Improving healthcare system usability without real users: A semi-parallel design approach

Copyright © 2015 IGI Global. This paper describes an early stage usability study conducted on a prototype system designed to capture and analyse Patient Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs) activities. The system - PROMS 2.0, was developed by Bluespier for the trauma and orthopaedic department in Trafford Hospital, Manchester, United Kingdom (UK). The Centre for Health and Social Care Informatics (CHaSCI), Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU) examined the system without real users, identified potential usability issues and suggested possible solutions for improvements before final release by Bluespier. Three different approaches were adopted for evaluating user interface (UI) design without users. The first approach is the Cognitive Walkthrough (CW), a task-oriented technique capable of identifying issues through action sequence required to perform a task. The second approach is action analysis which predicts the time a skilled user would need to perform a task. The third approach is heuristic evaluation which tends to identify problems based on recognised standards. Results support the argument from relevant cognitive psychology theories and user-centric design principles that UI evaluation without real users is a useful tool in yielding rapid output for subsequent enhancement. It is concluded that semi-parallel design concept could be the key to timely delivery of software design projects

Towards a Toolset for Intranet Evaluation

Usability is an important component of information systems acceptance. Independent consultants in the assessment of organisational intranets often perform heuristic appraisal, a common method of usability evaluation. However, there are alternative usability models that offer valuable analysis in the evaluation process. Using a government organisation’s intranet as a case study, this paper assesses the value of an independent heuristic-based intranet audit by providing a comparable approach to assessment realisable internally in the organisation using questionnaires. Using a single case study, we empirically apply the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), together with some heuristic aspects, to provide an alternative tool for intranet usability and acceptance. We provide insight into the usability impact of intranet design changes, and compare the findings of an external usability audit with the approach outlined. An overall toolset for intranet evaluation is proposed as an initial step for further exploration and potential use

User-centred design for collaborative 4D modelling

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to clarify the CSCW in collaborative 4D modelling and its user interface (UI)/interaction designs for prototyping. Four-dimensional (4D) modelling technology has potentials to integrate geographically dispersed planners to achieve collaborative construction planning. However, applying this technology in teamwork remains a challenge in computer-supported collaborative work (CSCW).Design/methodology/approach - The research adopted user-centred design (UCD) methodology to investigate a usable 4D collaboration prototype through analysis, design and usability testing. By applying CSCW theories, it first clarified the meaning of 4D CSCW to formulate design propositions as design target. By leveraging UCD theories, subsequently, the first-stage research sought an optimal standalone 4D modelling prototype following a parallel design approach. At the second stage, it further investigated into a collaborative 4D modelling prototype using an iterative design. It adopted collaborative task analysis into the UI/interaction design extension for a collaborative prototype based on results obtained from the first stage. The final usability testing was performed on the collaborative prototype to evaluate the designed CSCW and UI in a controlled geographically dispersed teamwork situation.Findings - The test results and user feedback verified their usability. It also disclosed design weaknesses in collaborators' awareness and smooth tasks' transitions for further enhancement.Originality/value - The combination of CSCW and UCD theories is practical for designing collaborative 4D modelling. It can also benefit designs for collaborative modelling in other dimensions like cost analysis, sustainable design, facility management, etc. in building information modelling.Published versio

Web Interface for natural language processing engines

This thesis presents a graphical user interface that simplifies the use of natural language processing engines. Until now the use of the implemented part-of-speech task and other natural language processing tasks were possible only through command line interface. This restriction of the current interface was the reason, because of which the users were required to have both programming and scripting knowledge and experience. In addition to that, the preparation of the input data, used to feed the engine, and output data from the tasks had to be handled manually. The problem was solved by developing a web-based application and integrating OpenNLP engine and its part-of-speech tagging task. Hence, the chosen solution provides portability and accessibility from various locations. The user interface simplifies the working process for users with little or no technical knowledge and experience. Moreover, the application facilitates and guides the users through the task’s process flow. It also allows them to automatically preprocess their data to a format required as an input for the engine. After that, the users can simply follow the stages for the rest of the task and use the engine. Moreover, the application saves the data at the end of every stage of the task, which does not enroll the user to execute the whole task at once. Also the data used as an input and output from every stage of the task is stored automatically on the server, which provides reusability. And last, the application has modular structure, which provides the ability to extend the amount of tasks and engines according to the needs of the users. The application provides simple interface, automated process and file handling. However the speed and accessibility of the application depends on the connection and the load on the server. The current software can be expanded with additional engines and tasks, but only if they support the current file and system structure. In the future some parts of the user interface and the back-end structure could be improved, as well as some more complexed tasks and different engines could be implemented

