Activity-centered design

From Designing for interaction:

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Activities can be loosely defined as a cluster of actions and decisions that are done for a purpose. …

Activity-centered design allows designers to tightly focus on the work at hand and create support for the activity itself, instead of for more distant goals. …

Like user-centered design, activity-centered design relies on research as the basis for its insights, albeit differently. Designers observe and interview users for insights about their behavior more than about their goals and motivations. …

Ultimately, activity-centered design allows designers to focus narrowly on the tasks at hand and design products and tools that support those tasks. … The activity, not necessarily the people doing the activity, guides the design.