssortering. Fuldsorteringen sker ikke altid korrekt og i overensstemmelse med eksisterende lovgivning. Arbejdet tager derfor udgangspunkt i problemformuleringen “Hvordan kan brugercentreret design bidrage til at kunne ændre den yngre generations attitude, når det kommer til at sortere affald i husstanden som et essentielt led i borgeres aktive deltagelse?”. I udforskningen af problemfeltet tages forskellige teorier i brug. Hovedteorien i arbejdet er brugercentreret design efterfulgt af design for holdbar udvikling og affaldssortering ud fra et klimapsykologisk perspektiv. Såvel undersøgende metoder som designmetoder anvendes med henblik på at foretage kvalitative undersøgelser af målgruppens udfordringer. De vigtigste anvendte metoder er designeksperiment, ekspertinterview og Co-design workshop. Afslutningsvis har metoderne resulteret i et designkoncept, hvor alle affaldsbeholderne samles ét sted under køkkenvasken, og med mulighed for at beholderne kan ekspanderes alt efter husstandens behov. Herved får målgruppen et tydeligt overblik over samtlige skraldespande og kan, med det in mente, foretage de korrekte og bedst kvalificerede beslutninger. Det betyder blandt andet, at hvis der mangler plads i en beholder, behøver husstanden ikke tage en ny pose frem, men kan i stedet ekspandere den eksisterende. / The target group is young people between the ages of 20-29 years who live in a one-room apartment in Malmö, Sweden, and have various challenges with waste sorting. The waste sorting is not always done correctly and in accordance with existing legislation. Therefore, the work is based on the research question “How can User-Centered Design contribute to changing the attitude of the younger generation on waste sorting in the household as an essential part of citizens’ active participation in society?”. When exploring the problem field, different theories are used. The main theory in the work is User-Centered Design followed by Design for Sustainable Development and Waste Sorting from a Climate Psychological perspective. Both investigative and design methods are used in order to carry out qualitative studies of the target group’s challenges. The main methods used are Design Experiment, Expert Interview and Co-design Workshop. The methods have resulted in a design concept where all waste containers are placed in the same place under the kitchen sink with the possibility of expanding the containers depending on the household’s needs. In this way, the target group gets a clear overview of all bins and with this in mind they can make the correct and best informed decisions. That means, inter alia, that if one of the bins lacks room the household does not need to take out a new bag, but may instead expand the existing one.

[pt] O Lean Communication-Centered Design (LeanCCD) é um processo de design de Interação Humano-Computador (IHC) centrado na comunicação, que consiste na realização de um workshop, detalhamento de metas de usuários, combinação de modelos de interação com esboços em papel simulados com usuários, apoiados por guias e quadros. A IHC é uma área que estuda o projeto e uso de tecnologia computacional, em especial a interação entre computadores e pessoas. Este estudo adaptou o Communication-Centered Design (CCD) e o eXtreme Communication-Centered Design (eXCeeD), outros processos de design centrados na comunicação fundamentados na Engenharia Semiótica (EngSem). A EngSem é uma teoria de IHC que define a interação como um processo comunicativo entre designers e usuários mediado por computadores. Abordagens e processos fundamentados nessa teoria buscam favorecer a reflexão através da adoção de modelos, questões e métodos que não gerem diretamente uma resposta ou solução para o problema, mas apoiem o designer na exploração do espaço e da natureza do problema, bem como das restrições sobre soluções candidatas. A avaliação do LeanCCD em um estudo de caso na indústria observou dificuldade na condução das atividades e na aplicação correta de algumas técnicas e conceitos. Porém, diferentemente do eXCeeD, percebemos o uso sistemático das questões que favoreciam a reflexão devido ao auxílio dos quadros e guias propostos. / [en] Lean Communication-Centered Design (LeanCCD) is a Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) design process, which consists of conducting a workshop, detailing user goals, combining interaction models with paper sketches, and testing them with users, supported by guides and templates. This study adapted the Communication-Centered Design (CCD) and the eXtreme Communication-Centered Design (eXCeeD), other communication-centered design processes grounded on Semiotic Engineering (SemEng). SemEng defines the interaction as a computer-mediated communication process between designers and users. Approaches and processes based on SemEng are not used to directly yield the answer to a problem, but to increase the problem-solver s understanding of the problem itself and the implication it brings about. Process evaluation in a case study, in the industry, proved itself difficult, both in carrying out LeanCCD activities and in the correct application of some techniques and concepts. However, unlike eXCeeD, we were able to observe a systematic use of questions that contributed to designers reflection, aided by the proposed templates and guides.