Creation and evaluation of design solutions in crane’s service user interface

Tässä työssä tutkitaan suunnitteluratkaisujen tuottamista ja arviointia nostureissa käytettävien graafisten käyttöliittymien suunnittelun tueksi. Tutkimus pohjautuu logiikkaohjatun siltanosturin huoltokäyttöliittymän kehitykseen. Työn tavoitteena on toimivan prosessin kehittäminen suunnitteluratkaisujen tuottamiseen ja arviointiin ottaen samalla huomioon resurssit, jotka tehtävässä käyttöliittymäsuunnittelussa on käytettävissä. Tärkeitä selvitettäviä asioita ovat, millaista käyttäjätietoa suunnittelun tueksi tarvitaan, kuinka suunnitteluratkaisuja voidaan tuottaa ja miten niitä tulee arvioida. Teoriaosuudessa käydään läpi työn kannalta olennaista teoreettista taustaa ja käsitteitä sekä tutustutaan työssä käytettyihin tutkimusmenetelmiin. Esiteltyihin tutkimusmenetelmiin kuuluvat erilaiset suunnittelumenetelmät, prototyypit ja arviointitavat. Käytännön osuudessa puolestaan on erotettavissa kolme erillistä kokonaisuutta: käyttäjätiedon ja käyttäjävaatimusten määrittely, ohjatun siltanosturin huoltokäyttöliittymässä olevien ohjattujen toimintojen suunnittelu sekä nostureiden graafisiin käyttöliittymiin sopivien suunnitteluperiaatteiden kokoaminen. Työn tulokset johdettiin sekä teoriaosuuden että käytännön osuuden kautta. Käyttäjätiedon tärkeimmiksi osa-alueiksi tunnistettiin kuvaukset käyttäjistä, käyttöympäristöstä ja työtehtävistä sekä käyttötapausten kirjaaminen. Näistä voidaan johtaa edelleen suunnittelua vahvemmin tukevia käyttäjäpersoonia ja käyttöskenaarioita. Koska olemassa olevat suunnitteluperiaatteet eivät tuntuneet täysin sopivan nostureiden graafisten käyttöliittymien suunnitteluun, luotiin työssä omat suunnitteluperiaatteet, joita voidaan käyttää apuna sekä suunnittelussa että arvioinnissa. Työssä onnistuttiin myös luomaan resurssit huomioon ottava prosessi suunnitteluratkaisujen tuottamiseen ja arviointiin. Prosessi pitää sisällään eriasteisia prototyyppejä, arviointimenetelmiä sekä välitavoitteita, jotka pitäisi olla aina täytetty ennen siirtymistä prosessissa eteenpäin.This thesis studies the creation and evaluation of design solutions in cranes’ graphical user interfaces. The study is based on the development of a service user interface for an electric overhead travelling crane. The aim of the study is to create a process model for the creation and evaluation of the design solutions. Important parts of the study are what kind of user information is relevant for user interface design, how the design solutions can be created, and how they should be evaluated. In the theory part theoretical background and research methods are introduced. The research methods involve different kinds of design methods, prototypes and evaluation methods. From the empirical part three different sections can be recognized. The sections are the needed user information, the development of the service user interface, and the creation of design principles that work properly with the graphical user interfaces of cranes. The results of the thesis are based both on the theory and on the empirical part. The most important areas of user information are descriptions of the users, the use environment, the work tasks, and the use cases. When using these four as a base user personas and use scenarios can be created later on. Existing design principles did not seem to work perfectly with cranes’ graphical user interfaces so a new set of principles was created in the thesis. The created principles are useful when creating design solutions and also when evaluating them. Also a process for the creation and evaluation of design solutions was successfully created. The process includes prototypes from different levels, evaluation methods, and goals for the different phases of the process. One goal should always be fulfilled before going forward to the next phase of the process

