title of the workshopHuman-centered evaluation strategies for concepts and preliminary design variants names of the organizersSandra Hirsch, TU MünchenGavin Melles, University of SwinburneChristian Wölfel, TU DresdenStella Boess, TU Delft description of the objectives, content and topicHuman-centred designers in product development are increasingly adopting not only traditional quantitative but also qualitative research methods for product usage and product experience evaluation. One issue that has been discussed for a long time in engineering design, usability engineering and other design-related disciplines is the evaluation of preliminary design variants. While final evaluations are often conducted late in the process and with little opportunity to influence design decisions, interim evaluation is less common as yet. There are numerous methods for evaluating quantifiable phenomena such as estimated production costs etc. However, methods are also needed for the evaluation of usage and user experience during the product development process. In order to be relevant to designing, such methods need to be efficient and at the same time provide in-depth insight into design relevant criteria such as product experience and other aspects of product contact and use. The methods need to be human-centred and also provide teams with a new mindset relating to their usefulness, in order to enable product developers to integrate them in their development process.

Human-centred design research methods such as cultural probes, contextmapping, experience prototyping and similar relatively recent methods are interesting in this respect, because they focus on gaining insights, inspiration and getting in conversation with potential users. But how can the qualitative insights thereafter be systematically integrated into the decision-making process - bearing in mind that human needs are only one of several aspects manufacturers have to face?

Not only in industry, but also in the academic field, where practice-based design research and design-inclusive research is constantly growing, there is increasing demand for the deployment of reliable qualitative and mixed-methods evaluation strategies for the assessment of concepts and preliminary design variants.

Within the workshop - based on some product prompts - we wish to examine evaluation approaches that incorporate a human-centered approach while not excluding quantifiable measures. In discussion with the participants we aim to develop some general principles for systematic qualitative assessment that is

appropriately rigorous and relevant for the problems and context of user experience and usage research in product development. description of the format (lecture, exercise, presentations, discussion, etc) The workshop consists of short introductory presentations, a short hands-on group work session with a sample case, and a longer structured discussion in which the participants are invited to contribute and share their experiences and develop some shared criteria for useful approaches and their integration into product development processes. required facilitiesprojector, studio space, flip-over sheets, moderation case duration (half day or full day)half day maximum number of participants20 whether and how you wish to select participants (e.g., registration open to all, on the basis of a position paper)Registration open to all but participants should either bring knowledge about decision-making in product development processes or be experienced in working with methods for evaluation. Proposals for 5-minute introductory presentations with examples and experience reports are appreciated but not a precondition for participation.