Bengt Göransson

Key principles for user-centred systems design

The concept of user-centred systems design (UCSD) has no agreed upon definition. Consequently, there is a great variety in the ways it is applied, which may lead to poor quality and poor usability in the resulting systems, as well as misconceptions about the effectiveness of UCSD. The purpose of this paper is to propose a definition of UCSD. We have identified 12 key principles for the adoption of a user-centred development process, principles that are based on existing theory, as well as research in and experiences from a large number of software development projects. The initial set of principles were applied and evaluated in a case study and modified accordingly. These principles can be used to communicate the nature of UCSD, evaluate a development process or develop systems development processes that support a user-centred approach. We also suggest activity lists and some tools for applying UCSD.

Usability professionals-current practices and future development

The usability concept has now received such a wide recognition in information technology (IT) development that working with usability can be regarded as a profession in its own right. In recent research projects, we have surveyed and studied usability work on an individual level in a number of Swedish development organisations, including success factors and obstacles. What we have seen relates to the individual usability professional and her background and experiences, the organisation in which she operates, the development process, communication and communication means, and finally the attitudes and basic values held by the people involved. In this paper, we compile and reflect on selected findings from different studies on usability work in practical systems development in a number of Swedish organisations. We discuss our findings from a practical point of view and relate them to the research of others within the international HCI community. Finally, we discuss some issues we consider important for the future development of the practice of usability that we believe is of interest to the international community of usability professionals.

Usability Design - Extending Rational Unified Process with a New Discipline

A new discipline, Usability Design, is proposed as an extension to Rational Unified Process (RUP). The aim is to make RUP more user-centred. The discipline springs out of best practices for user-centred design and contains activities that have been carefully tested. Five new roles are introduced to take responsibility for the different activities. An example is given to show the content of the workflow, the workflow details and the activities. The Usability Design discipline help projects to focus on usability and the users throughout the system development lifecycle.

Work environment and computer systems development

Work environment and occupational health problems of different nature are constantly increasing in computer supported work. Most efforts to improve the work environment are focused primarily on physical aspects, and to some extent on psychosocial aspects. Mental workload and cognitive problems are of a more complex nature, more difficult to measure and provide efficient solutions to, and are more seldom studied or solved. Solutions to work environment problems are usually applied to already existing work situations through improved equipment and work place design, health programmes, education, reorganizations, etc. The problems are seldom prevented by means of applying relevant methods early in the systems development process, before the artefacts have been designed and implemented. This paper, and the following papers of this special issue, will focus on the need to integrate different interdisciplinary methods at different phases in the development process of computerized support systems, with the ultimate goal to prevent work environment problems and decrease the health risks to the users.

The interface is often not the problem

Computer systems in the form of tools for specific functions within a work environment are becoming increasingly common. Because the users are not computer experts, and because the introduction of the new tools can dramatically change their tasks, problems arise. It is argued that even if the proper design of the MMI is very important, this will not solve all the problems. More basic problems concern what functions should be included in the system and how the users can understand what the system can do in different work situations and how the response should be evaluated in the context of the work situations. This is demonstrated by experiences from application projects. It is concluded that more research must be devoted to these problem areas. Another important result is the fact that the possibilities to develop more generally applicable computer based tools are limited. Adaption to local circumstances and needs is usually a necessity.

The German teleradiology system MEDICUS system description and experiences in a German field test

MEDICUS is a teleradiology system which has been developed in a joint project of the German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum) and the Transfer Center Medical Informatics (Steinbeis-Transferzentrum Medizinische Informatik) in Heidelberg, Germany. The system is designed to work on ISDN lines as well as in a local area network. Special attention has been given to the design of the user interface and data security, integrity, and authentication. The software is in use in 13 radiology departments in university clinics, small hospitals, private practices, and research institutes. More than 25 thousand images have been processed in 6 months. The system is in use in six different application scenarios. MEDICUS is running under the UNIX operating system. The connection of the modalities could in most cases not be realized with the DICOM protocol as older machines were not equipped with this standard protocol. Clinical experiences show that the MEDICUS system provides a very high degree of functionality. The system has an efficient and user friendly graphical user interface. The result of a comparison with other systems shows that MEDICUS is currently the best known teleradiology system. Cost reductions are already obvious, but additional research has to be performed in this field. An even more powerful commercial successor is currently under construction at the Steinbeis-Transferzentrum Medizinische Informatik in Heidelberg.

