Teaching User-Centered Design in New Product Marketing

Abstract

Thanks in part to groundbreaking work by companies such as Apple and IDEO, there has been growing interest in design as a way to improve the odds of new product success. This paper describes a user-centered design workshop developed for a new product marketing course. The workshop included exercises designed to explain and illustrate the conceptualizing tools used in user-centered design. These tools, borrowed from the field of architectural design, include mind maps, flowcharts, "day in the life" exercises, and design charrettes. Key takeaways from this workshop were leveraged throughout the rest of the term.