Moving sounds and sonic moves : exploring interaction quality of embodied music mediation technologies through a user-centered perspective

This research project deals with the user-experience related to embodied music mediation technologies. More specifically, adoption and policy problems surrounding new media (art) are considered, which arise from the usability issues that to date pervade new interfaces for musical expression. Since the emergence of new wireless mediators and control devices for musical expression, there is an explicit aspiration of the creative industries and various research centers to embed such technologies into different areas of the cultural industries. The number of applications and their uses have exponentially increased over the last decade. Conversely, many of the applications to date still suffer from severe usability problems, which not only hinder the adoption by the cultural sector, but also make culture participants take a rather cautious, hesitant, or even downright negative stance towards these technologies. Therefore, this thesis takes a vantage point that is in part sociological in nature, yet has a link to cultural studies as well. It combines this with a musicological frame of reference to which it introduces empirical user-oriented approaches, predominantly taken from the field of human-computer-interaction studies. This interdisciplinary strategy is adopted to cope with the complex nature of digital embodied music controlling technologies. Within the Flanders cultural (and creative) industries, opportunities of systems affiliated with embodied interaction are created and examined. This constitutes an epistemological jigsaw that looks into 1) “which stakeholders require what various levels of involvement, what interactive means and what artistic possibilities?”, 2) “the way in which artistic aspirations, cultural prerequisites and operational necessities of (prospective) users can be defined?”, 3) “how functional, artistic and aesthetic requirements can be accommodated?”, and 4) “how quality of use and quality of experience can be achieved, quantified, evaluated and, eventually, improved?”. Within this multi-facetted problem, the eventual aim is to assess the applicability of the foresaid technology, both from a theoretically and empirically sound basis, and to facilitate widening and enhancing the adoption of said technologies. Methodologically, this is achieved by 1) applied experimentation, 2) interview techniques, 3) self-reporting and survey research, 4) usability evaluation of existing devices, and 5) human-computer interaction methods applied – and attuned – to the specific case of embodied music mediation technologies. Within that scope, concepts related to usability, flow, presence, goal assessment and game enjoyment are scrutinized and applied, and both task- and experience-oriented heuristics and metrics are developed and tested. In the first part, covering three chapters, the general context of the thesis is given. In the first chapter, an introduction to the topic is offered and the current problems are enumerated. In the second chapter, a broader theoretical background is presented of the concepts that underpin the project, namely 1) the paradigm of embodiment and its connection to musicology, 2) a state of the arts concerning new interfaces for musical expression, 3) an introduction into HCI-usability and its application domain in systematic musicology, 4) an insight into user-centered digital design procedures, and 5) the challenges brought about by e-culture and digitization for the cultural-creative industries. In the third chapter, the state of the arts concerning the available methodologies related to the thesis’ endeavor is discussed, a set of literature-based design guidelines are enumerated and from this a conceptual model is deduced which is gradually presented throughout the thesis, and fully deployed in the “SoundField”-project (as described in Chapter 9). The following chapters, contained in the second part of the thesis, give a quasi-chronological overview of how methodological concepts have been applied throughout the empirical case studies, aimed specifically at the exploration of the various aspects of the complex status quaestionis. In the fourth chapter, a series of application-based tests, predominantly revolving around interface evaluation, illustrate the complex relation between gestural interfaces and meaningful musical expression, advocating a more user-centered development approach to be adopted. In the fifth chapter, a multi-purpose questionnaire dubbed “What Moves You” is discussed, which aimed at creating a survey of the (prospective) end-users of embodied music mediation technologies. Therefore, it primarily focused on cultural background, musical profile and preferences, views on embodied interaction, literacy of and attitudes towards new technology and participation in digital culture. In the sixth chapter, the ethnographical studies that accompanied the exhibition of two interactive art pieces, entitled "Heart as an Ocean" & "Lament", are discussed. In these studies, the use of interview and questionnaire methodologies together with the presentation and reception of interactive art pieces, are probed. In the seventh chapter, the development of the collaboratively controlled music-game “Sync-In-Team” is presented, in which interface evaluation, presence, game enjoyment and goal assessment are the pivotal topics. In the eighth chapter, two usability studies are considered, that were conducted on prototype systems/interfaces, namely a heuristic evaluation of the “Virtual String” and a usability metrics evaluation on the “Multi-Level Sonification Tool”. The findings of these two studies in conjunction with the exploratory studies performed in association with the interactive art pieces, finally gave rise to the “SoundField”-project, which is recounted in full throughout the ninth chapter. The integrated participatory design and evaluation method, presented in the conceptual model is fully applied over the course of the “SoundField”-project, in which technological opportunities and ecological validity and applicability are investigated through user-informed development of numerous use cases. The third and last part of the thesis renders the final conclusions of this research project. The tenth chapter sets out with an epilogue in which a brief overview is given on how the state of the arts has evolved since the end of the project (as the research ended in 2012, but the research field has obviously moved on), and attempts to consolidate the implications of the research studies with some of the realities of the Flemish cultural-creative industries. Chapter eleven continues by discussing the strengths and weaknesses of the conceptual model throughout the various stages of the project. Also, it comprises the evaluation of the hypotheses, how the assumptions that were made held up, and how the research questions eventually could be assessed. Finally, the twelfth and last chapter concludes with the most important findings of the project. Also, it discusses some of the implications on cultural production, artistic research policy and offers an outlook on future research beyond the scope of the “SoundField” project

