Narrowing the Implementation Gap : User-Centered Design of New E-Planning Tools

Abstract

Developing new digital tools to fit the needs of communicative urban and green area planning requires understanding of the various prospective user groups, the different contexts of use, the planning tasks, and the communicative activities at hand. However, it is not self-evident that user research can be applied in research and innovation projects with limited human and time resources. In this article, a user-centered design (UCD) approach is applied in the development of new collaborative 3D tools for urban and green area planning in a multidisciplinary research team in the GreenTwins project. This research shows how essential it is to select easy-to-learn user research methods, identify the knowledge needs for tool development, and ensure that user insight is transmitted to development. In the GreenTwins project, this was achieved by applying a simple UCD framework (PACT) and engaging the research and development team in the process. Despite the challenges, the results show that the methodology used was beneficial.