1,721,194 research outputs found
Integrating User-Centered Design in Agile Development
No full textThis book examines the possibilities of incorporating elements of user-centred design (UCD) such as user experience (UX) and usability with agile software development. It explores the difficulties and problems inherent in integrating these two practices despite their relative similarities, such as their emphasis on stakeholder collaboration.
Developed from a workshop held at NordiCHI in 2014, this edited volume brings together researchers from across the software development, UCD and creative design fields to discuss the current state-of-the-art. Practical case studies of integrating UCD in Agile development across diverse contexts are presented, whilst the different futures for UCD and other design practices in the context of agile software development are identified and explored.
Integrating User Centred Design in Agile Development will be ideal for researchers, designers and academics who are interested in software development, user-centred design, agile methodologies and related areas
Integrating User-Centred Design in Agile Development
No full textThis book originates from a NordiCHI 2014 workshop. Six workshop position papers have been updated and expanded for this book: five case studies (Chaps. 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6) and a proposed new framework (Chap. 9). One position paper was
updated for publication elsewhere. The other is available from the workshop’s website. Five additional chapters were prepared for this book: the introduction (Chap. 1), the report on the workshop (Chap. 8), a sixth case study (Chap. 7) and two forward-looking analyses (Chaps. 10 and 11). Half of the case studies have industrial authors, with the other half authored by academic researchers working in close collaboration with commercial and public organisations. Overall, this book’s chapters present a comprehensive survey of progress and continuing challenges in the integration of Agile and UCD. The quality and depth of the case study research is impressive. The forward-looking chapters propose novel broader futures for Agile UCD. There are good grounds for optimism now in the face of the initial shock of Agile reversing many UCD gains. These reversals are temporary, and we can look forward to the best of both worlds, or perhaps the best of several worlds, combining to improve the development of digital products and services
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Failure rates in introductory programming revisited
Full text linkWhilst working on an upcoming meta-analysis that synthesized fifty years of research on predictors of programming performance, we made an interesting discovery. Despite several studies citing a motivation for research as the high failure rates of introductory programming courses, to date, the majority of available evidence on this phenomenon is at best anecdotal in nature, and only a single study by Bennedsen and Caspersen has attempted to determine a worldwide pass rate of introductory programming courses. In this paper, we answer the call for further substantial evidence on the CS1 failure rate phenomenon, by performing a systematic review of introductory programming literature, and a statistical analysis on pass rate data extracted from relevant articles. Pass rates describing the outcomes of 161 CS1 courses that ran in 15 different countries, across 51 institutions were extracted and analysed. An almost identical mean worldwide pass rate of 67.7% was found. Moderator analysis revealed significant, but perhaps not substantial differences in pass rates based upon: grade level, country, and class size. However, pass rates were found not to have significantly differed over time, or based upon the programming language taught in the course. This paper serves as a motivation for researchers of introductory programming education, and provides much needed quantitative evidence on the potential difficulties and failure rates of this course
Values and perspectives affecting IT systems development and usability work
No full textComputer supported work is often stressful and inadequate computer systems and poor usability contribute to the problem. Still the work situation, and work environment of users are seldom considered when developing computer systems, and it is difficult to incorporate the ideas of User Centred Systems Design (UCSD) in practice. Hence, this research addresses the difficulty in integrating usability, UCSD and occupational health issues in IT systems development in order to improve the resulting work situation and well-being of users. How do basic values and perspectives of stakeholders in systems development projects affect the work with UCSD, usability and users’ health issues in the organisations studied? This research aims at influencing systems development in practice; hence, research is carried out in real life settings with an action research approach. Data is gathered and analysed with a qualitative research approach with interview studies, meetings with stakeholders, analysis of documentation, observations and field studies. The theoretical framework adheres to situated action, participatory design, and UCSD that stresses the importance of involving users in the design process. This research shows that several basic values and perspectives affect systems development and hinder the usability work, for example, the perspective on user representatives, the value of rationality and objectivity, and the perspective underpinning descriptions and discourse on work. Moreover, this research indicates that the strong business values of automation, efficiency and customer satisfaction shape the development of new technology, and ultimately the tasks and work practices of the civil servants. In short, the studies show that there are some contradictions in business values and the implementation of user-centred systems design, usability and health issues in systems development. Attitudes and perspectives are not easily changed, and change comes gradually. In these organisations, we continuously discuss the integration of health issues in systems development, and by introducing and changing the models of systems development these will hopefully enable communication and change forwards of new perspectives and values. However, a focus on models alone is insufficient and therefore we need to develop a systematic approach to include reflection and new perspectives. Perhaps the reflection itself would help us see our values and perspectives and to alter them
Usability – Who Cares? : The Introduction of User-Centred Systems Design in Organisations
No full textThis thesis analyses the difficulties encountered in the promotion of usability, especially in relation to occupation health issues, when developing IT systems in a public authority. It examines what happens when User-Centred Systems Design (UCSD) approaches are introduced to organisations with in-house systems development for their employees. It studies how stakeholder values affect the outcomes in terms of usability, occupational health, and institutional acceptance. Moreover, new methods are examined and evaluated as potential tools for assisting the adoption of UCSD. These methods are for example Field studies for system developers, Usability coaching for stakeholders and Management views of usability. A stated aim is to influence systems development in practice. Hence an action research paradigm has been employed, carrying out research and change in real life settings, gathering and analysing data using qualitative techniques. This thesis is based on a constructivist perspective, where theories in the areas of learning and organisational change have been used in order to better understand the research questions. The research demonstrates that most people are enthusiastic to, and interested in, UCSD with a focus on the computerised work environment. Many of the stakeholder groups, such as managers, users, project managers and system developers, changed their construct of identity as well as practice when UCSD was introduced. However, this research shows that there are several values that affect systems development and hinder usability work. These include for example value of rationality and objectivity, and differing values and perspectives underpinning descriptions and discourse on work and systems development. Values such as automation, efficiency, and customer satisfaction shape the development of new technology, and ultimately the tasks, work practices integrated in IT systems. Moreover, the results demonstrate that even though many consider usability as important, few take active responsibility for it, as the title of this thesis suggests
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