<aside> đźš© An integrated concept is the task of combining several different potential Design Concepts into a single concept that ought to satisfy all Requirements, Personas, and SUCs.
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To better explore the “space” of possible designs, one ought to develop and study several different Design Concepts. However, it is intractable to pursue multiple designs through to prototyping and testing. Therefore, at some point in a design process, the various candidate concepts must be integrated into a single concept that embodies all the best features of the candidates.
Given a set of initial concepts to be integrated, follow this general process to integrate them together into one concept.
First, team members individually analyze their initial concepts.
For each initial concept, identify all the features that best satisfy the Persona and Situated Use Case for which the concept was developed. A feature may be a part, subassembly, system, or embodiment of a concept.
For each feature, make sure you can identify clearly the function it serves that is needed by the Persona, and why that feature is best for the Persona.
Once the features of each concept have been identified and described properly, the team works together to combine these features into a single cohesive whole that addresses all the Personas and all the SUCs.
It’s important that all team members agree to the inclusion of every feature. Since each team member is in charge of satisfying the needs of their Persona, then a team member may object to the inclusion of a feature if that feature does not satisfy the needs of their Persona.
Some features may be common to every initial concept; these can form the foundation of the integrated concept.
Sometimes, a specific feature will transfer without change from an initial concept to the integrated concept. This likely won’t happen often.
Sometimes, a specific feature will need some adjustment to accommodate multiple Personas. For instance, a fixed handle on a lawnmower may be perfect for some Personas, but potentially harmful ergonomically for others. While keeping the concept of the handle generally, making it adjustable will accommodate the other Personas too.
Sometimes, a specific feature will be necessary to satisfy some Personas, but will also be detrimental to other Personas, and no adjustment will be possible. In this case, you will have to work together to study the functions provided by those features, and look for ways to embody those functions in a way that will satisfy all the Personas. You may end up having to select an embodiment that is entirely different from any other; that’s just fine. The point is to find a way to satisfy the needs of the Personas.
Make sure you document each decision and why you made them.
Remember, the goal of integrating concepts together is to establish a concept that satisfies all requirements and user needs. If you haven’t done that, you’ve missed the point.