User-Centered Design

User-centered design is about anticipating user needs and controlling the process so those needs are met.

While user-centered design discards the high modern assumption that the designer always knows best, it retains the idea that the designer should maintain control. In this paradigm, design is about gaining knowledge from the user, identifying desirable outcomes, and controlling as much of the process as possible to achieve those outcomes. ‘Design’ remains synonymous with maximizing control.

Kasey Klimes, "When to Design for Emergence"

Further Reading

• "When to Design for Emergence" by Kasey Klimes