Accessibility and public policy in Sweden

Principles and guidelines will become more important, due to the development of accessibility policies and the harmonization with Europe in Sweden is discussed. Public policy is the body of principles that underpin the operation of legal systems in a state, which address the social, moral, and economic values that tie a society together. Accessibility policies often start at the international level. Many countries currently have different regulations for interface accessibility. In Sweden the transparency of the public sector is one of the foundations of democracy and the development of an accessible society and is manifested by a duty to publish and promote openness. Public policy and legislation play an important role in contributing to increased accessibility. Sweden is a country of negotiation and transparency, not binding legislation. Involving groups with impairments may not only provide increased accessibility but also increase innovation.

Experiences with the German teleradiology system MEDICUS

This paper introduces the teleradiology system, MEDICUS, which has been developed at the Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum (German Cancer Research Center) in Heidelberg, Germany. The system is designed to work on ISDN lines as well as in a local area network. The global software architecture is explained in the article. Special attention has been given to the design of the user interface and data security, integrity and authentication. The software has been evaluated in a German field test at 13 radiology departments in university clinics, small hospitals, private practices and research institutes. More than 30 thousand images have been transmitted using this system during a 9 month period. Realized application scenarios are: in-house communication, image and report delivery to referring hospitals, remote reporting, radiotherapy treatment planning and research cooperation. Experience has shown that the system is easy to use and saves time. It obviates the need for patient transport and reduces film costs. Experiences of individuals while using the system during the field test helped define the functionality of the second generation teleradiology system which is even more flexible and is also available as a commercial product.

A teleradiology system design case

Have you ever been frustrated with that IT system at work that does not behave the way you expect it to? Or had problems with using the features on your new mobile phone? When systems and appliances do not support us in what we are doing, and do not behave the way we expect them to, then usability is neglected. Poor usability may be frustrating and irritating when trying out your mobile phone, but in a critical work situation poor usability may be disastrous.In this thesis, user-centred systems design (UCSD) is advocated as an approach for facilitating the development of usable interactive systems. Systems that suit their intended use and users do not just “emerge”. They are the result of a UCSD process and a user-centred attitude during the development. This means in short that the real users and their needs, goals, context of use, abilities and limitations, drive the development – in contrast to technology-driven development. We define UCSD as: a process focusing on usability throughout the entire development process and further throughout the system life cycle. I argue that this definition along with a set of key principles do help organisations and individual projects in the process of developing usable interactive systems. The key principles include the necessity of having an explicit focus on users and making sure that users are actively involved in the process.The thesis provides knowledge and insights gained from real-life situations about what UCSD is and how it can be put into practice. The most significant results are: the proposal of a clear definition of UCSD and a set of key principles encompassing UCSD; a process for usability design and the usability designer role. Furthermore, design cases from different domains are provided as examples and illustrations.

Physicians' concept of time usage : A key concern in EPR deployment

This paper is based on an interview study with 19 resident, specialist and senior physicians. The study was initiated by a Swedish Hospital management to investigate physicians’ attitude towards their EPR (Electronic Patient Records) and give recommendations for improvement in organization, development, deployment and training. The management had experienced that the physicians were unwilling to take part in the EPR deployment process and simultaneously complained about the low usability and potential safety risks of the systems. The study shows that the EPR must be considered a shared responsibility within the whole organization and not just a property of the IT department. The physicians must consider, and really experience, EPR as efficient support in their daily work rather than something they are forced to use. This includes considering work with the EPR as an important part of their work with patients.