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Timo Jokela

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Jonathan Earthy

Western Norway University of Applied Science

Brian Sherwood Jones

University of Oulu

Angela Lima Peres

Thomas Vöhringer-Kuhnt

KTH Royal Institute of Technology

Luiz Fernando Capretz

Western University Canada

Christiane Gresse von Wangenheim

Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina - UFSC (Federal University of Santa Catarina)

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Papers by Timo Jokela

DevelopingA Usability Capability AssessmentApproach throughExperiments in IndustrialSettings

Usability capability assessmentsare carried out to analysethe capability of a development organis... more Usability capability assessmentsare carried out to analysethe capability of a development organisation in performing user-centred design (UCD). We carried out four experimental usability capability assessments to learn how to perform assessments effectively in industrial settings.Our starting point was traditiona l software processassessmentbased on ISO 15504 (‘SPICE’ ). The recent ISO/TR 18529 was used as the process reference modelof UCD. Our experimentsshowedthat the focusof ISO 15504 process assessments — managementof activit ies— did not exactly meetthe needs of assessmentsin our context. These experiencesled us to a modified assessment approach where the focusis in performance of UCD. Its main characteristics are:

Miten varmistaa käytettävyys terveydenhuollon tietojärjestelmien hankinnoissa? Vaihtoehdot ja niiden haasteet

The usability problems of health care systems are a widely recognized problem. One key reason to ... more The usability problems of health care systems are a widely recognized problem. One key reason to the usability problems is the fact that the customers and developers of the system represent different organizations. This makes the situation more challenging that it is in product development. There are two basic alternatives for ensuring usability: (1) the developers take the responsibility about usability, or (2) the customer takes the responsibility (which is the current practice). The existing system development tradition indicates that the alternative (1) is not realistic. Alternative (2) is more realistic, but customers need new usability thinking, skills and practices. Terveydenhuollon tietojärjestelmien käytettävyysongelmat ovat tunnettu ilmiö. Yksi merkittävä syy ongelmiin on se, että järjestelmien hankkijat ovat eri organisaatioita kuin niiden kehittäjät, mikä tekee käytettävyyden varmistamisen haastavammaksi kuin tuotekehitysyritysten sisäisessä kehityksessä. Käytettävyyden varmistamiseen hankinnoissa on kaksi vaihtoehtoista lähestymistapaa: (1) vastuu käytettävyydestä on toimittajalla, tai (2) hankkijat ottavat itse vastuun käytettävyydestä (mikä on myös nykyinen käytäntö). Olemassa oleva järjestelmäkehitysperinne viittaa siihen, että ensimmäinen vaihtoehto ei liene realistinen. Jälkimmäinen vaihtoehto on realistisempi, mutta käytettävyyden varmistaminen edellyttää hankkijaorganisaatioilta uutta ajattelutapaa, osaamista ja käytäntöjä. suhteessa jäävi määrittämään valintakriteereitä. Kuitenkin voidaan todeta, että tällainen työ ei ole rutiinia, vaan sen suorittamistapa ja laatu riippuvat tekijästä . Usein käyttäjätarpeiden analyysia tehdään turhan raskailla menetelmillä ja kenttätutkimuksilla, vaikka pienemmilläkin resursseilla on mahdollista selvittää paljon. Käyttäjätarpeiden jäsennyksen työmäärä riippuu tietenkin järjestelmän kompleksisuudesta, mutta joissakin tapauksissa jo muutaman päivän työllä päästään pitkälle. Käytettävyyden varmistus terveydenhuollon järjestelmien hankinnoissa on vielä tänä päivänä kovin kehittymätöntä. Artikkelissa esitetään kaksi mahdollista toimintatapaa, jotka perustuvat eri lähtökohtiin: joko toimittaja ottaa vastuun käytettävyydestä, tai sitten hankkija. Näistä ensin mainittu kuulostaa intuitiivisesti ehkä luontevammalta vaihtoehdolta: voisi ajatella, että tietojärjestelmän kehittäjät vastaavat myös käyttöliittymänlaadusta. Kuitenkin artikkelin johtopäätös on, että tänä päivänä käytännössä toimivampi lähtökohta on se, että hankkija ottaa vastuun käytettävyydestä. Jotta toimittaja ottaisi vastuun, niin siinä on kaksi isoa haastetta: käytettävyysvaatimusten määrittäminen, ja toimittajien ajattelumallin muuttaminen. Näihin tämän päivän maailma on tuskin valmis.