Product/Brand co-creation methodology crossing marketing, design thinking, creativity and management: ideas(r)evolution

This thesis introduce a new innovation methodology called IDEAS(R)EVOLUTION that was developed according to an on-going experimental research project started in 2007. This new approach to innovation has initial based on Design thinking for innovation theory and practice. The concept of design thinking for innovation has received much attention in recent years. This innovation approach has climbed from the design and designers knowledge field towards other knowledge areas, mainly business management and marketing. Human centered approach, radical collaboration, creativity and breakthrough thinking are the main founding principles of Design thinking that were adapted by those knowledge areas due to their assertively and fitness to the business context and market complexity evolution. Also Open innovation, User-centered innovation and later on Living Labs models emerge as answers to the market and consumers pressure and desire for new products, new services or new business models. Innovation became the principal business management focus and strategic orientation. All this changes had an impact also in the marketing theory. It is possible now to have better strategies, communications plans and continuous dialogue systems with the target audience, incorporating their insights and promoting them to the main dissemination ambassadors of our innovations in the market. Drawing upon data from five case studies, the empirical findings in this dissertation suggest that companies need to shift from Design thinking for innovation approach to an holistic, multidimensional and integrated innovation system. The innovation context it is complex, companies need deeper systems then the success formulas that “commercial “Design thinking for innovation “preaches”. They need to learn how to change their organization culture, how to empower their workforce and collaborators, how to incorporate external stakeholders in their innovation processes, hoe to measure and create key performance indicators throughout the innovation process to give them better decision making data, how to integrate meaning and purpose in their innovation philosophy. Finally they need to understand that the strategic innovation effort it is not a “one shot” story it is about creating a continuous flow of interaction and dialogue with their clients within a “value creation chain“ mindset; RESUMO: Metodologia de co-criação de um produto/marca cruzando Marketing, Design Thinking, Criativity and Management - IDEAS(R)EVOLUTION. Esta dissertação apresenta uma nova metodologia de inovação chamada IDEAS(R)EVOLUTION, que foi desenvolvida segundo um projecto de investigação experimental contínuo que teve o seu início em 2007. Esta nova abordagem baseou-se, inicialmente, na teoria e na práctica do Design thinking para a inovação. Actualmente o conceito do Design Thinking para a inovação “saiu” do dominio da area de conhecimento do Design e dos Designers, tendo despertado muito interesse noutras áreas como a Gestão e o Marketing. Uma abordagem centrada na Pessoa, a colaboração radical, a criatividade e o pensamento disruptivo são principios fundadores do movimento do Design thinking que têm sido adaptados por essas novas áreas de conhecimento devido assertividade e adaptabilidade ao contexto dos negócios e à evolução e complexidade do Mercado. Também os modelos de Inovação Aberta, a inovação centrada no utilizador e mais tarde os Living Labs, emergem como possiveis soluções para o Mercado e para a pressão e desejo dos consumidores para novos productos, serviços ou modelos de negócio. A inovação passou a ser o principal foco e orientação estratégica na Gestão. Todas estas mudanças também tiveram impacto na teoria do Marketing. Hoje é possivel criar melhores estratégias, planos de comunicação e sistemas continuos de diálogo com o público alvo, incorporando os seus insights e promovendo os consumidores como embaixadores na disseminação da inovação das empresas no Mercado Os resultados empiricos desta tese, construídos com a informação obtida nos cinco casos realizados, sugerem que as empresas precisam de se re-orientar do paradigma do Design thinking para a inovação, para um sistema de inovação mais holistico, multidimensional e integrado. O contexto da Inovação é complexo, por isso as empresas precisam de sistemas mais profundos e não apenas de “fórmulas comerciais” como o Design thinking para a inovação advoga. As Empresas precisam de aprender como mudar a sua cultura organizacional, como capacitar sua força de trabalho e colaboradores, como incorporar os públicos externos no processo de inovação, como medir o processo de inovação criando indicadores chave de performance e obter dados para um tomada de decisão mais informada, como integrar significado e propósito na sua filosofia de inovação. Por fim, precisam de perceber que uma estratégia de inovação não passa por ter “sucesso uma vez”, mas sim por criar um fluxo contínuo de interação e diálogo com os seus clientes com uma mentalidade de “cadeia de criação de valor

