User-centered design (UCD) is an approach to design that grounds the process in information about the people who will use the product. UCD processes focus on users through the planning, design and development of a product. Establishing a User Profile is certainly a key element in user-centered design. For many products, such as an automobile, a radio, or a toaster, the user group can be so large as to be unmanageable and so generic as to offer little guidance in the design of the product. Task Analysis is a process that describes what the user does with the product and why, in a step-by-step sequence from beginning to end. The use of Scenarios is an incredibly powerful tool in user-centered design. This "storytelling" technique characterizes typical users accomplishing tasks with preliminary design concepts. Scenarios seem to be best communicated by storyboards, although performances are becoming popular. The scenario focuses the designer on the people, place, and process of the design. There are many simple projects that can engage students in discovering the value of user-centered design. A favorite is to form teams of students who compare two similar products by having users operate them while the students watch. For instance, a group could have users of a certain age and gender peel two potatoes using a different peeler for each. The team should record the times for each peeler and create and award a "quality of peel" ranking for each peeler. As the team observes, they should look for problems that may be design-based, such as a peeler that easily slips out of the user's hand when wet. The students should then interview each user about his/her preferences and dislikes of the peelers. Finally, they should compile their observations and data and present them to the class. Further, they might even be able to identify new features that could be added to the tested peelers to make them better.