Human-Centred+Design+Case+Study+of+Cellphones+in+Developing+Countries

** Human Centered Design Case study of Cell phones in Developing Countries **

Jan Chipcase, a human-behavior researcher and a user anthropologist, has worked for Nokia for the last seven years. Is research in human behavior has helped Nokia company designers manufacture and create phone that suits lifestyles of people in developing countries that may buy their phones in the future. Jan Chipcase does this through observation and interacting with the locals. He looks at how people use their cell phones, maintain and interact with it. He gathers all this information and sends it back to Nokia for its designers to improve the phone to their needs.

Nokia has understood that the best strategy for selling phones is to know the people that will use them. This kind of intelligence gathering is the Nokia’s strategy of trying to figure out how to write software, to build cell phones that people find useful and will spend money on.

Jan Chipcase accepts that challenges are plentiful. It is not easy coming up with a design when you know the potential customers live in mud huts or tint roof houses and have a very low income and no electricity. The cell phone could mean business opportunities as well for the locals. Jan Chipcase believes that this is like a grass-root project where people find ways to incorporate the cell phones to improve their businesses.