In Sweden, there are students who live in small student apartments. These apartments can be called compact living as a student apartment can be as small as 16 square meters. To take advantage of the place that is in small homes, it would be good if larger furniture could be combined into a piece of furniture. On behalf of Husmuttern AB, this work has been aimed at exploring furniture concepts with sleeping and their functions in a compact living environment for students. The issues being examined are: -          What functions are desirable in a multifunctional seating and sleeping furniture for students and people living in compact living environments? -          How can a multifunctional seating and sleeping furniture be designed, that is applied to students living in a compact-living environment? Human Centered Design was used as a method and thus a qualitative data collection was carried out in the form of observations. The respondents were in the primary target group and were observed in their everyday lives in their homes. A focus group was involved in generating ideas and concepts. Functional prototypes were built, and 3D models were created in SolidWorks. Digital testing of the concepts was carried out and the development of the Generation Sofa Bed was realized. There is a discussion about how reliable this study is, when the results became situational. However, the respondents were from a limited audience and had different views on what they wanted from a sofa bed, which provided rewarding information for the development of the furniture. The conclusion is that while the Generation Sofa Bed needs to be further developed through testing and evaluation of storage facilities, it has great potential to become a finished product. / I Sverige bor det studenter i små studentlägenheter. De lägenheterna kan kallas för compact living då en studentlägenhet kan vara så liten som 16 kvadratmeter. För att ta vara på den plats som finns i små hem vore det bra om större möbler kunde kombineras till en möbel. På uppdrag av Husmuttern AB har detta arbete haft som syfte att utforska möbelkoncept med sov- och sittfunktioner i en compact living miljö för studenter. De frågor som undersöks är: 1.      Vilka funktioner är önskvärda i en multifunktionell sitt- och sovmöbel för studenter och personer som bor i compact living miljö? 2.      Hur kan en multifunktionell sitt- och sovmöbel konstrueras, som är tillämpad för studenter som bor i compact-living miljö?  Human Centered Design användes som metod och därmed genomfördes en kvalitativ datainsamling i form av observationer. Respondenterna var med i den primära målgruppen och observerades i sin vardag i sina hem. En fokusgrupp var med och genererade idéer och koncept. Funktionsprototyper byggdes och 3D modeller skapades i SolidWorks. Digital testning av koncepten genomfördes och utvecklingen av Bäddsoffan Generations blev förverkligad. Det finns en diskussion om hur pålitlig denna studie är, då resultaten blev situationsbaserade. Dock var respondenterna från en begränsad målgrupp och hade olika syn på vad de ville ha av en bäddsoffa, vilket gav givande information till utvecklingen av möbeln. Slutsatsen är att medan Bäddsoffan Generations behöver vidareutvecklas genom testning och utvärdering om förvaringsmöjligheter, så har den stor potential att bli en färdig produkt.

This thesis work has been the result of a five-year Industrial Design Engineering education at Luleå University of Technology. The project has investigated the possibilities of teleoperating forest machines using a human-centered design approach. The work has been conducted for Skogforsk, which is the Swedish institute for forestry. The project’s objective was to present ideas on how future teleoperation can improve the work as a forwarder operator. The aim was to identify the forwarder operators’ specific needs and explore how the development of a teleoperated workstation can address those needs. The project has been carried out using three phases; Inspiration, Ideation, and Impleentation. During the first phase, the project investigated how the work is carried out today and what needs a forwarder operator has. The operators’ needs can be summarised in three different areas; transporting the machine, loading and unloading, and planning. Two kinds of operators can be seen today, the ones who are motivated primarily by working in the forest, and the ones who are motivated by the production and self-competitiveness. During the Inspiration phase, the project also tested what problems exist today with operating a forwarder using teleoperation with the system implemented in the Truedsson Forestry Lab in Uppsala. It was identified that screens are an essential complement to using head-mounted displays such as VR-goggles while not offering the same amount of precision and presence in work as the goggles. It was also identified that the operators did not feel that the machine being an extension of them due to lost feedback of motion and sound. Perceived and actual control of the machine differed, and the operators did not identify the machines’ behavior during transportation. Apart from these issues, the current view did not offer a complete overview of the area around the machine. Neither did it offer visuals on the sides of the machine, and the logs sortings. Along with the identified issues, opportunities for improvement guided the explorational work through creative workshops to solutions presented and tested in either an operational test or in a video test. The ideas included the implementation of sound focusing on the gripper, which was appreciated