Étude expériementale de la production collective d'idées en utilisant des technologies de collaboration synchrone à distance.

RÉSUMÉ La naissance des technologies de collaboration qui remonte à celle de l‟Internet rend le travail à distance maintenant possible. La production et le partage d‟idées à distance sont maintenant très fréquents, car les membres des groupes de travail sont souvent dispersés géographiquement dans les locaux d‟une même organisation ou de plusieurs organisations ou dans d‟autres milieux (ex., sur le terrain, dans les transports, etc.). Cette réalité fait que l‟information est répartie entre plusieurs personnes ou organisations, et que l‟utilisation de média est requise pour partager celle-ci. L‟utilisation d‟outils informatiques de collaboration permet le travail synchrone ou asynchrone de groupe ainsi que l‟enregistrement des interactions et le partage de documents ou d‟informations entre les membres du groupe. Cependant, la production collective d‟idées dans la conception requiert des communications interactives. À cet égard, Gutwin et al. (2008) déclarent que les collecticiels devraient être conçus pour avoir une versatilité qui permettrait « [an] awareness of others and their individual work, lightweight means for initiating interactions, and the ability to move into closelycoupled collaboration when necessary » (Ibid., p.1). Spécialement parce que les collecticiels devraient encourager les interactions collaboratives entre les participants, qu‟elles soient prévues, informelles ou opportunistes (idem). Les équipes de conception utilisent fréquemment le remue-méninge comme stratégie de production collective d‟idées. Le soutien à distance de cette activité collective requiert l‟établissement de canaux de communication afin de maintenir les échanges verbaux et visuels, l‟écriture et le dessin partagé pour stimuler la production collective d‟idées. Ce projet concerne donc l‟utilisation des espaces collaboratifs synchrones à distance dans les échanges des équipes de conception. Ce mémoire présente une étude expérimentale exploratoire sur la production collective d‟idées par des concepteurs utilisant un environnement de travail collaboratif synchrone à distance. Nous nous intéressons aux stratégies de production collective d'idées et à la dynamique du travail de groupe dans le but de savoir si les outils de collaboration que nous avons utilisés répondent bien aux exigences des tâches de conception et aux besoins et attentes des concepteurs.----------ABSTRACT The emergence of collaboration technologies as a result of Internet's birth, made it so that working remotely has become a reality. Generating and sharing ideas from a distance has become common place as participants in work-groups are often geographically dispersed, whether within the premises of one organisation, amongst the offices of several organisations or in several different environments. This fact has made the dispersion of information amongst several people or organisations, imperative; which in turn, has created the need for the use of telecommunication media in order to ensure the adequate sharing of the information. The use of digital means of storage and transfer of information allows both for synchronous and asynchronous teamwork, constant interaction amongst team members, as well as for the sharing of documents and information amongst the members of such a team. However, in the ideation stage, the collective production of ideas requires an interactive communication between the members of such a team. In this regard, Gutwin et al. (2008) note that groupware has to be designed in a way that permits « [an] awareness of others and their individual work, lightweight means for initiating interactions, and the ability to move into closely-coupled collaboration when necessary » (Ibid., p.1). Design teams often use brainstorming as a way to generate ideas in a collective manner. Facilitating such joint activities from a distance requires the establishment of communication channels in order to maintain the visual and verbal exchanges; in other words, making possible the sharing of text and draft work in order to stimulate the collective generation of ideas. Hence, this project pertains to the utilization of remote synchronous collaborative environments within the context of design team exchanges. This research presents an exploratory experimental study on the collective production of ideas by design team-members by means of remote synchronous collaborative workspaces. We are interested in strategies for the collective production of ideas and in the dynamics of team-work in order to understand whether the collaboration tools that we are using, answer the demands of the design tasks and whether they fulfil the needs and expectations of the design team-members. Our results will serve as a guide to th

