Smart and connected systems for the non-typical user: design methodology to observe the outliers

Abstract

We are aware already that the world is facing a milestone. The transitions to the millennium’s second decade are forcing transformative agents to embrace new perspectives. Spotting that design is a powerful change agent, design practitioners search for different-novel approaches to learn from humankind’s missteps. Some of those “mistakes” are systematically ignored or discriminated against, affecting a large world’s population sectors. A visible consequence is a technological gap in people with disabilities, the elderly population, and indigenous communities. An observation on the potential non-typical smart products and service systems’ users promotes evolution in design processes during this research. This potential might reduce the technological gap for some users’ types, often considered as an outlier.