Ethics in Human-Centered Design

In recent years, ethical considerations have become a primary concern across all fields of research. Human-Centered Design (HCD) is no exception. When the subjects of an experiment are human beings, rigid ethical consideration is required. User researchers must be careful about HCD-specific research ethics regardless of whether their work is carried out in laboratories or in industry. In view of this, the Human-Centered Design Organization (HCD-net) organized a particular working group (WG) to discuss the matter in early 2020. The group discusses three ethical concerns: (1) What ethical guidelines are necessary for specialists studying any HCD-related issues? (2) What ethical guidelines are necessary for HCD researchers conducting user research or user tests? (3) Should the HCD professionals have an ethical policy on their services or products? As a starting point for their discussion, the WG conducted a questionnaire asking about several ethical problems. This paper contains a summary of the comprehensive debate conducted in the WG and the results of the questionnaire, suggesting focal points for the WG to address in determining ethical guidelines for HCD activities.