Layered evaluation of interactive adaptive systems : framework and formative methods

Peer reviewedPostprin

Enhancing Creativity in Interaction Design: Alternative Design Brief

This paper offers a critique of the design brief as it is currently used in teaching interaction design and proposes an alternative way of developing it. Such a design brief requires the exploration of alternative application domains for an already developed technology. The paper presents a case study where such a novel type of design brief has been offered to the students taking part in a collaborative design project and discusses how it supported divergent thinking and creativity as well as helped enhancing the learning objectives

International comparisons in senior secondary assessment progress report

This report describes the context and parameters of Ofqual’s research into the assessments taken by learners at senior secondary level in a number of key comparator jurisdictions and outlines the progress made up to February 2011. The purpose of the research is to make comparative judgements concerning the demand of qualifications available to learners in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, against a range of qualifications available to similar learners in other jurisdictions. The focus is on their appropriateness in preparing learners for entry to an honours degree level course in the UK

Examining the building selection decision-making process within corporate relocations : to design and evaluate a client focused tool to support objective decision making

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to consider the complex decision-making process involved in corporate relocation and the validity of a tool designed to improve the objectivity and strategic management of this process and to change the focus of the decision upon the strategic management objectives rather than the real estate deal. Design/methodology/approach – The authors identify the progression of the decision-making process; disaggregate components of that process; and evaluate a tool designed to improve the decision-making process. Findings – The size of the organisation can have a significant impact on the building evaluation and decision-making process, smaller firms with less resources are more likely to make the relocation decision based on “gut feeling” rather than detailed evaluation. However, with increased transparency, accountability and corporate social responsibility, decisions based on more rigorous and objective approaches are being demanded. The evaluated tool facilitates a more objective approach and shifts the focus from a real estate to a business decision. Practical implications – Corporate real estate managers can use the information to evaluate their own decision-making processes against the framework of the tool and decide if it may be applicable to their context. Originality/value – The paper fills a void by examining the decision-making process from a fresh perspective, updates the thinking by providing a contemporary tool which has been beta tested with students and is about to be piloted with corporate clients.</p

Tracing the Scenarios in Scenario-Based Product Design: a study to support scenario generation

Scenario-based design originates from the human-computer interaction and\ud software engineering disciplines, and continues to be adapted for product development. Product development differs from software development in the former’s more varied context of use, broader characteristics of users and more tangible solutions. The possible use of scenarios in product design is therefore broader and more challenging. Existing design methods that involve scenarios can be employed in many different stages of the product design process. However, there is no proficient overview that discusses a\ud scenario-based product design process in its full extent. The purposes of creating scenarios and the evolution of scenarios from their original design data are often not obvious, although the results from using scenarios are clearly visible. Therefore, this paper proposes to classify possible scenario uses with their purpose, characteristics and supporting design methods. The classification makes explicit different types of scenarios and their relation to one another. Furthermore, novel scenario uses can be referred or added to the classification to develop it in parallel with the scenario-based design\ud practice. Eventually, a scenario-based product design process could take inspiration for creating scenarios from the classification because it provides detailed characteristics of the scenario

CompendiumLD – a tool for effective, efficient and creative learning design

Developers and teachers go through a complex decision making process when designing new learning activities – working towards an effective pedagogical mix, combining resources, tools, student and tutor support. This paper describes CompendiumLD, a prototype tool we have built to support practitioners through the process of designing learning activities. We describe how the tool fits into our vision of a dynamic, interactive set of resources and system tools to support effective, efficient and creative learning design. It describes CompendiumLD's features and explains the rationale behind their development. It shows how the tool is intended to aid designers make choices, and plan developments, facilitating creativity and efficiency in the design process. In our conclusions we consider how such a system can support the design of effective learning activities