DESIGN PRINCIPLES FOR DESKTOP 3D USER INTERFACES - Case Movie Plaza

Proceedings of the Seventh International Conference on Enterprise Information Systems, 2005

The research group consists of researchers from the Department of Information Processing Science ... more The research group consists of researchers from the Department of Information Processing Science and VTT Electronics, Advanced Interactive Systems Research Field. Currently, Human Computer Interaction (HCI) research is facing ever increasing challenges, with advanced mobile services and intelligent environments moving from research laboratories towards everyday use. The problems with WAP acceptance are a good example of the dangers of designing without a usercentred approach: despite the success in realising the technology, commercial success remains elusive because, for the majority of potential users, "the pain is greater than the gain". While making telephone calls and sending text messages poses only moderate requirements on the device user interfaces, the more advanced services envisioned and even partly realised today are significantly more demanding. A smoothly operating and intuitive user interface will be a fundamental element of all successful applications and an important element of competition. Mobile services may still bear some resemblance to traditional applications, but new, intelligent, adaptive environments differ considerably more with respect to user interfaces, and the usefulness of old design knowledge will indeed be limited.

NOMADIC MEDIA: User-Centred Design: Guidelines for Methods and Tools

The Early Phases of UX: Why They are Important (More than Evaluation), and What They are

Evaluation is a key activity in developing high level UX. This paper argues, however, that the ea... more Evaluation is a key activity in developing high level UX. This paper argues, however, that the early phases form the basis for UX, and evaluation should be seen only as a supportive role in ensuring UX. Four (4) main early activities are identified and their challenges briefly discussed. INTRODUCTION Good user experience (UX) and usability are key factors for successful products and systems. For developing good UX and usability, a general paradigm ‘user-centered design’ (or ‘human-centered design’) is being established over the last few years. A well-known reference is ISO 9241-210 (ISO/IEC, 2010). ISO 9241-210 identifies four main activities: (1) understanding and defining the context of use, (2) specifying the user requirements, (3) producing design solutions, and (4) evaluating the design. These activities are of general nature, and more or less included in other models of UX development. Much of the research and pragmatic work around UX – and also usability – is around the evalu...

Assessment of User-Centred Design Processes - Lessons Learnt and Conclusions

Lecture Notes in Computer Science, 2002

We carried out a series of case studies in industrial settings to learn how to perform effective ... more We carried out a series of case studies in industrial settings to learn how to perform effective assessments of user-centred design (UCD) processes. Our research strategy was to gather qualitative feedback from the organisations assessed, to understand how the different stakeholders perceive the assessments. We started with SPICE process assessment and a related UCD process model. Our observation was that the companies did not find traditional process assessment very useful. The approach and the related models were perceived difficult to understand, and not addressing 'the right issues'. During further case studies, the assessment style evolved towards a different assessment approach. We conclude that there are different assessment situations where different approaches are needed. In the category of our focus -process performance assessment as a basis for process improvement -the focus should be on the substance of UCD rather than on the management of processes, and making the results make sense is more important than formal process capability ratings.

Developing A Usability Capability Assessment Approach through Experiments in Industrial Settings

People and Computers XV—Interaction without Frontiers, 2001

Usability capability assessments are carried out to analyse the capability of a development organ... more Usability capability assessments are carried out to analyse the capability of a development organisation in performing user-centred design (UCD). We carried out four experimental usability capability assessments to learn how to perform assessments effectively in industrial settings. Our starting point was traditional software process assessment based on ISO 15504 ('SPICE'). The recent ISO/TR 18529 was used as the process reference model of UCD. Our experiments showed that the focus of ISO 15504 process assessments-management of activities-did not exactly meet the needs of assessments in our context. These experiences led us to a modified assessment approach where the focus is in performance of UCD. Its main characteristics are: 1. a refined UCD process model; 2. a three-dimensional capability scale; and 3. implementation of an assessment as a workshop rather than a series of interviews.

