"So, Tell Me What Users Want, What They Really, Really Want!"

Equating users' true needs and desires with behavioural measures of 'engagement' is problematic. However, good metrics of 'true preferences' are difficult to define, as cognitive biases make people's preferences change with context and exhibit inconsistencies over time. Yet, HCI research often glosses over the philosophical and theoretical depth of what it means to infer what users really want. In this paper, we present an alternative yet very real discussion of this issue, via a fictive dialogue between senior executives in a tech company aimed at helping people live the life they `really' want to live. How will the designers settle on a metric for their product to optimise

Digital libraries: What do users want?

This is the post-print version of the Article of the Article. The official published version can be accessed from the link below - Copyright @ 2006 EmeraldPurpose – The purpose of this study is to determine user suggestions for digital libraries' functionality and features. Design/methodology/approach – A survey was conducted as part of this study, in which users' suggestions for digital libraries were solicited, as well as their ranking opinions on a range of suggested digital library features. Findings – The study revealed that, regardless of users' information technology (IT) backgrounds, their expectations of digital libraries' functionality are the same. However, based on users' previous experiences with digital libraries, their requirements with respect to specific features may change. Practical implications – Involving users in digital library design should be an integral step in the process of building a digital library – in addition to the classic roles of evaluation and testing. Originality/value – In previous digital library user studies, users were involved implicitly (e.g. observed) or explicitly (e.g. diary notes). However, they were never asked to suggest digital library features or functionalities, as this was left to usability and domain experts. This study approached digital library design from a new perspective, giving users an opportunity to express their suggestions on future functionality and features of digital libraries. Moreover, in contrast to previous work, this study has explicitly taken into account the IT abilities of those interacting with a digital library

The business end of broadband: what business users want from high-speed broadband

This report assesses business users’ attitudes on a range of issues that are material to the reviews of the national broadband network (NBN). Key recommendations: Giving greater priority to rolling out infrastructure to poorly served businesses and industrial estates in outer suburban and regional areas. Taking into account the needs of different user groups, including business users, in the reviews of the NBN. This should include the different technical requirements and service levels they may require from a high-speed broadband service. Ensuring affordable access to fibre to the premise (FTTP) services for those businesses that desire it and the release of key details about these services such as availability, provisioning and pricing. Outlining the types of enterprise product packages on offer to businesses and the impact of a revised model on the small, medium and large enterprise products currently offered or under development by NBN Co. Clearly communicating any timetable revisions to the business community to ensure businesses are aware of when services will become available in their area. Identifying how a revised model will allow for an upgrade path to FTTP services in the longer term. Continuing to provide targeted support to build businesses\u27 digital capabilities, where there is evidence that gaps exist, through initiatives like the Digital Business programs

A task-centred approach to evaluating a mobile learning environment for pedagogical soundness

The focus of this paper is how to evaluate the pedagogical soundness of a mobile learning environment in which many users (both teachers and learners) may not have previously encountered mobile technology, so may be uncertain how best to deploy it to achieve their goals. Drawing on concepts from Activity Theory and the socio-cognitive engineering method described by Sharples (2000), it describes an approach which enables an enriched view of users’ current and future activities, which in turn will allow us to understand the range of actions and opportunities open to mobile learners, and seek ways of extending this range to support what learners want to do – even if they themselves do not yet know what that is

Understanding Users' Metadata Needs: How Do We Know What They Want?

Descriptive metadata should match users’ expectations of the information that is available to search against. The methodology used for the research discussed in this presentation focuses on how users describe books outside of the context of an existing search interface. It represents an effort to isolate and identify salient types of information and then to compare them with library data and standards to determine how much users’ descriptions and catalogers’ descriptions overlap. This presentation will focus on an analysis of the methodology used in this and other similarly constructed studies, preliminary findings based on the data that was gathered during the pilot study, and ideas for how the type of information gathered through these types of studies could be used to assess metadata practices and inform the creation of descriptive metadata standards