Training Undergraduate Students in User-Centered Design

Computer software is typically developed according to software engineering methodologies. However, it has been noted that many software development projects fail to achieve their goals. Further it has been stated that some estimates of the failure rate to produce a software product is as high as 60 percent. Many of these problems can be attributed to poor communication between customers and system developers or between end-users and developers. However, many software development life cycles do not focus on understanding the business needs of an organization or how organizational issues may influence system development. As educators of the next generation of computing professionals it is our responsibility to train students in development methodologies where careful attention is paid to understanding the needs of stakeholders. The aim of this paper is to present a conceptual framework for training undergraduate students in user-centered design.