Evaluating a Usability Capability Assessment

Lecture Notes in Computer Science, 2001

In this paper, we report from an experiment which compared the E3 PML with respect to the standar... more In this paper, we report from an experiment which compared the E3 PML with respect to the standard modelling language IDEF0 for the purpose of model construction. The experiment has been run as part of a software process improvement course in which forty students participated. Our hypothesis was that E3 will lead to less problems than IDEF0 when constructing software process models. Here, we show how our experiment has validated the hypothesis.

Increasing the impact of usability work in software development

CHI '07 Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems, 2007

Since 2001 the annual Danish Human-Computer Interaction Research Symposium has been a platform fo... more Since 2001 the annual Danish Human-Computer Interaction Research Symposium has been a platform for networking, and provided an opportunity to get an overview across the various parts of the Danish HCI research scene. For this years symposium we received a record number of 28 submissions, that after being reviewed by the organizing committee, all were accepted. The accepted papers included in the proceedings present work in progress as well as summaries of resent work. In order to accommodate the large number of papers the standard mode of presentation at the symposium is the poster. A small number of papers are selected for oral presentation in plenary. In addition to the paper presentations the symposium features two keynote lectures. We would like to thank all contributors. The symposium would not have been possible without generous administrative assistance from the Department of Computer Science. The keynote lecture by Mark Gross has been sponsored by Center for Interactive Spaces, interactivespaces.net. We are thankful for the support. The Danish HCI Research symposium is organized in collaboration with SIGCHI.dk.

A Method-Independent Process Model of User-Centred Design

Usability, 2002

We propose a method-independent process model of user-centred design (UCD). It is based on recogn... more We propose a method-independent process model of user-centred design (UCD). It is based on recognised sources and its structure was developed in a set of assessments in industrial settings. The result is a process model that identifies six main processes ofUCD. Each ofthese is defined through a set of outcomes. The model makes tangible the interface between the usability engineering and design processes. The model has provided a practical basis for the assessment of UCD processes, which was the original scope of the model. In addition, we have found the model as a useful asset in training UCD and in planning UCD activities in projects.

Assessment of user-centred design processes as a basis for improvement action

Many software-intensive products and systems on the market today reveal a poor level of usability... more Many software-intensive products and systems on the market today reveal a poor level of usability despite the availability of knowledge about how to develop good usability, namely user-centred design. Improving the status of user-centred design has proved to be a challenge in product development. An effective step to start out on the road to such improvements is to carry out a current state analysis. Our research problem was to learn how to perform an effective current state analysis, i.e. an assessment, of user-centred design processes to provide a basis for improvement action. As the main part of our research, we carried out five experimental assessments in industrial settings during the years 2000 and 2001. The main result of the research is a novel assessment approach. The objective of the approach is to provide a basis for improvement of the performance of user-centred design in individual product development projects. The particular features of the approach are a new user-centred design process model, a three-dimensional process performance model and implementation of the assessment in the form of a workshop with extensive participation by the project members. The user-centred design process model is method-independent, and consists of six processes that are defined through outcomes. The performance of processes is assessed from the viewpoints of quantity, quality, and integration. Our theoretical examinations show that different assessment categories can be identified depending on the different foci and purposes of an assessment. Moreover, it may even be appropriate to have different assessment approaches for different categories. In the category of our focus and purpose, i.e. 'assessment of user-centred design processes for performance improvement', the focus of an assessment should be in the substance rather than in the management of UCD processes. An assessment approach should be regarded as an artefact and it should be subject to ongoing refinement. An assessment should be an intervention that provides both an effective training session and a meaningful experience to the participants. Clarity in both the concepts and the results seems to take precedence over having standard reference models. In addition, we created a preliminary theory of usability capability. It identifies three dimensions of usability capability: user-centred design infrastructure, performance of user-centred design in product development projects and usability in business strategy. We also propose some new assessment artefacts for other assessment categories and contrast our research experience with established research frameworks.

Anne Adams University College London

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HUMAN–COMPUTER INTERACTION, 2006

Page 1. Anne Adams University College London Robert Bailey Computer Psychology, Inc. Sandrine Bal... more Page 1. Anne Adams University College London Robert Bailey Computer Psychology, Inc. Sandrine Balbo University of Melbourne Ann Blandford University College London Christian Bastien Université René Descartes–Paris 5 Gilbert Cockton University of Sunderland Joe Dumas Bentley College Erik Frøkjær University of Copenhagen Rex Hartson Virginia Tech Frank Heidmann Fraunhofer Morten Hertzum Roskilde University Steve Howard University of Melbourne Ebba Hvannberg University of Iceland Rune T. Høegh Aalborg University ...

