Vers une conception centrée sur l’utilité

The main objective of this thesis is to support and to improve, with utility in consideration, the design process of artifacts in the context of emerging technologies. It was realized in the context of a Research-Action conducted as part of a real design project called 3DChild, which resulted in a virtual reality based software named “Appli-Viz’3D”.To meet our objective, we have chosen to focus on how utility is effectively dealt today in design community. Two main concerns guided our work. The first one was to analyze how utility and requirements are taken into account in design. From this point of view, we were interested in models, methods and tools used or advocated in marketing, industrial engineering, requirement engineering, software engineering, industrial design and ergonomics of design activities. We also explored representations of different profiles of designers on the utility and key elements in the process of construction of requirements. The second main interest was to study the effective contribution of stakeholders – designers and users – to the design of innovative artifacts through empirical studies. For this second line of research, we first aimed to analyze the global dynamics of the process of participative and continuous co-construction of requirements. We then focused on more specific issues of this process. We were particularly interested in the identification of requirements and in the proposal of specifications by different designers’ profiles. We finally studied the prioritization of requirements by different users’ profiles and the development of requirements, during the sessions of evaluation of the software Appli-Viz’3D in a participative context.At the end of this work, we propose two methodological contributions : a model of utility-centered design and an extension of a design method that is the I²I method. The model of utility-centered design is original because it is a framework to analyze, help or guide the inclusion of the utility in the design process. It theorizes the existence of two universes of utility : the prospective and retrospective universes. It formalizes the idea that the design involves a continuous dialectic between these two universes from the “analysis” phase where utility, form and detail of the software remain vague and speculative, to the “evaluation and test” phase where the final form is proven and continues to evolve in use. We propose also an extension of the I²I method in order to facilitate the integration of the user in the design process. In this sense, it is a methodological tool which aims to guide VR engineers to design products focused not only on the features, but also on the needs and expectations of end users. Our recommendations involve the integration of human specialists to achieve these steps.These methodological frameworks may provide tools for the Living Labs belonging to the European Network of Living Labs (EnoLL) supported by the European Commission. The objective of the Living Lab is to engage communities of users as soon as possible in the design process to co-create, explore, experiment and evaluate services, products or new uses before the implementation of an artifact. Their particularity is to establish a strong participatory dimension, because the end users, for whom the new product (or service) is built, is involved in the early stages of the design process, and their needs are taken into account throughout the project

Vers une conception centrée sur l’utilité

The main objective of this thesis is to support and to improve, with utility in consideration, the design process of artifacts in the context of emerging technologies. It was realized in the context of a Research-Action conducted as part of a real design project called 3DChild, which resulted in a virtual reality based software named “Appli-Viz’3D”.To meet our objective, we have chosen to focus on how utility is effectively dealt today in design community. Two main concerns guided our work. The first one was to analyze how utility and requirements are taken into account in design. From this point of view, we were interested in models, methods and tools used or advocated in marketing, industrial engineering, requirement engineering, software engineering, industrial design and ergonomics of design activities. We also explored representations of different profiles of designers on the utility and key elements in the process of construction of requirements. The second main interest was to study the effective contribution of stakeholders – designers and users – to the design of innovative artifacts through empirical studies. For this second line of research, we first aimed to analyze the global dynamics of the process of participative and continuous co-construction of requirements. We then focused on more specific issues of this process. We were particularly interested in the identification of requirements and in the proposal of specifications by different designers’ profiles. We finally studied the prioritization of requirements by different users’ profiles and the development of requirements, during the sessions of evaluation of the software Appli-Viz’3D in a participative context.At the end of this work, we propose two methodological contributions : a model of utility-centered design and an extension of a design method that is the I²I method. The model of utility-centered design is original because it is a framework to analyze, help or guide the inclusion of the utility in the design process. It theorizes the existence of two universes of utility : the prospective and retrospective universes. It formalizes the idea that the design involves a continuous dialectic between these two universes from the “analysis” phase where utility, form and detail of the software remain vague and speculative, to the “evaluation and test” phase where the final form is proven and continues to evolve in use. We propose also an extension of the I²I method in order to facilitate the integration of the user in the design process. In this sense, it is a methodological tool which aims to guide VR engineers to design products focused not only on the features, but also on the needs and expectations of end users. Our recommendations involve the integration of human specialists to achieve these steps.These methodological frameworks may provide tools for the Living Labs belonging to the European Network of Living Labs (EnoLL) supported by the European Commission. The objective of the Living Lab is to engage communities of users as soon as possible in the design process to co-create, explore, experiment and evaluate services, products or new uses before the implementation of an artifact. Their particularity is to establish a strong participatory dimension, because the end users, for whom the new product (or service) is built, is involved in the early stages of the design process, and their needs are taken into account throughout the project

Designing acceptable emerging technologies: what contribution from ergonomics?

International audienceErgonomics has several theoretical frameworks at its disposal for assessing the acceptability of technologies, and it uses numerous methodologies that exist within the discipline. Authors generally base their studies on one or other of these theoretical and methodological approaches, which are sometimes seen as mutually incompatible. The present article, however, seeks to demonstrate the interest of combining three methodological approaches (i.e., experimental, ecological, and prospective methodologies) in designing emerging technologies that will be accepted. Our first focus is conceptual, and the arguments we present for taking a holistic view of the acceptability of emerging technologies are based on the foundations, the contributions and the limitations of three theoretical frameworks of acceptance (i.e., social acceptance, practical acceptance, and situated acceptance). Our second focus is methodological: using our own work as evidence we argue that an experimental methodology can further both the practical acceptance and the social acceptance of Virtual Reality, that an ecological methodology can further its situated acceptance, and that a prospective methodology has relevance to all three facets. We discuss and suggest some recommendations regarding the use of these methodologies according to the type of design project.Highlights A holistic view of the acceptability of emerging technologies based on social, practical and situated acceptance is proposed. The experimental approach informs the practical and social acceptance of virtual reality. The ecological approach promotes situated acceptance of emerging technologies. The prospective approach is relevant to social, practical and situated acceptance

Évaluer l’utilité dans le contexte des technologies émergentes pour identifier des besoins latents : éléments issus d’une analyse des interactions en situation d’usage

This paper aims to understand how the evaluation of an emerging technology in an ecological context using a prototype promotes the generation of latent needs arising from interactions between participants in training and work situations using the Appli-Viz ’3D software, within a furniture manufacturing company. This study involved a designer (virtual reality trainee) and seven users (2 engineers, 3 designers and 2 marketers specialized in the design of childcare furniture). The analysis of verbalizations and interactions for the two observed situations highlighted: 1) a complementarity of the participants’ contributions in terms of cognitive activities and subjects, 2) the presence of generations of new functionalities and properties often preceded by information and evaluations. In the discussion, we highlight the need to confront users with the technology in a real-world environment so as to design emerging technologies that are actually useful and to better introduce them into organizations. We conclude on the contributions and limits of the retrospective approach and then discuss the prospective approach to usefulness

Présent et Futur de l’ergonomie

Le lecteur trouvera dans ce numéro 16-2 de la revue Activités trois textes en varia qui interrogent, selon des éclairages spécifiques, la formation de divers professionnels. Un dossier issu du congrès de la SELF 2017 « Présent et futur de l’ergonomie » et quatre recensions d’ouvrages complètent le numéro. Dans l'éditorial, nous annonçons le prochain congrès de la SELF, organisé par la revue Activités, à Paris, à la Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie. Il a pour thème « L’activité et ses frontières. Penser et agir sur les transformations de nos sociétés ». Nous vous souhaitons une bonne lecture