Supporting interaction and co-evolution of users and systems

ABSTRACT

Interactive systems supporting people activities, even those designed for a specific application domain, should be very flexible, i. e., they should be easily adaptable to specific needs of the user communities. They should even allow users to personalize the system to better fit with their evolving needs. This paper presents an original model of the interaction and co-evolution processes occurring between humans and interactive systems and discusses an approach to design systems that supports such processes. The approach is based on the "artisan's workshop" metaphor and foresees the participatory design of an interactive system as a network of workshops customized to different user communities and connected one another by communication paths. Such paths allow end users and members of the design team to trigger and actuate the co-evolution. The feasibility of the methodology is illustrated through a case study in the medical domain.

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INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  H. Information Systems
  H.5 INFORMATION INTERFACES AND PRESENTATION (I.7)
      H.5.3 Group and Organization Interfaces
          Subjects: Asynchronous interaction

Additional Classification:
  H. Information Systems
  H.5 INFORMATION INTERFACES AND PRESENTATION (I.7)
      H.5.3 Group and Organization Interfaces
          Subjects: Organizational design; Theory and models

General Terms:
Design, Experimentation, Human Factors

Keywords:
co-evolution, interaction model, participatory design, usability