Assessing Human-Centred Design Processes in Product Development by Using the INUSE Maturity Model

IFAC Proceedings Volumes

Abstract: The paper discusses about the evaluation of the quality of human-centred design process... more Abstract: The paper discusses about the evaluation of the quality of human-centred design processes in product development. It introduces the concept of usability maturity model to be used as an instrument in evaluating human-centred processes, and presents experiences from two assessments, where a novel usability maturity model developed by an EU research project INUSE was used. Keywords: Evaluation, Human-centred design, Process models, Products industry, Software engineering

Determining high level quantitative usability requirements: a case study

Proceedings of the 12th International Conference on Human Computer Interaction Interaction Design and Usability, 2007

High-level quantitative usability requirements were determined for a public health care system. T... more High-level quantitative usability requirements were determined for a public health care system. The requirements determination process was iterative, and the requirements were refined step-by-step. The usability requirements are categorized first through the main user groups, then by the services, and finally by specific usability factors.

Lecture Notes in Computer Science 1 Modelling Usability Capability – Introducing the Dimensions

To what extent usability truly matters? (a study on usability requirements in call-for-tenders of software systems issued by public authorities)

Proceedings of the 6th Nordic Conference on Human Computer Interaction Extending Boundaries, 2010

Page 1. Proceedings: NordiCHI 2010, October 1620, 2010 Short Papers 719 To what extent usability... more

Getting UX into the Contract

ABSTRACT Government agencies no longer select contractors solely on price, for the most part. How... more ABSTRACT Government agencies no longer select contractors solely on price, for the most part. However, as previous chapters have shown, government systems continue to suffer widely from poor usability and give citizens and public servants a less-than-pleasant user experience (UX). Why does poor usability persist in government systems? In our view, the main reason is that government agencies fail to specify usability in a way that ensures the production of adequately usable systems, or are not prepared to ensure usability by themselves. In this chapter, we look at how governments initiate system development projects, and we propose some approaches to solving the problem. Getting UX into a government project depends on defining requirements, activities, and selection criteria up front, so that the agency can evaluate proposals, select a contractor, and verify that the contractor has delivered what was agreed. Usability is defined in terms of effectiveness, efficiency, and satisfaction (International Organization for Standardization [ISO], 1998)—which can be specified and measured as attributes of a system. User experience, in contrast, is the user’s subjective experience of the system. UX as a field is not yet mature enough to have developed generally accepted ways of specifying or measuring the desired system features or UX parameters so that a system can be validated against them. However, although UX itself does not encompass usability, usability is required for a good UX, and UX work addresses usability.

Analysis of Usability cost-benefit models

Ecis, 2004

There are few development organizations that have fully integrated usability activities as an int... more There are few development organizations that have fully integrated usability activities as an integral part of their product development projects. One reason for this is that the benefits of better usability are not visible for the management. In this paper, the characteristics of selected published usability cost-benefit models are analyzed. These models have different approaches for identifying, approaching and categorizing the costs and benefits of usability. The analyzed models provide general guidelines for estimating the costs and benefits of usability but in most cases provide only little details. It is proposed that the business type of development organization and the type of the developed product as variables could be taken into account when analyzing the benefits of better usability.

The standard of user-centered design and the standard definition of usability (analyzing ISO 13407 against ISO 9241-11)

Proceedings of the Latin American Conference on Human Computer Interaction, 2003

Page 1. The Standard of User-Centered Design and the Standard Definition of Usability: Analyzing ... more

SVSb: simple and visual storyboards

Proceedings of the 2007 conference of the computer-human interaction special interest group (CHISIG) of Australia on Computer-human interaction: design: activities, artifacts and environments - OZCHI '07, 2007

Presenting scenarios, or user tasks, in the form of storyboards is a common technique in the fiel... more Presenting scenarios, or user tasks, in the form of storyboards is a common technique in the field of HCI. A storyboarding approach, called SVSb (&amp;#x27;simple and visual storyboards&amp;#x27;), is p roposed. The aim is to create storyboards that are simple and ea sy to construct and modify, but still communicative and descriptive enough. The storyboards include elements such as context,

