User-Centered Design in Digital Twins : Insights Based on Industrial Designers’ Activities

Abstract: Digital twin is an emerging technology that enhances digital transformation across many industries and domains. Most digital twins are made for a work context, and end users are the domain experts who carry knowledge in the work processes and products of which digital twin is part. The research gap for the present study is found in the missing adoption of a user-centered design approach and systematic evaluation of digital twins from the perspective of end users. User-Centered Design is a well-known design philosophy that engages users in the design process. By involving users, designers can better understand users and create situations where users can introduce their knowledge, needs and concerns into the products and systems. Emerging research questions for this study are: RQ1: What insights could be obtained with user-centered design and user involvement for the design of digital twin? RQ2: What limitations could user-centered design and user involvement incorporate in the design process of digital twins? This study will use both previous studies and empirical data from a scenario-based approach, workshops, observation, and interviews. Further, it will explore a theoretical framework combining User-Centered Design and Activity theory. This study aims to investigate what knowledge we can gain with users in focus and how that might help to fill the knowledge gap of previous research about user-centered involvement.