From piles to tiles: designing for overview and control in case handling systems

Poor overview and control of workload in electronic case handling systems is a potential health risk factor which affects the users. Case handling systems must therefore be designed to give the users a better overview and maximum control over their workload. In an earlier study, we developed a prototype interface for managing cases, based on the piles metaphor. This paper introduces a second prototype, which is designed to incorporate the findings of an evaluation of the piles metaphor prototype. In this second prototype cases are visualized as “tiles”, reflecting the number and complexity of the cases. This paper also describes some the results of the evaluation of the tiles prototype

Бактериальные менингиты: клинико-эпидемиологические и патогенетические особенности, лечение

АВТОРЕФЕРАТЫ ДИССЕРТАЦИЙАНТИБАКТЕРИАЛЬНЫЕ СРЕДСТВААНТИБИОТИКИМЕНИНГИТ /ЛЕК ТЕРМЕНИНГИТ БАКТЕРИАЛЬНЫЙ /ЛЕК ТЕРНЕРВНОЙ СИСТЕМЫ ЦЕНТРАЛЬНОЙ БОЛЕЗН

Service Walkthroughs to Support Service Development

Abstract Service design is said to be a holistic design approach. This is evident in most service design literature and textbooks but still services are prototyped by focusing on separate parts rather than whole service journeys. In this paper we propose a technique called service walkthrough that can be used to represent whole services. We explore what information can be generated using the technique and how useful it is. We found that the technique helped identify the flow of information, problematic areas, and design opportunities. The prototype was generally well received by the participants. In addition to learning about information, the technique also revealed insights about time and interdependencies of the various parts of the service. Some remarks are also made about when the service walkthrough can be used in the service development process and considerations concerning the fidelity of service walkthroughs

User-centred design and agile development of IT systems

Despite the knowledge on the interaction between humans and computers, too many IT systems show great deficits when it comes to usability. Every day we run into technology that makes our every day life and our work unnecessarily complex and difficult because of the IT systems that are not designed to support our tasks in a usable way. This thesis deals with different aspects of usability and the process of how to develop usable IT systems effectively. Primarily, the systems concerned are used in professional work, such as case handling systems in large government organisations. The main objective of this research is to understand which essential factors in the system development process that facilitate the development of usable IT systems. Another key subject is how human-computer interaction (HCI) knowledge can be integrated into systems development, in particular the integration of user-centred design (UCD) and agile software development. The research is based on a qualitative approach and on reflections from my own experience in development projects. It also includes exploratory studies and design cases. The attempts of bridging the gap between HCI and software engineering have not been notably successful in practice. To address some of these problems, there is a need for a more precise definition of user-centred design, which is proposed in the thesis. Also, the complicated reality of systems development is not considered enough by HCI researchers and practitioner. To reach better results, UCD has to be integrated as a natural part of the development process. In the thesis, I argue that the agile approach together with UCD can be a good starting point for this integration. The agile approach emphasises that responding to change in development is more important than strictly adhering to a plan. Also, it prioritises regular deliveries of working software over extensive models and documentation. However, from an HCI perspective, agile processes do not inherently provide the required support for user-centred design. Nevertheless, the basic values and specific methods of agile development may have the potential to work very well together with UCD. For instance, iterative development is fundamental to both user-centred design and agile development. Finally, the research addresses how iterative methods can be used to find design solutions that support the users to cope with the problems of overview and control in case handling work

The User as a Personality: A Reflection on the Theoretical and Practical Use of Personas in HCI Design

A persona is a user model that focuses on the individual's goals in interaction. The model resembles classical user profiles, but with some important distinctions. The persona represents patterns of users' behaviour and goals. The concept has a focus on practical interaction design and is not based on a theoretical HCI perspective, although it implies a distinctive perspective on the role of users and interaction. The purpose of this paper is to examine how this concept relates to some theoretical perspectives on users and interaction. One such theory that I discuss is activity theory, which share the emphasis on that interaction is driven by users' motives and goals. But activity theory is a more elaborated framework for studying activities. The conclusion is that personas have a narrower perspective on users and activities compared to activity theory, but this also makes it more easy to use as a tool to direct design. Also, the role of the user in the persona approach is blurred with the role as a consumer. The issue of interaction design becomes a matter of satisfying the needs of the consumers, not to improve human work and life

Service prototyping according to service design practitioners

Current trends in service design research include case studies and similar approaches that aspire to reveal what the practice of service design looks like. The understanding of how service design is performed can serve as a base for future research into more specific research endeavours. One area where knowledge is said to be lacking is service prototyping, part of which knowledge this paper attempts to contribute. The main data source for the paper is findings from in-depth interviews with six practicing service designers from some of the more well-known design agencies. The informants consider service prototyping to be a very important part of their work that allows them to learn and communicate about design ideas. The practitioners ’ account of how they work with prototypes indicates that service prototyping has different meanings and that the practice of prototyping is very diverse. The interviews also uncover a number of areas that, according to the designers, might prove extra challenging for service prototyping to be successful. This research shows that there is much potential in the not yet fully formed practice of service prototyping

Service Prototyping According to Service Design Practitioners

Current trends in service design research include case studies and similar approaches that aspire to reveal what the practice of service design looks like. The understanding of how service design is performed can serve as a base for future research into more specific research endeavours. One area where knowledge is said to be lacking is service prototyping, part of which knowledge this paper attempts to contribute. The main data source for the paper is findings from in-depth interviews with six practicing service designers from some of the more well-known design agencies. The informants consider service prototyping to be a very important part of their work that allows them to learn and communicate about design ideas. The practitioners’ account of how they work with prototypes indicates that service prototyping has different meanings and that the practice of prototyping is very diverse. The interviews also uncover a number of areas that, according to the designers, might prove extra challenging for service prototyping to be successful. This research shows that there is much potential in the not yet fully formed practice of service prototyping

An investigation about a decoding method

Syftet med undersökningen är att se hur lärares och specialpedagogers syn på Bravkod är. Vi ville också ta reda på varför de arbetar med Bravkod och hur de anser att elevernas uppfattning om metoden är. Vi har intervjuat totalt fem personer varav två var lärare och tre specialpedagoger. Resultatet av undersökningen visar att personerna upplever metoden som enkel och motiverande för eleverna, samt att attityden är positiv hos såväl vuxna som elever. Alltså uppfattar vi metoden som fungerande, då både elever och pedagoger snabbt kan se en förändring i läsutvecklingen.