Post on 17-Dec-2015
For a better integration of the user in the design and evaluation processes of
TELOS’s tools.
France Henri, Marcelo Maina
LICEF research center, TÉLUQ/UQAMhenri.france@teluq.uqam.ca
mmaina@licef.ca
Presentation Plan
• Research problem
• Solution tracks
• Research objectives
• Theoretical background
• Design approach methodology– A priori analysis : the ARTEFACT
– In use analysis : the INSTRUMENT
• Conclusion
Research problem
TELOS system will introduce important transformation of professional and organizational practice– Significant effort of appropriation – Resistance to change– Risks associated with the use of new tools in professional
activities (use deviation or bypass)
• How to design a tool that will be usable, acceptable and adaptable to professional tasks?
• How to ensure safety in tools for professional aims?• How to facilitate the technological innovation adoption?
Solution tracks
• Deep understanding of user activity• Context,
• professional values and culture,
• practice (interaction with others, rules, routines, methods, tools, etc.)
• Integration of the user in the design process (co-design)
• Validation of the tool “in use”
Research objectives 1. Develop a user inclusive methodology for software tool
designing
2. Base the methodology on a coherent theoretical background: instrumental genesis and participatory design
3. Integrate into the methodology a tracing software to better document the user experience
4. Provide a detailed description of the stages of the methodology
5. Apply the principles of participatory design to the design of this methodology involving LORNET researchers and developers
Theoretical backgroundInstrumental approach (Rabardel)
An Instrument is a mixed entity composed of • the artefact: the tool itself• the utilization patterns developed by the
user– an organized series of actions as means to
reach a goal– supporting the task of
managing the characteristics of the artefact
The mediating instrument, a composite entity (Béguin & Rabardel, 2000).
Theoritical background
Participatory design (Caelen, Bødker)
• Participatory approach: user-design design
• Attempts to actively involve the end users in the design process
• End-users are invited to cooperate with researchers and developers
– during the initial exploration and problem definition
– during development, they help evaluate proposed solutions
A priori analysis : the ARTEFACT
Allows a detailed description of the artifact
• Explain the artifact functional characteristics
• Make explicit the artifact embedded operational logic that structures the task
• Unveil the user presupposed knowledge for the artifact operation
• Situate the artifact in context
The potential functional zone
Constituents functions
Prescribed procedures
Presuppose
d knowledge
Envisioned insertion context
A priori analysis : the ARTEFACT
1. Analysis of the artifact’s potential functional zone What
– Modeling of the intended task (procedural model) and the identification of planned use patterns
– Listing of functions and procedures
– Analysis of the interface (ProCope method)
What for
– Get a “picture” of the artifact
– Make explicit how it structures the activity
– Compare the artifact embedded task structure with the patterns of user activity
– Judge if the gap is acceptable
A priori analysis : the ARTEFACT
2. Identification of presupposed knowledge (Folcher & Sanders, 2005)
What
– Development of assumptions about the user’s computer literacy and task knowledge
What for
– Trace the expected user profile
– Anticipate the possible user lack of knowledge
– Evaluate professional adequacy
p. ex.
A priori analysis : the ARTEFACT 3. Organization of the artifact in families and domains of
activity
What
– Analysis of the context of the artifact's insertion
• Situation of the artifact within activity/ies categories
• Integration of the artifact within an artifactual system
What for
– Vision of the integration of the tool in the organization
– Division of labor (interaction with others)
– Artifact specificities and complementarities
p. ex.
In use analysis : the INSTRUMENT
The artifact becomes an instrument at the moment
of the performance of an activityThe user then puts into play a two-way and parallel process
• the instrumentation process oriented towards himself and by which
the user transforms himself (the emergence and the evolution of the
utilization schemes) and,
• the instrumentalisation process oriented towards the artifact
(selection, production and institution of functions; deviation, bypass of
use)
The potential functional
zone
Constituted functions
Identified procedures
Mobilized knowledg
e
Actual insertion context
In use analysis : the INSTRUMENT
1. Analysis of the instrument (instrumental genesis)
What
– Identify patterns applied by the user during activity performance
– Identify the functions used
– describe the modus operandi of the user
What for
– Account for the appropriation of the artifact by the user
– Identification of emergent or lacking functionalities
– Adjustment of the artifact affordance to users’ intentions
In use analysis : the INSTRUMENT2. Analysis of the functional value of the instrument
What
– Reporting failures of the instrument and the impact on activity
through the application of the “Method of Failures and
substitution Resources” (Rabardel & Bourmaud, 2005)
What for
– Identify function substitution in case of failure
– Establish value of the substitution (equal, partial, etc.)
– Identify resources ad hoc to resolve instrument failure
– Identify conditions helping resolve the failure
In use analysis : the INSTRUMENT
3. Identification of mobilized knowledge
What
– Make explicit and represent mobilized knowledge for the activity performance (inference)
– Compare with the presupposed knowledge
What for
– Trace the actual user profile
– Reorient the artifact development
– Establish user’s training needs
– Modify the instrument to increase its acceptability
In use analysis : the INSTRUMENT
4. Organization of the artifact in families and domains of activity
What
– Analysis of context of the artifact's insertion:
• Situation of the artifact within activity/ies categories (graph)
• Integration of the artifact within an artifactual system (graph)
What for
– Comparison with the artifact envisioned insertion context
– Integration of the artifact in the organization: changes, shifts
– Division of labor (interaction with others)
Conclusion
• TELOS is a socio-technical system that transforms practices of interrelated professions – instructional designers and teachers– also multimedia producers, programmers, graphic designers,
managers, etc.
• The methodology – analyses their activity in context, taking account of history and
culture– helps to develop adequate and high-performance tools– enables to identify organizational challenges
• Our approach is not user centered, but rather envision the design in use with and by the user