Leading Change through User Experience: How End Users Are Changing the Library

Cline Library is centrally located on the Northern Arizona University (NAU) campus in Flagstaff, Arizona. The library has a staff of sixty-two, and an additional forty-six student staff. According to the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, NAU is classified as “R2: Doctoral Universities—Higher Research Activity.” Founded in 1899 with twenty-three students, NAU is now a public university with over 30,000 undergraduate and graduate students who learn on campus and online, across the state and beyond. NAU has built a reputation for research and scientific discovery, and over 1,000 undergraduates present at the annual Undergraduate Research Symposium. From the beginning, NAU placed students at the center, and students are the driving force behind what Cline Library does. Through a strategic planning process now underway, users and staff imagine the future for Cline Library as a people-focused experiential learning environment, which is dynamic, is proactive to user needs, and promotes both individual discovery and creative collaboration. The library’s newly crafted mission and vision state

Construction Management Initial Construction Preparation

The process of planning and managing a construction project is of the utmost importance to ensure the success of the project. This allows the managers of the project to monitor the compliance of deadlines and budget, to try and mitigate or reduce any possible deviations that might occur due to unforeseen circumstances. Although there are already solutions in the market, which were the target of a market study, many are still lacking key functionalities, or could be improved. This is what motivated this project, and as such this project will focus on developing a solution with state-of-the-art technologies that focuses on providing its users the best user experience possible, while also providing all the tools necessary to plan and manage a construction project. The contents of this document follow a logical sequence. Starting with an introduction to the problem, its objectives and the approach used. Following, is an analysis where the problem is contextualized, and a market study is also performed with the goal of identifying and detailing the opportunity. Next, in this document is included the process of analyzing the business to identify all the requirements for the solution as well as a discussion of possible design alternatives for the implementation of the solution and the chosen approach. Lastly, the implementation of the designed solution is detailed and evaluated to assess whether the main objective was achieved. By the end of this project, the system was implemented and evaluated, and scored high regarding its quality, had a good user acceptance, even without all the requirements present. This outcome was the result of a continuous iterative process and transparency with the stakeholdersO processo de planeamento e gestão de um projeto de uma construção é de extrema importância para garantir o sucesso do projeto. Isto permite que os gestores do projeto acompanhem o cumprimento de prazos e orçamento, para tentar mitigar ou reduzir eventuais desvios que possam ocorrer devido a circunstâncias imprevistas. Apesar de já existirem soluções no mercado, que foram alvo de um estudo de mercado, muitas ainda carecem de funcionalidades chave, ou podem ser melhoradas. Foi isto que motivou este projeto, e como tal este projeto irá focar-se no desenvolvimento de uma solução com tecnologias de ponta que foca em proporcionar aos seus utilizadores a melhor experiência de utilizador possível e, ao mesmo tempo, disponibilizar todas as ferramentas necessárias para planear e gerir um projeto de construção. O conteúdo deste documento segue uma sequência lógica. Começando com uma introdução ao problema, seus objetivos e a abordagem utilizada. A seguir, é feita uma análise onde o problema é contextualizado, e também é realizado um estudo de mercado com o objetivo de identificar e detalhar a oportunidade. Em seguida, neste documento está incluído o processo de análise do negócio para identificar todos os requisitos para a solução, bem como uma discussão de possíveis alternativas de design para a implementação da solução e a abordagem escolhida de entre as alternativas. Por fim, a implementação da solução desenhada é detalhada e, por fim, a solução desenvolvida é avaliada para quantificar sua qualidade. No final deste projeto, a solução desenhada foi desenvolvida e avaliada, e pontuou bastante alto quanto à sua qualidade, teve uma boa aceitação dos utilizadores, mesmo sem todos os requisitos presentes. A solução desenvolvida é intuitiva e fácil de usar e , mesmo com alguns dos requisitos em falta, motiva os utilizadores a trocar as ferramentas atuais, tendo assim atingido o objetivo que se propôs alcançar. Este resultado foi fruto de um processo iterativo contínuo e da transparência total com as partes interessada

FUNDAMENTALS OF DESIGN SYSTEMS

This thesis project consists of the world of design systems, the benefits that bring to the organization, teams, users, and the business. We will dive into this new world of design systems, to understand what are they, how we can establish them, and what are the rules, foundations, and guidelines that we should stick to. Going through more details, such as creating colors, typography, spaces, and icon inventories. Not only that, but we will go through UI patterns which are very important for the structure of a design system and this will be followed by the process of creating Rocket Design System. Having a design system will have a good impact on the business, good team communications, make the work fast, and keep the organization up to date with technologies and market changes. That was the reason why Mediaweb Creations focused on creating "Rocket Design System"which I had the opportunity to work on during the internship I had with them. Mediaweb Creations is a company specialized in web development. Founded in 2006, Mediaweb is present in Leiria and Lisbon, Portugal. Their mission is to help the clients having better user experiences by proving UX/UI Design, Front-End, and Web Development several services. The benefits of having a design system in an organization. Especially a web development related one, having a single source of truth will make the process take less time, seducing clients with an attractive product, making the teams stronger, and letting the information flow goes farther

