Karsten Nebe

Integrating agile methods for mixed reality design space exploration

Mixed reality - the close coupling of real world objects with computer generated information and functionality - has high potential for the creation of usable user interfaces. The implementation of practical applications that exploit these benefits requires an exploratory design approach to handle the interaction of application content with newly developed interaction techniques and complex hardware. In this paper we describe how agile methods from software engineering can be integrated with usability engineering and mixed reality development techniques to enable effective design space exploration. The approach was employed in the development of the Augmented Paper Map (APM) project in which conventional paper maps are enhanced with mixed reality functionality. Experiences with the method and future enhancements and modifications of the approach are discussed.

Exploiting new interaction techniques for disaster control management using multitouch-, tangible- and pen-based-interaction

This paper shows the proceedings and results of an user centered design process that has been applied in order to analyze how processes of management in disaster control can be optimized while using new interaction techniques like multitouch, tangible and pen-based interaction. The study took part in cooperation with the German Federal Agency for Technical Relief. Its statutory tasks include the provision of technical assistance at home and humanitarian aid abroad. Major focus of this work is the IT-support for coordination and management tasks. As result we introduce our prototype application, the software- and hardware requirements towards it as well as the interaction design that was influenced by the outcome of the user centered design process.

Integrating Software Engineering and Usability Engineering

ion. While this can lead to successful results, it fails to provide a continuous strategy for integration that considers the structural, organizational and operational aspects on equal footing and is adaptable to a variety of established and evolving SE practices. This has been illustrated by the advent of so called agile development approaches that have become popular in recent years, resulting in the need for newly adapted strategies for UE integration. In the following sections we introduce a systematic approach that covers the three levels of abstraction from standards over process models to operational processes to address this challenge in a systematic way. 5. Integration on three Levels of Abstraction In order to identify integration points between the two disciplines examination and analysis has to be performed on each level of the abstraction hierarchy: On the most abstract level of standards it has to be shown that the central aspects of SE and UE can coexist and can be integrated. On the level of process models it has to be analyzed how UE aspects can be

An investigation on requirements for co-located group-work using multitouch-, pen-based- and tangible-interaction

Cooperation and coordination is crucial to solve many of our everyday tasks. Even though many computerized tools exist, there is still a lack of effective tools that support co-located group work. There are promising technologies that can add to this, such as tabletop systems, multitouch, tangible and pen-based interaction. There also exist general requirements and principles that aim to support this kind of work. However these requirements are relatively vague and are not focused on concrete usage scenarios. In this study a user centered approach has been applied in order to develop a co-located group work system based on those general requirements but also on a real use case. The requirements are transformed into concepts and a running prototype that was evaluated with users. As a result not only the usability of the system has been proven but also a catalogue of even more specific requirements for co-located group work systems could be derived.

Designing context aware user interfaces for online exercise training supervision

We present the design of context aware user interfaces for a tele-medical application. The system that is going to be developed within an European research project addresses patients with cardiac diseases who had undergone rehabilitation phase II. It enables them to exercise at home or to exercise mobile while being supervised by a doctor either live or during a post-processing. Therefore we analyzed the needs and requirements of supervisors with the goal to create minimal-attention user interfaces that provide a good usability. The process of the analysis, the most important results and the design approaches for the system are presented in this paper.

Aspects of integrating user centered design into software engineering processes

Software Engineering (SE) and Usability Engineering (UE) both provide a wide range of elaborated process models to create software solutions. Today, many companies have realized the need for usable products and understood that a systematic and structured approach to usability is as important as the process of software development itself. However, theory and practice still have problems to efficiently and smoothly incorporate UE methods into established development processes. One challenge is to identify integration points between the two disciplines SE and UE that allow a close collaboration, with acceptable additional organizational and operational effort. The approach presented in this paper identifies integration points between software engineering and usability engineering on the level of process models. The authors analyzed four different software engineering process models to determine their ability to create usable products. Therefore, the authors synthesized demands of usability engineering and performed an assessment of the models.

A holistic model for integrating usability engineering and software engineering enriched with marketing activities

To support the integration of usability engineering and software engineering this paper analyses corresponding international standards and introduces a model that consists of activities and artifacts highlighting dependencies, similarities and possible points for integration. In addition the model presents activities that serve as potential integration points for the third discipline of marketing. By using this model processes can be aligned easier on a common information base (e.g. activities, artifacts). Innovative thinking will be forced by considering the business perspective of marketing activities likewise.

Key requirements for integrating usability engineering and software engineering

To improve the integration between Software Engineering (SE) and Usability Engineering (UE) this paper identifies areas of overlap and develops proposals for their integration. The focus is on key requirements that were derived using semi-structured interviews and questionnaires. The principles and activities in the standards ISO 13407 and ISO/PAS 18152 were concretized to establish specific quality aspects. The identified requirements provide a foundation for systematic modification of existing development processes with established best practices from both disciplines.

Aligning user centered design activities with established software development practices

The authors will present their experiences gathered by implementing a User Centered Design (UCD) Process in an existing product development lifecycle within the complex setting of a large healthcare software company.This experience report will highlight how the authors succeeded to tie UCD practices to the existing software development cycle using use cases as a tool for requirement identification and capture.

Designing a Telemedical System for Cardiac Exercise Rehabilitation

Since cardiac diseases cause the major amount of money spent in medical care, IT solutions that support patients in the rehabilitation phase are desirable. Such systems can motivate and guide patients in order to exercise frequently and hence to avoid another cardiac event. Such telemedical applications have posses a very special and heterogeneous user group. Therefore User Centered Design is crucial. We present a system setup and user interface design that was prototypically build for this kind of patients.