Design methodologies for non-typical users: conceptualisation strategy for adaptive and inclusive products and services systems

Abstract

The emerging possibilities arising from the millennium's second-decade transitions force designers to embrace new perspectives. All users are different in capabilities and how we perceive and relate to the world around us. When using a product, people communicate their needs, behave in a product-user communication cycle, demanding something from the object, and expecting the outcome to meet their expectations; as different users interact with products, some possibilities to improve its features can be observed. The Smart, Sensing and Sustainable Systems paradigm, known as the “S^3" concept, aims to promote the evolution of companies and academic environments through shared and adaptable knowledge; this innovation follows new integrated Products and Service Systems (PSS). For an inclusive approach, it is needed to understand not only the most common interactions with S^3PSS but also those coming from Non-typical Users, i.e., people with disabilities, indigenous communities, older adults, etc. Considering their necessities may facilitate the design process of the new generation of digital PSS design to include everyone, everywhere, following a social perspective. This research proposes a design methodology to consider the non-typical human input analysis, along with the knowledge-sharing model's exploration as academic collaboration platforms, as a contribution for design education and design practice in the search for novel approaches for the emerging challenges during the digital transformation in the years to come.