DevelopingA Usability Capability AssessmentApproach throughExperiments in IndustrialSettings

Usability capability assessmentsare carried out to analysethe capability of a development organis... more Usability capability assessmentsare carried out to analysethe capability of a development organisation in performing user-centred design (UCD). We carried out four experimental usability capability assessments to learn how to perform assessments effectively in industrial settings.Our starting point was traditiona l software processassessmentbased on ISO 15504 (‘SPICE’ ). The recent ISO/TR 18529 was used as the process reference modelof UCD. Our experimentsshowedthat the focusof ISO 15504 process assessments — managementof activit ies— did not exactly meetthe needs of assessmentsin our context. These experiencesled us to a modified assessment approach where the focusis in performance of UCD. Its main characteristics are:

Miten varmistaa käytettävyys terveydenhuollon tietojärjestelmien hankinnoissa? Vaihtoehdot ja niiden haasteet

The usability problems of health care systems are a widely recognized problem. One key reason to ... more The usability problems of health care systems are a widely recognized problem. One key reason to the usability problems is the fact that the customers and developers of the system represent different organizations. This makes the situation more challenging that it is in product development. There are two basic alternatives for ensuring usability: (1) the developers take the responsibility about usability, or (2) the customer takes the responsibility (which is the current practice). The existing system development tradition indicates that the alternative (1) is not realistic. Alternative (2) is more realistic, but customers need new usability thinking, skills and practices. Terveydenhuollon tietojärjestelmien käytettävyysongelmat ovat tunnettu ilmiö. Yksi merkittävä syy ongelmiin on se, että järjestelmien hankkijat ovat eri organisaatioita kuin niiden kehittäjät, mikä tekee käytettävyyden varmistamisen haastavammaksi kuin tuotekehitysyritysten sisäisessä kehityksessä. Käytettävyyden varmistamiseen hankinnoissa on kaksi vaihtoehtoista lähestymistapaa: (1) vastuu käytettävyydestä on toimittajalla, tai (2) hankkijat ottavat itse vastuun käytettävyydestä (mikä on myös nykyinen käytäntö). Olemassa oleva järjestelmäkehitysperinne viittaa siihen, että ensimmäinen vaihtoehto ei liene realistinen. Jälkimmäinen vaihtoehto on realistisempi, mutta käytettävyyden varmistaminen edellyttää hankkijaorganisaatioilta uutta ajattelutapaa, osaamista ja käytäntöjä. suhteessa jäävi määrittämään valintakriteereitä. Kuitenkin voidaan todeta, että tällainen työ ei ole rutiinia, vaan sen suorittamistapa ja laatu riippuvat tekijästä . Usein käyttäjätarpeiden analyysia tehdään turhan raskailla menetelmillä ja kenttätutkimuksilla, vaikka pienemmilläkin resursseilla on mahdollista selvittää paljon. Käyttäjätarpeiden jäsennyksen työmäärä riippuu tietenkin järjestelmän kompleksisuudesta, mutta joissakin tapauksissa jo muutaman päivän työllä päästään pitkälle. Käytettävyyden varmistus terveydenhuollon järjestelmien hankinnoissa on vielä tänä päivänä kovin kehittymätöntä. Artikkelissa esitetään kaksi mahdollista toimintatapaa, jotka perustuvat eri lähtökohtiin: joko toimittaja ottaa vastuun käytettävyydestä, tai sitten hankkija. Näistä ensin mainittu kuulostaa intuitiivisesti ehkä luontevammalta vaihtoehdolta: voisi ajatella, että tietojärjestelmän kehittäjät vastaavat myös käyttöliittymänlaadusta. Kuitenkin artikkelin johtopäätös on, että tänä päivänä käytännössä toimivampi lähtökohta on se, että hankkija ottaa vastuun käytettävyydestä. Jotta toimittaja ottaisi vastuun, niin siinä on kaksi isoa haastetta: käytettävyysvaatimusten määrittäminen, ja toimittajien ajattelumallin muuttaminen. Näihin tämän päivän maailma on tuskin valmis.

