The human-centered design toolkit from IDEO (and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation) has been downloaded 8500 + times from their site here. Including my own personal download. What an incredible document, created from a wealth of experience in the field and determining the best practices for achieving successful outcomes when working with different cultures.
And the design – user-friendly and efficient at the same time. Genius! This is an excerpt from one of the tips from the field guide:
‘Putting yourself in someone’s shoes enables you to get beyond what people say to what they think and feel. Being in-context means gaining true empathy through being with people in their real settings and doing the things they normally do. This kind of deep immersion gives us Informed Intuition that we take back with us to design solutions. We begin to take on the perspective of the interview participant which enables us to make design decisions with their perspective in mind.’
See more of what the folks at IDEO are doing here.