Whole human design : designing for Humans, not Users
Name
1126788226-MIT.pdf
Size
13.04 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
8cd6bd52b24aae8ebd0e3ac4c7d50f6e
Author(s)
Klein, Alex C.(Alex Charles)
Advisor(s)
Maria Yang.
Date Issued
2018
Publisher
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Abstract
In the past ten years, the Human-Centered Design methodology has exploded--permeating our organizational and academic worlds and becoming one of the most sought-after skills. The user-first mantra has become widely accepted and internalized. Develop empathy! Find users in their natural habitat! Design for their needs, not yours! Despite its vast popularity, I believe there is a great flaw and irony in the way we practice Human-Centered Design today: without the human. Though a human perceives his/her life as a dynamic whole (Gestalt Theory), we reduce him/her to a 'user', a shard of his/her full Self. This thesis explores the foundations of a new methodology, Whole Human Design[superscript TM], that seeks to re-unify the human and equip us to design for users in the context of their whole humanness. To that end, this thesis first seeks a usable definition of the Human and our human needs, by exploring a wide range of philosophical and psychological perspectives-from material/atomistic definitions (like those found in Behaviorism) to Phenomenology-inspired definitions (Existentialism, Humanistic Psychology, Positive Psychology) to Religious perspectives. From there, based on an ethnographic research with 50 individuals, this thesis introduces a design framework, the Periodic Table of Human Elements[superscript TM], a tool to connect functional and latent needs of a user to his/her deeper human roots. Finally, in order to illustrate how this methodology can be practiced, this thesis presents a case study of how Whole Human Design was used to solve a $300B real-world problem, medication adherence.
Description
Thesis: S.M. in Engineering and Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design and Management Program, 2018
Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 134-136).
Subjects
Engineering and Management Program.
System Design and Management Program.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Engineering and Management Program
Terms of Use
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