Refocusing Product Interaction Design from the Perspective on Users' Problem-Solving Knowledge

Technological aids provided by products and systems have reduced people’s problem-solving efforts in everyday practices. It is crucial for users to learn how to operate a system, and yet their acquisition of problem-solving knowledge of a task domain is largely disregarded in the current design process. Without enough problem-solving knowledge, users may not be able to creatively adjust their product use to meet their variable needs. Also, users’ experiences with a product can be confined to step-by-step operational procedures. Therefore, a product/system should be designed to support users’ development of problem-solving abilities through interaction. This research proposes a methodological framework which emphasizes the incorporation of users’ problem-solving knowledge into the design processes. Example products are selected to more effectively explain the difference between the proposed approach and existing approaches. By supporting users’ acquisition of problem-solving knowledge, product UI designs will be able to help users produce higher-quality results and higher-level of satisfaction through interaction.