DESIGN PRINCIPLES FOR DESKTOP 3D USER INTERFACES - Case Movie Plaza

Proceedings of the Seventh International Conference on Enterprise Information Systems, 2005

The research group consists of researchers from the Department of Information Processing Science ... more The research group consists of researchers from the Department of Information Processing Science and VTT Electronics, Advanced Interactive Systems Research Field. Currently, Human Computer Interaction (HCI) research is facing ever increasing challenges, with advanced mobile services and intelligent environments moving from research laboratories towards everyday use. The problems with WAP acceptance are a good example of the dangers of designing without a usercentred approach: despite the success in realising the technology, commercial success remains elusive because, for the majority of potential users, "the pain is greater than the gain". While making telephone calls and sending text messages poses only moderate requirements on the device user interfaces, the more advanced services envisioned and even partly realised today are significantly more demanding. A smoothly operating and intuitive user interface will be a fundamental element of all successful applications and an important element of competition. Mobile services may still bear some resemblance to traditional applications, but new, intelligent, adaptive environments differ considerably more with respect to user interfaces, and the usefulness of old design knowledge will indeed be limited.

NOMADIC MEDIA: User-Centred Design: Guidelines for Methods and Tools

The Early Phases of UX: Why They are Important (More than Evaluation), and What They are

Evaluation is a key activity in developing high level UX. This paper argues, however, that the ea... more Evaluation is a key activity in developing high level UX. This paper argues, however, that the early phases form the basis for UX, and evaluation should be seen only as a supportive role in ensuring UX. Four (4) main early activities are identified and their challenges briefly discussed. INTRODUCTION Good user experience (UX) and usability are key factors for successful products and systems. For developing good UX and usability, a general paradigm ‘user-centered design’ (or ‘human-centered design’) is being established over the last few years. A well-known reference is ISO 9241-210 (ISO/IEC, 2010). ISO 9241-210 identifies four main activities: (1) understanding and defining the context of use, (2) specifying the user requirements, (3) producing design solutions, and (4) evaluating the design. These activities are of general nature, and more or less included in other models of UX development. Much of the research and pragmatic work around UX – and also usability – is around the evalu...

Assessment of User-Centred Design Processes - Lessons Learnt and Conclusions

Lecture Notes in Computer Science, 2002

We carried out a series of case studies in industrial settings to learn how to perform effective ... more We carried out a series of case studies in industrial settings to learn how to perform effective assessments of user-centred design (UCD) processes. Our research strategy was to gather qualitative feedback from the organisations assessed, to understand how the different stakeholders perceive the assessments. We started with SPICE process assessment and a related UCD process model. Our observation was that the companies did not find traditional process assessment very useful. The approach and the related models were perceived difficult to understand, and not addressing 'the right issues'. During further case studies, the assessment style evolved towards a different assessment approach. We conclude that there are different assessment situations where different approaches are needed. In the category of our focus -process performance assessment as a basis for process improvement -the focus should be on the substance of UCD rather than on the management of processes, and making the results make sense is more important than formal process capability ratings.

Developing A Usability Capability Assessment Approach through Experiments in Industrial Settings

People and Computers XV—Interaction without Frontiers, 2001

Usability capability assessments are carried out to analyse the capability of a development organ... more Usability capability assessments are carried out to analyse the capability of a development organisation in performing user-centred design (UCD). We carried out four experimental usability capability assessments to learn how to perform assessments effectively in industrial settings. Our starting point was traditional software process assessment based on ISO 15504 ('SPICE'). The recent ISO/TR 18529 was used as the process reference model of UCD. Our experiments showed that the focus of ISO 15504 process assessments-management of activities-did not exactly meet the needs of assessments in our context. These experiences led us to a modified assessment approach where the focus is in performance of UCD. Its main characteristics are: 1. a refined UCD process model; 2. a three-dimensional capability scale; and 3. implementation of an assessment as a workshop rather than a series of interviews.

Evaluating a Usability Capability Assessment

Lecture Notes in Computer Science, 2001

In this paper, we report from an experiment which compared the E3 PML with respect to the standar... more In this paper, we report from an experiment which compared the E3 PML with respect to the standard modelling language IDEF0 for the purpose of model construction. The experiment has been run as part of a software process improvement course in which forty students participated. Our hypothesis was that E3 will lead to less problems than IDEF0 when constructing software process models. Here, we show how our experiment has validated the hypothesis.

