User-Centered Design: Know the Player

Duration: 60 minutes

Grade Levels: 4th-12th grade


This lesson was developed for The 2027 Tech Challenge: Game On!

The first step in user-centered design is understanding the user. This guide provides resources and tips for helping students conduct user interviews and observations. Students will then summarize their findings into design requirements.
Resources

Interview Script Handout

Player Bio Handout

 

Concepts/Skills: User-centered design, empathy, engineering, prototyping, testing

Objectives:

  • Use empathy to explore the wants and needs of a specific user
  • Summarize what they learn from their user into a player bio
  • Define additional criteria, constraints, and design requirements based on their use

Background Information

This resource is part of an activity sequence designed to help you support a team of students through the key phases of a user-centered design process.

For simplicity, the examples given in the guide are based around the idea of designing a game. However, these resources can be used to design everything from a chair, a toy, an airplane, or a playground. 

See the end of this resource for more activities within this sequence.

User-Centered Design 

Designers and engineers often use empathy, the ability to understand a user’s perspective, in order to make successful products. This is called user-centered or human-centered design. 

For example, game designers might interview and observe real people playing their game. Their goal is to understand how a player wants to, needs to, and will use their game. Once they have this information they can use it to help decide on features, themes, or even the mechanics of their game.

Materials 

Preparation

  1. Have learners get into their Tech Challenge teams. If the class is not preparing for the Tech Challenge, have them get into teams of two to six.
  2. Make sure students have selected a user or group of users before doing the activities in this guide! See the tips provided at the end of this section for more guidance on how to do this.
  3. Help the team set a time to meet the user for an interview and observation session. This can be done in-person, virtually, or as part of a homework assignment.
  4. Print one Interview Script Handout per student.
  5. Print at least one Player Bio Handout per team to complete together.

Tips for selecting a user

Begin by having a team brainstorm who they might be able to interview or observe. Depending on where the students are doing the project, you may need to help them coordinate the logistics of finding and scheduling the time with their user.

The most important rule for choosing a target user is availability.

  • Interviews can be done virtually or in person.
  • However, observations and testing of prototypes should be done in person.

A great user also has clear preferences and is willing to give honest feedback.

For teams participating in The 2027 Tech Challenge, see the FAQ for more guidance.

  Supporting multiple teams

In a classroom or afterschool program where you are supporting multiple teams of students, consider when and how you might match students with users: 

  • During class: Pair teams up to interview their classmates. 
  • Homework: Have teams conduct interviews individually or in small groups outside of class time and bring their completed handouts to class. 
  • Special Guest: Coordinate one or more special guest speakers for the entire class to interview. 

Tip: User and team pairings do not need to be exact. 

  • Team members can all interview different users, create separate Player Bios and then share and select one user to design for.  
  • Similarly, multiple teams can interview the same user, but build very different designs for them.

Outline

Interview Preparation
15 min
Conducting the Interview
30 min 
Player Bio and Requirements
15 min

Note: The activities in this guide do not need to be conducted during one continuous session. 

Lesson Directions

Interview Preparation (15 min) 

The goal for this activity is for each team to work together to develop an interview plan before they meet with their user. Encourage students to take the lead on organizing the logistics as well as writing the script and questions they will ask.

  1. Have students begin this planning by considering:
    • What do we want to learn about our user?
  2. Next, distribute the Interview Script Handout. On the handout, in a notebook, or their Team Journal, have students record the following information:
    • How much time will you have?
    • How many team members should ask the questions? Are there any reasons that the user might find it hard to talk if your whole team is there?
    • Define interview roles:
      • The Host(s): Who will ask the questions?
      • The Note-Taker(s): Who is writing down the answers? And did your user give permission to record video or sound?
      • The Timekeeper: Who will keep track of time?
  3. To prepare for the interview and observation, the team will need to:
    • Write a quick 2-3 sentence introduction to explain what they are doing and what they hope to learn.
    • Review the suggested questions and choose which ones they will ask.
    • Brainstorm and write down all the open-ended questions they want to ask.
    • Review the suggested interview activities and choose which ones they will do together or ask the player to do.
    • Brainstorm and write down all the other activities they want to do.
  4. Students should practice interviewing each other before meeting their user. If the team has time, you can even provide feedback to them during these practice interviews.
  5. Optional: the team may want to share their completed Interview Form with the user before the interview and observation so the user knows what to expect.
Tip: Interview and Observation Activities

Drawing Activity: Some users may find it difficult to answer interview questions and explain their thinking verbally. As an alternative or extension activity, have the students share their pens and papers with their user so everybody can sketch games and ideas together.

Playing Together: Students may want to invite the player to bring some of their favorite games to share and play with the team. They can observe their player and take notes on likes, dislikes, things that are easy, and things that are hard – all while having fun!

Conducting the Interview (20 min)
  1. Make sure students have everything they need to conduct the interview. This includes:
    • Copies of the Interview Script Handout for each team member. 
    • Audio visual tools if they have decided to record video or sound. 
    • Any additional resources they need for observations or activities. 
  2. During the interview, students should divide their roles as agreed:
    • The Host(s) holds an Interview Script Handout to read the introduction, questions, and activity prompts.
    • The Note-Taker(s) holds another copy of the Interview Script Handout and writes the user's answers directly into the spaces while the Host is talking.
Tip: Setting Ground Rules

Before meeting with the user, remind students that effective engineers treat users with respect and empathy.

Here are some best practices they can keep in mind: 

Be curious instead of critical.

