Standards Development

Scope

This document provides a self-assessment of an organization’s human-centred design principles, processes, and activities throughout the life cycle of computer-based interactive systems, It also provides an overview of information given in the ISO 9241-200 series. It is intended to be used as an introduction and self-assessment guide to human-centred design (HCD). Its target audience are personnel responsible for and managing design processes, and it is concerned with ways in which both hardware and software components of interactive systems can enhance human–system interaction. It includes a self-assessment that allows organizations to understand and assess their level of awareness and practices with respect to the human-centred design approach and best practices for organizations and project teams within that organization.

This document does not provide detailed coverage of the methods and techniques required for humancentred design, nor does it address health or safety aspects in detail. Although it addresses the planning and management of human-centred design, it does not address all aspects of project management.

Detailed human factors/ergonomics, usability and accessibility issues are dealt with more fully in a number of standards including other parts of ISO 9241and ISO 6385, which sets out the broad principles of ergonomics.

Purpose

The purpose is to provide a simple self-assessment: information, not guidance, so users can discover and understand gaps in their knowledge and gain a basic benchmark regarding their human-centered design practice. Ideally, this will create an interest and desire, and be a gateway into the more detailed standards in the -200 series.

Many organizations, often low maturity organizations (with respect to HCD), don’t know where to start and/or claim it is too difficult to understand the published information on this topic, particularly international standards. For many topics, self-administered questionnaires or review of the practice within organizations provide a start toward change & entry to more detailed reviews or assessments.

The purpose is to provide an easy starting point and route to entry for low-maturity organizations than 9241-210, -220, and -221. To provide something accessible and concise; nothing that requires tailoring. To guide readers to the appropriate, more-detailed standards and to create a well-informed appetite for the remainder of the 9241- standards.

There is a 9241-210 standard that includes an evaluator-led assessment as an annex, a 9241-220 standard that is titled “Processes for enabling, executing and assessing human-centred design within organizations,” and 9241-221 is the process assessment model. This document is not intended to replace these; it is a self-assessment intended to attract readers to the other standards.

There are a number of ad hoc and informal self-assessments, typically in industry; this document is intended to formalize and regularize these various assessments.

This work is intended to (1) include an easily accessible self-assessment, (2) drive readers to the more detailed descriptions of best practice in ISO 9241-210 and (3) drive readers to more detailed assessments in ISO 9241-220 and ISO 9241-221.