Increasing the impact of usability work in software development

CHI '07 Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems, 2007

Since 2001 the annual Danish Human-Computer Interaction Research Symposium has been a platform fo... more Since 2001 the annual Danish Human-Computer Interaction Research Symposium has been a platform for networking, and provided an opportunity to get an overview across the various parts of the Danish HCI research scene. For this years symposium we received a record number of 28 submissions, that after being reviewed by the organizing committee, all were accepted. The accepted papers included in the proceedings present work in progress as well as summaries of resent work. In order to accommodate the large number of papers the standard mode of presentation at the symposium is the poster. A small number of papers are selected for oral presentation in plenary. In addition to the paper presentations the symposium features two keynote lectures. We would like to thank all contributors. The symposium would not have been possible without generous administrative assistance from the Department of Computer Science. The keynote lecture by Mark Gross has been sponsored by Center for Interactive Spaces, interactivespaces.net. We are thankful for the support. The Danish HCI Research symposium is organized in collaboration with SIGCHI.dk.

A Method-Independent Process Model of User-Centred Design

Usability, 2002

We propose a method-independent process model of user-centred design (UCD). It is based on recogn... more We propose a method-independent process model of user-centred design (UCD). It is based on recognised sources and its structure was developed in a set of assessments in industrial settings. The result is a process model that identifies six main processes ofUCD. Each ofthese is defined through a set of outcomes. The model makes tangible the interface between the usability engineering and design processes. The model has provided a practical basis for the assessment of UCD processes, which was the original scope of the model. In addition, we have found the model as a useful asset in training UCD and in planning UCD activities in projects.

Assessment of user-centred design processes as a basis for improvement action

Many software-intensive products and systems on the market today reveal a poor level of usability... more Many software-intensive products and systems on the market today reveal a poor level of usability despite the availability of knowledge about how to develop good usability, namely user-centred design. Improving the status of user-centred design has proved to be a challenge in product development. An effective step to start out on the road to such improvements is to carry out a current state analysis. Our research problem was to learn how to perform an effective current state analysis, i.e. an assessment, of user-centred design processes to provide a basis for improvement action. As the main part of our research, we carried out five experimental assessments in industrial settings during the years 2000 and 2001. The main result of the research is a novel assessment approach. The objective of the approach is to provide a basis for improvement of the performance of user-centred design in individual product development projects. The particular features of the approach are a new user-centred design process model, a three-dimensional process performance model and implementation of the assessment in the form of a workshop with extensive participation by the project members. The user-centred design process model is method-independent, and consists of six processes that are defined through outcomes. The performance of processes is assessed from the viewpoints of quantity, quality, and integration. Our theoretical examinations show that different assessment categories can be identified depending on the different foci and purposes of an assessment. Moreover, it may even be appropriate to have different assessment approaches for different categories. In the category of our focus and purpose, i.e. 'assessment of user-centred design processes for performance improvement', the focus of an assessment should be in the substance rather than in the management of UCD processes. An assessment approach should be regarded as an artefact and it should be subject to ongoing refinement. An assessment should be an intervention that provides both an effective training session and a meaningful experience to the participants. Clarity in both the concepts and the results seems to take precedence over having standard reference models. In addition, we created a preliminary theory of usability capability. It identifies three dimensions of usability capability: user-centred design infrastructure, performance of user-centred design in product development projects and usability in business strategy. We also propose some new assessment artefacts for other assessment categories and contrast our research experience with established research frameworks.

Anne Adams University College London

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HUMAN–COMPUTER INTERACTION, 2006

Page 1. Anne Adams University College London Robert Bailey Computer Psychology, Inc. Sandrine Bal... more Page 1. Anne Adams University College London Robert Bailey Computer Psychology, Inc. Sandrine Balbo University of Melbourne Ann Blandford University College London Christian Bastien Université René Descartes–Paris 5 Gilbert Cockton University of Sunderland Joe Dumas Bentley College Erik Frøkjær University of Copenhagen Rex Hartson Virginia Tech Frank Heidmann Fraunhofer Morten Hertzum Roskilde University Steve Howard University of Melbourne Ebba Hvannberg University of Iceland Rune T. Høegh Aalborg University ...

