Abstract
A thorough and robust understanding of responsible and ethical practices in UX is essential to user experience designers. Ethical UX practices include authentic inclusion, vulnerability in participants, the inclusion of IRB-protected groups in research, tolerance for risk and motivation, truth in research, fair and respectful conduct, informed consent, cultural sensitivity, accessibility in UX processes, stigmatized populations, idiosyncratic populations, right to privacy, and an understanding of ADA-compliant accommodations by UX researchers and participants. This chapter will introduce these principles as well as demonstrate one possible application in an undergraduate design classroom.
TopEthics Overview
Ethics, or moral philosophy, is a branch of philosophy that involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong conduct. (“Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy: A Peer-Reviewed Academic Resource,” n.d.)
Key Terms in this Chapter
User Experience (UX): User experience (UX) focuses on having a deep understanding of users, what they need, what they value, their abilities, and also their limitations. It also takes into account the business goals and objectives of the group managing the project. UX best practices promote improving the quality of the user’s interaction with and perceptions of your product and any related services.
Design Education: Design education is the teaching of theory and application in the design of products, services and environments. It encompasses various disciplines of design, such as concept design, architecture, landscape architecture, graphic design, user interface design, web design, packaging design, industrial design, fashion design, information design, interior design, sustainable design, transgenerational design, and universal design. The values and attitudes which underlie modern design schools differ among the different design schools.
Ethical Research: Norms, codes, policies that distinguish between acceptable and unacceptable behavior when conducting a research. The following is a rough and general summary of some ethical principles that various codes address: Honesty, Objectivity, Integrity, Carefulness, Openness, Respect for Intellectual Property, Confidentiality, Responsible Publication, Responsible Mentoring, Respect for colleagues, Social Responsibility, Non-Discrimination, Competence, Legality, Animal Care, Human Subjects Protection, among others.
Ethical UX: Involve several principles (strongly related to ethical research principles) to encourage a correct conduction of UX methodologies.
Inclusive design: Inclusive design is a methodology, born out of digital environments, that enables and draws on the full range of human diversity. Most importantly, this means including and learning from people with a range of perspectives.
Ethics: At its simplest, ethics is a system of moral principles. They affect how people make decisions and lead their lives. Ethics is concerned with what is good for individuals and society and is also described as moral philosophy. The term is derived from the Greek word ethos which can mean custom, habit, character or disposition.