  • Your player is not you, so they might like and dislike different things.
    • If they give an unexpected answer, don’t laugh or say “ew!”
  • Great engineers know that surprises can lead to creative designs.
    • Instead of judging, say: “Wow, I never thought of that. Tell me more!”

Give your player the time they need to think and speak.

  • Try counting to 5 in your head before you respond or ask a question.
  • Give them your full attention and listen to what they have to say!
Player Bio (20 min) 

The next step in the process is for each team to synthesize what they learned from their interview and observation and make decisions about how that will affect their design. Depending on the logistics of the interview, this may happen right away or as long as a week later.

  1. Give each team one Player Bio Handout to complete about their user. This card is designed to help them combine all their notes into one summary about their user.
  2. If team members took separate notes, have them take turns sharing what they heard or noticed. 
    • For example, each team member can share one thing they heard the player say that they liked and write or draw all of those examples on their Bio. 
    • Note: If they prefer, teams can use a similar process to capture notes in their notebook or Team Journal. No matter what format they use, the goal is that the team has a clear summary of their user, their interests and needs.
    • See a sample completed Player Bio below. 
  3. Next, each team should Specify the Requirements for their design.
    • They will write down the criteria and constraints for their design, based on their notes and Player Bio.
    • For example, if they are designing a game, they can record the special requirements for their game in this format: “Because our player…, Our game must…” 
    • See more examples of this below. 
  4. Teams participating in The Tech Challenge should make sure that they capture these notes and ideas in their Team Journal. 
  5. Encourage them to debrief and reflect on the process as well. Possible Debrief Questions include: 
    • What did you learn about the process of user-centered design so far? 
    • What did you learn about your user that surprised you and helped you understand their perspective better?

Sample Completed Player Bio

Sample Completed Requirements 

Remind Advanced Engineers that they can add as many requirements as you need! The more specific the physical requirements are, the easier it will be to build the prototype.

Next Steps in User-Centered Design

Use these activities to continue the user-centered design process.

Imagine

Use some of these strategies to brainstorm and research the possibilities for a design.

Create

Engineering comes in lots of forms. For the 2027 Tech Challenge, use these resources to prototype specific mechanisms.

Test or playtest

When the team has a prototype they want to get feedback on, it is time to reach out to the user again for playtesting.

Share

Whether it’s a formal showcase or an interview, there are lots of ways to share designs.

Standards Connections

Next Generation Science Standards
Grade Performance Expectation Description
4 PS3-4

Apply scientific ideas to design, test, and refine a device that converts energy from one form to another.
 

5

 ETS1-2

Generate and compare multiple possible solutions to a problem based on how well each is likely to meet the criteria and constraints of the problem.
MS ETS1-2 Evaluate competing design solutions using a systematic process to determine how well they meet the criteria and constraints of the problem.
MS ETS1-3 Analyze data from tests to determine similarities and differences among several design solutions to identify the best characteristics of each that can be
combined into a new solution to better meet the criteria for success
HS PS3-3
Design, build, and refine a device that works within given constraints to convert one form of energy into another form of energy
Science and Engineering Practices

Asking Questions and Defining Problems

Planning and Carrying Out Investigations
Cross Cutting Concepts

Patterns

Cause and Effect

 

 

Common Core State Standards: English Language Arts
Grade Anchor Standard Description
4 - 12 CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.SL.1

Prepare for and participate effectively in a range of conversations and collaborations with diverse partners, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.
 

4 - 12

 CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.SL.2

Integrate and evaluate information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually, quantitatively, and orally.
4 - 12 CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.SL.3 Evaluate a speaker's point of view, reasoning, and use of evidence and rhetoric.
4 - 12 CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.7 Integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse media and formats, including visually and quantitatively, as well as in words.
4 - 12 CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.W.7
Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects based on focused questions, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation.

Vocabulary 

Term Definition
Criteria

The requirements for success.
Empathy The ability to understand and share the feelings of another person.
Game A fun, hands-on activity that has a clear objective, a way to score or succeed, and gives the player feedback on how they are doing. For The 2027 Tech Challenge, a game must be a portable, physical device that uses mechanical motion.
Iteration The different versions of the device you build as it changes due to the Design Process.
Needfinding The part at the beginning of the user-centered design process when you discover what your user actually needs. You do needfinding by practicing empathy, asking great questions in a user interview, and using careful observation.
Observation

Watching a user carefully to see how they interact with things, instead of just listening to what they say out loud. Good observation means noticing behaviors—like if they struggle to reach something, use one hand more than the other, or look confused—so you can design something that fits them perfectly.
Player bio (or user bio)

A summary of the most important information about your player that you can use to make design decisions.
Specifications
 Detailed descriptions of design criteria for a piece of work.
User (or Target User / Player) The specific person, or group of people, you are designing your game for. In a user-centered design challenge, you cannot build a successful game by just making what you want or guessing what your user wants. You must interview your user to learn about their needs, and playtest with them to gain their feedback on your design. What you learn from them becomes the requirements and improvements your game must have to be successful.
User-Centered Design
 An approach to the design process that puts human needs, capabilities, and behavior first. Designers aim to develop empathy for their users and utilize techniques like interviews and observations. (Also known as human-centered design)
User interview A special conversation where your team learns from a user before brainstorming ideas or prototyping solutions. Instead of guessing, you ask your user questions to discover their wants, needs, likes, and dislikes.

The Tech Challenge

This guide was created to prepare students for Tech Challenge 2027: Game On! Team advisers can use this resource to:

  • Introduce their team to interview and observation tools they can use with the player they are designing a game for.
  • Familiarize students with best practices for user-centered design.

Get started on this year’s Tech Challenge.

Learn More