The experience as a document: designing for the future of collaborative remembering in digital archives

How does it feel when we remember together on-line? Who gets to say what it is worth to be remembered? To understand how the user experience of participation is affecting the formation of collective memories in the context of online environments, first it is important to take into consideration how the notion of memory has been transformed under the influence of the digital revolution. I aim to contribute to the field of User Experience (UX) research theorizing on the felt experience of users from a memory perspective, taking into consideration aspects linked to both personal and collective memories in the context of connected environments.Harassment and hate speech in connected conversational environments are specially targeted to women and underprivileged communities, which has become a problem for digital archives of vernacular creativity (Burgess, J. E. 2007) such as YouTube, Twitter, Reddit and Wikipedia. An evaluation of the user experience of underprivileged communities in creative archives such as Wikipedia indicates the urgency for building a feminist space where women and queer folks can focus on knowledge production and learning without being harassed. The theoretical models and designs that I propose are a result of a series of prototype testing and case studies focused on cognitive tools for a mediated human memory operating inside transactive memory systems. With them, aims to imagine the means by which feminist protocols for UX design and research can assist in the building and maintenance of the archive as a safe/brave space.Working with perspectives from media theory, memory theory and gender studies and centering the user experience of participation for women, queer folks, people of colour (POC) and other vulnerable and underrepresented communities as the main focus of inquiring, my research takes an interdisciplinary approach to interrogate how online misogyny and other forms of abuse are perceived by communities placed outside the center of the hegemonic normativity, and how the user experience of online abuse is affecting the formation of collective memories in the context of online environments

Agile Processes in Software Engineering and Extreme Programming

This open access book constitutes the proceedings of the 22nd International Conference on Agile Software Development, XP 2021, which was held virtually during June 14-18, 2021. XP is the premier agile software development conference combining research and practice. It is a unique forum where agile researchers, practitioners, thought leaders, coaches, and trainers get together to present and discuss their most recent innovations, research results, experiences, concerns, challenges, and trends.  XP conferences provide an informal environment to learn and trigger discussions and welcome both people new to agile and seasoned agile practitioners. This year’s conference was held with the theme “Agile Turns Twenty While the World Goes Online”. The 11 full and 2 short papers presented in this volume were carefully reviewed and selected from 38 submissions. They were organized in topical sections named: agile practices; process assessment; large-scale agile; and short contributions

