It's in your hands

We harness digital and technology and high-tech for the good of the user and people and humanity

At the UED Research Institute for User Empowerment we research, develop and teach the tech industry how to create technology that positively impacts the lives of its users

See it in action The method Meet us

What is User Empowerment?

A whole generation demands empowerment!

Behind the success of every well-known digital product – Google, Facebook, Instagram, Wolt, Waze, WhatsApp and more – stand experts in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI).

These experts know how to build products that are easy to use (generation 1.0) and even delightful (generation 2.0) – the two basic levels of needs we have as users.

In recent years a new demand has emerged: that digital products improve our lives. Not just hooking us like junk tech, not only thinking about our experience inside the product, but deeply understanding how technology can affect our lives beyond it — and answering that.

This is generation 3.0 of Human-Computer Interaction. As early as 1990, Prof. Ben Shneiderman called this need User Empowerment.

Users' needs from technology

1980

Nielsen and Shneiderman develop usability engineering, which enables a person to succeed in working with technology.

1998

Norman develops user experience, which lets a person have an experience while using technology.

2017

We, at the UED research institute, develop user-empowering design, which enables a person to be empowered by using technology.

Users' needs from technology

1980 · Functionality

Nielsen and Shneiderman develop usability engineering, which enables a person to succeed in working with technology.

1998 · Experience

Norman develops user experience, which lets a person have an experience while using technology.

2017 · Empowerment

We, at the UED research institute, develop user-empowering design, which enables a person to be empowered by using technology.

Big Tech is already talking empowerment

Amazon

We empower Nonprofits and Small Businesses

Microsoft

Our mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more

Canva

Our mission is to empower everyone in the world to design anything and publish anywhere.

Facebook

Give people the power to build community and bring the world closer together

Google

Empower users to feel in control of app use

Real-world examples

So what does it actually look like?

Iron Dome for Attention

The problem

As parents we want to be with our kids, read them a bedtime story, be present and listen. In reality we are half with the kids and half listening for smartphone notifications; maybe someone needs us, the boss, that important group. We won't switch to "Do not disturb" because we're afraid of missing something important.

The solution

Here is a design solution by the institute that applies user-empowerment principles: Iron Dome for Attention. The parent switches the device to Iron Dome mode, and from then on the technology screens callers and senders, asking whether it is worth interrupting the parent's family time. Only if they confirm it is important does the device interrupt — so the parent can sit with the child calmly and fully attentive.

The Ones Who Matter Most

The problem

We know how it goes: the noisiest groups sit at the top of our chat feed, with new and urgent messages all the time. And who gets pushed to the bottom? The people who matter most — grandpa, a brother, a close friend. Those who don't demand our attention but matter. The urgent crowds out the important.

The solution

Here is a design solution by the institute that applies user-empowerment principles: The Ones Who Matter. A fixed bar pinned at the top of the chat feed lets you choose the people who matter most in your life. Not AI, not an algorithm — only you decide. After a while, the important people return to the center of your life.

Dreams Do Come True

The problem

Everyone knows saving is hard. Giving up a restaurant treat now, or new shoes the kid wants because everyone has them, is especially hard. Living in the present is easier, because who knows what tomorrow brings. Saving for the future at the expense of the present is an oxymoron for most of us.

The solution

Here is a design solution by the institute that applies user-empowerment principles: Showing the future in the present. Inside a household budgeting app, we propose a component that instantly shows the future result of saving now. Skip the extra dish at the restaurant and the planned summer vacation gets better; postpone the third pair of shoes this season and the bat mitzvah party gets nicer.

Digital Belongs to Seniors Too

The problem

Meet Grandpa David, who — let's put it gently — wasn't born with a smartphone in hand. One day it was decided that all communication with the younger generation would go through digital channels. And he feels a bit out of the loop: the language, the abbreviations, the emojis, the special signs. And the communication fades…

The solution

Here is a design solution by the institute that applies user-empowerment principles: A multi-generational dictionary. With it, grandpa can understand his grandchild's digital language easily and without embarrassment. One tap on an unclear abbreviation, a confusing emoji or a special sign — and a simple, clear explanation with live examples appears. Grandpa David is back, and now he understands his grandchildren.

More interesting examples

What is the UED method?

UED – User Empowering Design – is a design and specification method offering an orderly methodology and practical tools for applying user empowerment in digital products.

The method takes the user's life into account on all its layers — personal, family, professional, social and more — and weighs them into the product specification process.

It is based on broad research from positive psychology, behavioral economics, persuasive technology, design ethics, coaching and empowerment, refined for the digital world, and integrates with established methods such as User Centered Design and Design Thinking.

The central path, the intervention range, human-potential mapping and the 8 models are some of the rules and principles in the method.

Illustration: a person and a phone, surrounded by self, family, work and society

Who are we?

The UED Institute for User Empowerment is an independent academic research institute whose goal is to research, develop, apply, spread and teach the UED method — a method for specifying digital products that answers users' need for empowerment through technology.

The institute was founded in 2017 by Dr. David Galula, who has researched user empowerment since 2009, joined by researchers and experts such as Dr. Hadar Ronen, Yishai Cohen, Dr. Ofer Muner, Dr. Adi Katz, Ravit Bar-Nur, Eyal Weissbin and more.