Assessing Human-Centred Design Processes in Product Development by Using the INUSE Maturity Model

IFAC Proceedings Volumes

Abstract: The paper discusses about the evaluation of the quality of human-centred design process... more Abstract: The paper discusses about the evaluation of the quality of human-centred design processes in product development. It introduces the concept of usability maturity model to be used as an instrument in evaluating human-centred processes, and presents experiences from two assessments, where a novel usability maturity model developed by an EU research project INUSE was used. Keywords: Evaluation, Human-centred design, Process models, Products industry, Software engineering

Determining high level quantitative usability requirements: a case study

Proceedings of the 12th International Conference on Human Computer Interaction Interaction Design and Usability, 2007

High-level quantitative usability requirements were determined for a public health care system. T... more High-level quantitative usability requirements were determined for a public health care system. The requirements determination process was iterative, and the requirements were refined step-by-step. The usability requirements are categorized first through the main user groups, then by the services, and finally by specific usability factors.

Lecture Notes in Computer Science 1 Modelling Usability Capability – Introducing the Dimensions

To what extent usability truly matters? (a study on usability requirements in call-for-tenders of software systems issued by public authorities)

Proceedings of the 6th Nordic Conference on Human Computer Interaction Extending Boundaries, 2010

Page 1. Proceedings: NordiCHI 2010, October 1620, 2010 Short Papers 719 To what extent usability... more

Getting UX into the Contract

ABSTRACT Government agencies no longer select contractors solely on price, for the most part. How... more ABSTRACT Government agencies no longer select contractors solely on price, for the most part. However, as previous chapters have shown, government systems continue to suffer widely from poor usability and give citizens and public servants a less-than-pleasant user experience (UX). Why does poor usability persist in government systems? In our view, the main reason is that government agencies fail to specify usability in a way that ensures the production of adequately usable systems, or are not prepared to ensure usability by themselves. In this chapter, we look at how governments initiate system development projects, and we propose some approaches to solving the problem. Getting UX into a government project depends on defining requirements, activities, and selection criteria up front, so that the agency can evaluate proposals, select a contractor, and verify that the contractor has delivered what was agreed. Usability is defined in terms of effectiveness, efficiency, and satisfaction (International Organization for Standardization [ISO], 1998)—which can be specified and measured as attributes of a system. User experience, in contrast, is the user’s subjective experience of the system. UX as a field is not yet mature enough to have developed generally accepted ways of specifying or measuring the desired system features or UX parameters so that a system can be validated against them. However, although UX itself does not encompass usability, usability is required for a good UX, and UX work addresses usability.

Analysis of Usability cost-benefit models

Ecis, 2004

There are few development organizations that have fully integrated usability activities as an int... more There are few development organizations that have fully integrated usability activities as an integral part of their product development projects. One reason for this is that the benefits of better usability are not visible for the management. In this paper, the characteristics of selected published usability cost-benefit models are analyzed. These models have different approaches for identifying, approaching and categorizing the costs and benefits of usability. The analyzed models provide general guidelines for estimating the costs and benefits of usability but in most cases provide only little details. It is proposed that the business type of development organization and the type of the developed product as variables could be taken into account when analyzing the benefits of better usability.

The standard of user-centered design and the standard definition of usability (analyzing ISO 13407 against ISO 9241-11)

Proceedings of the Latin American Conference on Human Computer Interaction, 2003

Page 1. The Standard of User-Centered Design and the Standard Definition of Usability: Analyzing ... more

SVSb: simple and visual storyboards

Proceedings of the 2007 conference of the computer-human interaction special interest group (CHISIG) of Australia on Computer-human interaction: design: activities, artifacts and environments - OZCHI '07, 2007

Presenting scenarios, or user tasks, in the form of storyboards is a common technique in the fiel... more Presenting scenarios, or user tasks, in the form of storyboards is a common technique in the field of HCI. A storyboarding approach, called SVSb (&amp;#x27;simple and visual storyboards&amp;#x27;), is p roposed. The aim is to create storyboards that are simple and ea sy to construct and modify, but still communicative and descriptive enough. The storyboards include elements such as context,