by the operators. The precision using screens was improved by projecting the gripper’s position on the ground plane. For control of the transportation work, the project proposed solutions for indicators on tilt, roll, and the wheels of the machine. Nevertheless, it proposed an idea of projected tracks improving the work to become more proactive by highlighting obstacles and the near term position of the machine. The project also tested overview improving ideas such as drone views, and a 360 degrees view which may have potential in the future teleoperation work. Several other ideas were tested and can be seen in the Results chapter. For future work, the project proposes more tests of various ideas in a more reality-based setting. The project also proposes future work focusing on defining the future user better. For the individual operators reading this thesis work, I hope this paper can show the potentials of teleoperation, as well as prove that the development is aware of both the difficulties and the possibilities with teleoperating forest machines. For the forestry industry, I hope this paper can inspire future work to use the technology to favor the operators’ needs, and not only adapt the current cabin to work being carried out remotely. It is important to note that work in the cabin and work carried out remotely will have a significant difference in what advantages to offer. We will most definitely see operators working in the forest for many years ahead, and the future operators of teleoperation will probably not be the ones that are motivated by work in the forest today. This means that a new kind of user will emerge supplementing the current users rather than replacing them. / Detta examensarbete är resultatet av en femårig civilingenjörsutbildning inom Teknisk Design på Luleå Tekniska Universitet. Projektet har utforskat möjligheter för fjärrstyrning av skogsmaskiner genom en användarcentrerad designprocess indelad i tre faser; Inspiration, Ideation, och Implementation. Arbetet har genomförts på uppdrag av Skogforsk som är det svenska forskningsinstitutet för utveckling av det svenska skogsbruket. Målet med projektet har varit att presentera idéer kring hur framtidens fjärrsyrning kan förbättra arbetet som skotarförare. Syftet med projektet har varit att identifiera skotarförarens behov och utforska hur utvecklingen av fjärrstyrning kan ta hänsyn till dessa behov. Under den första fasen undersöktes arbetet som det ser ut idag och skotarförarens behov fastställdes genom intervjuer och observationer. Behoven kan sammanfattas till tre huvudsakliga delar; transport av maskin, av och pålastning, samt planering av arbete. I dagsläget kan två olika användare ses, de vars största motivation är arbetet i skogen, och de som motiveras främst av hög produktion och egenutveckling. Under första fasen så undersöktes problem med fjärrstyrning genom test med en fjärrstyrd skotare i Truedsson Forestry Lab i Uppsala. Det identifierades att skärmar är ett nödvändigt komplement till VR-glasögon trots att de idag inte erbjuder samma precision och närhetskänsla. Det identifierades också att förare uppgav att de inte fick samma koppling till maskinen som ljud och vibrationer annars erbjuder i hytten. Uppfattad och verklig kontroll över maskinen skiftade mellan styrning i maskin, och på distans. Förarna uppmärksammade inte slirning, glid, eller lutningsförändringar vid fjärrstyrning. Förutom dessa problem så erbjöd det befintliga systemet inte kontinuerlig överblick runt om maskinen. Lastens uppbyggnad saknades och inte heller visuell blick av området nedanför lastutrymmet kunde erhållas. Med utgångspunkt ur identifierade problem med fjärrstyrning och möjligheter för utveckling av dagens arbete, utforskades idéer genom kreativa workshops under andra fasen. Under tredje fasen valdes idéer ut, utvecklades, och testades genom antingen ett fysiskt operatörstest, eller ett videotest. En av idéerna testade implementering av ljud med fokus på gripen vilket uppskattades av alla testförare. Skärmarnas precision förbättrades genom projicering av gripens position på horisontella ytor. För att förbättra kontroll av maskin utforskade projektet implementering av olika indikatorer kring lutning och hjulbeteende. En idé kring projicerande hjulspår med fokus på proaktivt uppmärksammande av maskinens position och potentiella hinder, utforskades i syfte att förbättra arbetet. Projektet undersökte även diverse vyer för överblick, som drönarvyer, och en 360 graders vy som kan ha potential för framtida fjärrstyrningsarbete. Andra idéer som testades kan ses i Resultat kapitlet. För framtida arbete rekommenderas fler, och mer verklighetsbaserade tester. Det rekommenderas även att framtidens användare definieras bättre för att styra utvecklingen i rätt riktning. För den individuella föraren som läser detta arbete hoppas jag denna examensrapport kan visa på potential för framtida fjärrstyrningsarbete. Jag hoppas även att rapporten kan visa på att utvecklingen är medveten om såväl svårigheter som möjligheter. För skogsindustrin hoppas jag denna rapport kan inspirera framtida arbete att fokusera på fördelar med fjärrstyrningstekniken med utgångspunkt i förarnas behov, och inte bara anpassa dagens arbete i hytten att ske på distans. Det är viktigt att märka på att arbete på distans och i hytten kommer erbjuda olika fördelar. Vi kommer antagligen se förare i skogen i många år framöver och det är troligt att framtidens operatörer inte är de som motiveras av arbete i skogen. Det innebär att en ny typ av användare kommer växa fram som kommer komplettera dagens förare snarare än att byta ut dem.