An investigation into a distributed virtual reality environment for real-time collaborative 4D construction planning and simulation

The use and application of 4 Dimensional Computer Aided Design (4D CAD) is growing within the construction industry. 4D approaches have been the focus of many research efforts within the last decade and several commercial tools now exist for the creation of construction simulations using 4D approaches. However, there are several key limitations to the current approaches. For example, 4D models are normally developed after the initial planning of a project has taken place using more traditional techniques such as Critical Path Method (CPM). Furthermore, mainstream methodologies for planning are based on individual facets of the construction process developed by discrete contractors or sub-contractors. Any 4D models generated from these data are often used to verify work flows and identify problems that may arise, either in terms of work methods or sequencing issues. Subsequently, it is perceived that current 4D CAD approaches provide a planning review mechanism rather than a platform for a novel integrated approach to construction planning. The work undertaken in this study seeks to address these issues through the application of a distributed virtual reality (VR) environment for collaborative 4D based construction planning. The key advances lie in catering for geographically dispersed planning by discrete construction teams. By leveraging networked 4D-VR based technologies, multidisciplinary planners, in different places, can be connected to collaboratively perform planning and create an integrated and robust construction schedule leading to a complete 4D CAD simulation. Establishing such a complex environment faces both technological and social challenges. Technological challenges arise from the integration of traditional and recent 4D approaches for construction planning with an ad hoc application platform of VR linked through networked computing. Social challenges arise from social dynamics and human behaviours when utilizing VR-based applications for collaborative work. An appropriate 4D-based planning method in a networked VR based environment is the key to gaining a technical advancement and this approach to distributed collaborative planning tends to promote computer-supported collaborative work (CSCW). Subsequently, probing suitable CSCW design and user interface/interaction (UI) design are imperative for solutions to achieve successful applicability. Based on the foregoing, this study developed a novel robust 4D planning approach for networked construction planning. The new method of interactive definition was devised through theoretical analysis of human-computer interaction (HCI) studies, a comparison of existing 4D CAD creation, and 3D model based construction planning. It was created to support not only individual planners’ work but multidisciplinary planners’ collaboration, and lead to interactive and dynamic development of a 4D simulation. From a social perspective, the method clarified and highlighted relevant CSCW design to enhance collaboration. Applying this rationale, the study specified and implemented a distributed groupware solution for collaborative 4D construction planning. Based on a developed system architecture, application mode and dataflow, as well as a real-time data exchange protocol, a prototype system entitled ‘4DX’ was implemented which provides a platform for distributed multidisciplinary planners to perform real-time collaborative 4D construction planning. The implemented toolkit targeted a semi-immersive VR platform for enhanced usability with compatibility of desktop VR. For the purpose of obtaining optimal UI design of this kind of VR solution, the research implemented a new user-centred design (UCD) framework of Taguchi-Compliant User-Centred Design (TC-UCD) by adapting and adopting the Taguchi philosophy and current UCD framework. As a result, a series of UIs of the VR-based solution for multifactor usability evaluation and optimization were developed leading to a VR-based solution with optimal UIs. The final distributed VR solution was validated in a truly geographically dispersed condition. Findings from the verification testing, the validation, and the feedback from construction professionals proved positive in addition to providing constructive suggestions to further reinforce the applicability of the approach in the future.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo