What techniques can you use to develop inclusive product concepts?

1 Use empathy tools

Empathy tools are methods that help you understand and empathize with your users, especially those who have different backgrounds, abilities, or contexts than you. For example, you can use personas, scenarios, empathy maps, or journey maps to create realistic and detailed profiles of your users, their goals, their pain points, and their emotions. You can also use tools like interviews, surveys, observations, or role-playing to collect insights and feedback from your users or potential users. Empathy tools can help you identify unmet needs, opportunities, and challenges that your product can address.

2 Use co-creation methods

Co-creation methods are approaches that involve your users or other stakeholders in the design process, either as collaborators or as contributors. For example, you can use workshops, focus groups, brainstorming sessions, or prototyping activities to invite your users or other stakeholders to share their ideas, opinions, or solutions for your product. You can also use platforms, tools, or communities to enable your users or other stakeholders to submit, vote, or comment on product concepts. Co-creation methods can help you leverage the diversity, creativity, and expertise of your users or other stakeholders, and increase their engagement and satisfaction with your product.

3 Use inclusive design principles

Inclusive design principles are guidelines that help you design products that are accessible, adaptable, and respectful of your users' diversity and dignity. For example, you can provide multiple ways of interaction, presentation, and feedback to accommodate different preferences and abilities; design for the extremes, not the average; involve users with diverse perspectives and experiences throughout the design process; and communicate clearly and respectfully using simple, consistent, and inclusive language, symbols, and visuals. By following these principles, you can create products that are more usable, enjoyable, and beneficial for your users and society.

4 Use experimentation and iteration

Experimentation and iteration are processes that help you test and improve your product concepts based on feedback and data. For example, you can use methods like prototyping, testing, or analytics to create low-fidelity or high-fidelity versions of your product concepts, and evaluate them with your users or other stakeholders. You can also use methods like A/B testing, user testing, or surveys to compare different versions of your product concepts, and measure their performance, usability, or desirability. Experimentation and iteration can help you validate, refine, or pivot your product concepts, and ensure that they are inclusive and innovative.