The use of autonomous agents is an ever-growing possibility in our day-to-day life and, in some cases, already a reality. One future use might be autonomous robots performing last mile deliveries, a service the company HUGO delivery is currently developing. The goal of developing their autonomous delivery robot HUGO is to reduce the emissions from deliveries in the last mile by replacing delivery trucks with emission free autonomous robots. However, this new way of receiving deliveries introduces new design challenges since most people have little to no prior experience of interacting with autonomous agents. The user interface is therefore of great importance in making the user understand and be able to interact comfortably with the autonomous agent, thus also a key aspect in reaching user adoption. This thesis work examines how an interface for an autonomous food delivery service, such as the HUGO delivery, could be designed by applying a Human-Centered Artificial intelligence and Activity Centered Design focus in the design process, resulting in a design proposal for a web app. The conclusion of the thesis includes identification of the six essential interactions present in an autonomous food delivery service, as well as how HCAI and which of its guidelines can be applied when designing an interface for the interaction with an autonomous delivery robot.

While there are powerful keyword search systems that index all kinds of resources including emails and web pages, people have trouble recalling semantic facts such as the name, location, edit dates and keywords that uniquely identifies resources in their personal repositories. Reusing information exasperates this problem. A rarely used approach is to leverage episodic memory of file provenance. Provenance is traditionally defined as "the history of ownership of a valued object". In terms of documents, we consider not only the ownership, but also the operations performed on the document, especially those that related it to other people, events, or resources. This thesis investigates the potential advantages of using provenance data in desktop search, and consists of two manuscripts. First, a numerical analysis using field data from a longitudinal study shows that provenance information can effectively be used to identify files and resources in realistic repositories. We introduce the Leyline, the first provenance-based search system that supports dynamic relations between files and resources such as copy/paste, save as, file rename. The Leyline allows users to search by drawing search queries as graphs in a sketchpad. The Leyline overlays provenance information that may help users identify targets or explore information flow. A limited controlled experiment showed that this approach is feasible in terms of time and effort. Second, we explore the design of the Leyline, compare it to previous provenance-based desktop search systems, including their underlying assumptions and focus, search coverage and flexibility, and features and limitations. / Graduation date: 2012

Cette recherche porte sur des questions relatives à la conception des interfaces humain-ordinateur. Elle s’inscrit dans le courant des recherches sur l’utilisabilité et elle s’intéresse particulièrement aux approches centrées sur l’utilisateur. Nous avons été très souvent témoin des difficultés éprouvées par les utilisateurs dans l’usage de certaines interfaces interactives et nous considérons que ces difficultés découlent d’un problème de design. Le design d’interface doit être basé sur les besoins de l’utilisateur dans le cadre de ses activités, dont les caractéristiques devaient être bien comprises et bien prises en considération pour mener à la conception d’interfaces qui respectent les critères d’utilisabilité. De plus, la communauté des chercheurs ainsi que l’industrie admettent maintenant que pour améliorer le design, il est crucial de développer les interfaces humain-ordinateur au sein d’une équipe multidisciplinaire. Malgré les avancées significatives dans le domaine du design centrées sur l’utilisateur, les visées annoncées sont rarement réalisées. La problématique étudiée nous a conduit à poser la question suivante : En tant que designer d’une équipe multidisciplinaire de conception, comment modifier la dynamique de collaboration et créer les conditions d’une conception véritablement centrée sur l’interaction humain-ordinateur ? Notre démarche de recherche a été guidée par l’hypothèse voulant que l’activité de design puisse être le moyen de faciliter la création d’un langage commun, des échanges constructifs entre les disciplines, et une réflexion commune centrée sur l’utilisateur. La formulation de cette hypothèse nous a mené à réfléchir sur le rôle du designer. Pour mener cette recherche, nous avons adopté une méthodologie mixte. Dans un premier temps, nous avons utilisé une approche de recherche par projet (recherche-projet) et notre fonction était celle de designer-chercheur. La recherche-projet est particulièrement appropriée pour les recherches en design. Elle privilégie les méthodes qualitatives et interprétatives ; elle étudie la situation dans sa complexité et de façon engagée. Nous avons effectué trois études de cas successives. L’objectif de la première étude était d’observer notre propre rôle et nos interactions avec les autres membres de l’équipe de projet pendant le processus de design. Dans la seconde étude, notre attention a été portée sur les interactions et la collaboration de l’équipe. Nous avons utilisé le processus de design comme méthode pour la construction d’un langage commun entre les intervenants, pour enrichir les réflexions et pour favoriser leur collaboration menant à redéfinir les objectifs du projet. Les limites de ces deux cas nous ont conduit à une intervention différente que nous avons mise en œuvre dans la troisième étude de cas. Cette intervention est constituée par la mise en place d’un atelier intensif de conception où les intervenants au projet se sont engagés à développer une attitude interdisciplinaire permettant la copratique réflexive pour atteindre les objectifs d’un projet de construction d’un site web complexe centré sur l’utilisateur. L’analyse et l’interprétation des données collectées de ces trois études de cas nous ont conduit à créer un modèle théorique de conception d’interface humain-ordinateur. Ce modèle qui informe et structure le processus de design impliquant une équipe multidisciplinaire a pour objectif d’améliorer l’approche centrée sur l’utilisateur. Dans le cadre de ce modèle, le designer endosse le rôle de médiateur en assurant l’efficacité de la collaboration de l’équipe. Dans un deuxième temps, afin de valider le modèle et éventuellement le perfectionner, nous avons utilisé une approche ethnographique comportant des entrevues avec trois experts dans le domaine. Les données des entrevues confirment la validité du modèle ainsi que son potentiel de transférabilité à d’autres contextes. L’application de ce modèle de conception permet d’obtenir des résultats plus performants, plus durables, et dans un délai plus court. / In complex design projects, problems typically arise when the design process is undertaken by multi-disciplinary groups of experts as well as non-experts because they do not share a common vision about the user’s needs, do not have identical goals related to the task, and do not have a common language to have productive dialogues as the design process progresses. This research addressed issues related to the human-centered design approach within the context of human-computer interfaces (HCI). It explored ways in which a designer can create conditions whereby various contributors involved in the design process can benefit from the potential that the multi-disciplinary context afford to enrich their personal knowledge and reflection and at the same time work efficiently and collaboratively to design an interface that is user centered. The research used a mixed methodology. In the first instance, a project-grounded research (research through design) was used in three successive case studies with increasing degrees of intervention and control by the researcher. Project-grounded research involves the development of knowledge and theory related to the design activity in an authentic design project. The focus of the first case was for the designer/researcher to observe her role and interaction with others during the design process. In the second case, the focus shifted to the collaborative interactions. The design process was used as a method to foster consensus building and the adoption of a common language to communicate and mutual goals to aim for. Limitations identified in these two cases led to the design of an intervention that was implemented in the third case. This intervention comprised an intensive workshop whereby team members engaged in an interdisciplinary attitude building exercise leading to joint-reflective practice toward achieving the goal which was to create a website. Data generated from these three cases informed the development of a theoretical model that represents steps of “optimal” collaborative design process, focusing on user-centeredness. In this model, the designer is attributed the additional and central role of mediator (designer as mediator) that facilitates the convergence of disparate foci and ways of thinking. In the second instance, the model was presented to three design experts individually for validation purposes. Interview data collected from this process affirmed the validity of the concepts and relations depicted in the model as well as its transferability potential to other complex contexts. The proposed model has the promise of structuring design activities to unfold in a more efficient and timely manner while being sustainable.