Yksinyrittäjien taloushallintokäytännöt sähköisen taloushallinnon kontekstissa

Self-employment has been growing steadily in Finland, meaning that individual entrepreneurs have become an important customer segment for many service providers. Thus it is becoming a more significant user group for software companies who design and develop accounting-related software as well. This thesis studies the accounting-related practices of Finnish individual entrepreneurs, especially in the context of electronic accounting, or E-accounting. Specific focus is placed on entrepreneurs who utilize the services of external accounting firms, meaning that they have outsourced at least some of their accounting-related tasks. The objective of the research is to conclude insights of this particular user group, which could later be applied in the design phase of accounting software. The research was conducted with a qualitative approach using such methods as semi-structured interview as well as contextual inquiry. Furthermore, user feedback by individual entrepreneurs regarding a particular accounting software (Finago Procountor) was collected and analyzed. The results indicate that individual entrepreneurs have varying professional and educational backgrounds, which also makes their accounting-related skills and practices highly variable. Regardless of their background, typical work-related challenges faced by entrepreneurs include financial instability and time management. This makes it vital to design accounting software with user-centered design methods; by providing an optimal user experience and usability, the entrepreneurs can perform relevant accounting-related tasks effortlessly and also consider the software worth its costs. While individual entrepreneurs have varying skills and backgrounds, they tend to outsource the same accounting-related tasks to their accountants, leaving the entrepreneurs themselves with such tasks as invoicing, receipt handling and monitoring of their financial status. Therefore when designing an accounting software specifically for such entrepreneurial users, these tasks should be placed under more focus. Furthermore, the results indicate that the perceived complexity of current E-accounting solutions together with the experienced lack of time leads to the entrepreneurs handling their accounting-related tasks separately from their core business activities, meaning that accounting-related tasks are not well integrated into the everyday work of entrepreneurs.Itsensä työllistäminen on yleistynyt tasaisesti Suomessa, minkä vuoksi yksinyrittäjistä on tullut tärkeä asiakassegmentti monelle palveluntarjoajalle. Näin ollen yksinyrittäjien merkitys on kasvanut myös käyttäjäryhmänä yrityksille, jotka suunnittelevat ja kehittävät taloushallinnon ohjelmistoja. Tämä diplomityö tutkii suomalaisten yksinyrittäjien taloushallintokäytäntöjä, erityisesti sähköisen taloushallinnon kontekstissa. Varsinainen painoarvo on niissä yrittäjissä, jotka käyttävät ulkoisten tilitoimistojen palveluita ja ovat täten ulkoistaneet ainakin osan taloushallintoon liittyvistä toimenpiteistään. Tutkimuksen tavoitteena on kerätä tähän käyttäjäryhmään liittyviä havaintoja, joita voitaisiin myöhemmin hyödyntää taloushallinto-ohjelmiston suunnitteluvaiheessa. Tutkimus toteutettiin kvalitatiivisella lähestymistavalla hyödyntäen tutkimusmenetelminä esimerkiksi haastatteluja ja kontekstuaalista havainnointia. Lisäksi yksinyrittäjiltä kerättiin ja analysoitiin käyttäjäpalautetta eräästä taloushallinnon ohjelmistosta (Finago Procountor). Tulokset osoittavat, että yksinyrittäjien monimuotoinen ammatillinen sekä koulutuksellinen tausta tekevät myös heidän taloushallintokäytännöistään ja siihen liittyvistä taidoistaan vaihtelevia. Taustastaan riippumattomasti yksinyrittäjien työssään kohtaamat vaikeudet tyypillisesti liittyvät epävakaaseen talouteen ja ajanhallintaan. Tästä syystä taloushallinto-ohjelmiston suunnittelu käyttäjälähtöisin menetelmin on erityisen tärkeää; ohjelmiston tarjotessa optimaalisen käytettävyyden ja käyttäjäkokemuksen yrittäjät pystyvät hoitamaan taloushallintoon liittyvät tehtävänsä vaivattomasti, ja täten pitää ohjelmistoa kustannustensa arvoisena. Vaikka yksinyrittäjien taidot ja taustat vaihtelevat, heillä on tapana ulkoistaa samankaltaisesti taloushallintoon liittyviä toimenpiteitä kirjanpitäjilleen, jättäen yrittäjille itselleen vastuualueiksi esim. laskutuksen, kuittien käsittelyn ja taloudellisen tilanteensa seuraamisen. Siksi taloushallinto- ohjelmistoa suunnitellessa näihin osa-alueisiin tulisi kiinnittää erityistä huomiota. Lisäksi tulokset osoittavat, että nykyisten taloushallinto-ohjelmistojen koettu monimutkaisuus yhdessä koetun ajanpuutteen kanssa johtavat siihen, että yrittäjät hoitavat taloushallintoon liittyvät tehtävänsä erillään muusta työstään, jolloin taloushallinnon hoitaminen ei ole täydellisesti integroitunut yksinyrittäjän arkeen

How can start-ups increase their value co-creation through SEO?

Abstract. The internet started in the 1960s for government researchers to exchange research. Tim Berners Lee created the foundation for the web in 1990, which consisted of the HTTP protocol, a browser, a server, and the world’s first website. Netscape, an early web browser, had a very successful IPO in 1995, which ultimately popularized the web and sparked the so-called “Dot Com bubble.” The World Wide Web, since its creation until now, has become a critical channel between companies and customers. Over half of the internet starts their search on a search engine, making it imperative for companies that want to stay competitive to have a website online. Ever since the commercialization of the internet, startup companies have competed for the first search results in search engines through a digital marketing technique known as Search Engine Optimization. SEO as a study topic has been studied since Google was created in 1998. This thesis explores how value co-creation is created with Search Engine Optimization and how the two concepts are related. The context is for high-growth start-up companies that aim to increase their digital presence online. The research method is qualitative dominant and takes an abductive approach. The primary data was collected from a young startup company in North America and consisted of an extensive data set of user behavior. The data consisted of screen recordings of the users and user metrics collected through a tracking script on the website. The secondary data used takes the form of peer-reviewed articles, previous SEO studies, online articles, and books. Search Engine Optimization was found to enable companies that want to increase their value co-creation based on the data. It was shown to have the capacity to boost their online presence, create more opportunities for value co-creation, and provide an insight into any blockages preventing co-creation. Essentially, SEO was found to be a vehicle to drive users to companies’ websites and increase the chances for the company to engage the user with a value proposition that could later turn into value-creation. The data also revealed that companies could choose to become co-creators in value if they choose to do so. This was a contrary finding to the pre-existing theory