f this activity includes an evaluation activity based on a client-driven set of indicators.
The 3H methodology favours multi-disciplinary teams; it is not restricted to a particular type of user. However, 3H has been developed by Citilab and has been tested in their citizen engagement activity. This in-house methodology has been adapted to the iCity project in order to engage its stakeholders, and to foster the co-creation of services in the public interest.
The methodology has proven effective in the following case study:
3. LUPI (Cité du design)
The LUPI (Innovative Use and Practices Laboratory) is a user-centred co-creation tool conceived in the Cité du design. Inspired by research methods from the Cité du design research department, the LUPI’s added value is its flexibility (it has been applied in the private as well as local government sector) as well as its short duration (three to six months), which is in line with the temporality of small and medium-sized enterprises. A LUPI project always consists of three phases:
- Framing the issue (1 day): Partners share their issues and clarify them collectively. Throughout the day, with the help of designers and the project coordinator, these ideas are refined and a particular investigation track is chosen. When the issue is clarified, a typology of users is also defined in order to prepare the next phase of the LUPI project.
- On-site observations (3 ½ days): The second phase is more immersive. LUPI partners are trained by the designers to capture and synthetize "hidden insights" during user interviews.
- Sharing (1 day): LUPI partners present the collected insights from the on-site observations and interviews. After the presentations, an ideation phase enables the new ideas to be mapped with the help of the designers. Particular attention is givento concepts with strong strategic elements that may lead to sustainable business models.
The most significant concepts generated from the last LUPI step are rendered in the form of a scenario title associated with a presentation pitch, which is illustrated by visual elements (e.g. sketches, videos, animations) (Figure 2). The storytelling medium is therefore the form of the final LUPI deliverable, which includes hypotheses assembled in a portfolio created by the designers (as a resource).
Figure 2. A visual element from a LUPI presentation pitch
The methodology has proven effective in the following case studies:
4. HUMBLES (DfA Foundation)
HUMBLES was created by Francesc Aragall, President of the Design for All Foundation, who published the methodology in a book together with Jordi Montana from the ESADE Business Shool's Faculty of Business Administration in Barcelona, Spain (Aragall & Montana, 2012). The name of this human-centred methodology is derived from its seven iterative steps:
- Highlight Design for All opportunities
- User identification
- Monitor interaction
- Breakthrough options
- Lay out solutions
- Efficient communication
- Success evaluation
HUMBLES is adapted to the following typology of users: CEO, CFO, human resources, marketing, R&D, employees, customers, and consumers. Therefore, it is strongly adapted to the world of small and medium-sized enterprises. For gathering end-user insight, HUMBLES is quite effective on a quantitative level, because it is mainly based on surveys. On the downside, this method of collecting user insights limits the potential for qualitative insights.
The HUMBLES method is mainly focused on shaping the companies' strategies by human diversity and users expectations. The concrete tools to research the end users and to involve them in the design process vary for each business sector and company strategy. The methodology is particularly useful for changing companies' perception of the value of users as knowledge source.
The methodology has proven effective in the following case studies:
Testing Methodologies in Real-Life Environments
With the aim of testing these methodologies and finding how they may be best suited to different contexts, experiments were carried out in the Rhône-Alpes r