This paper presents a novel argumentation framework to support Issue-Based Information System style debates on design alternatives, by providing an automatic quantitative evaluation of the positions put forward. It also identifies several formal properties of the proposed quantitative argumentation framework and compares it with existing non-numerical abstract argumentation formalisms. Finally, the paper describes the integration of the proposed approach within the design Visual Understanding Environment software tool along with three case studies in engineering design. The case studies show the potential for a competitive advantage of the proposed approach with respect to state-of-the-art engineering design methods.Keywords: argumentation; debate; design rationale; Issue-Based Information System (IBIS); decision support Engineering design is often described as an information-processing activity based on problem-solving within the constraints of bounded rationality (Simon, 1996;Simon & Newell, 1971). It consists of decomposing an initial problem into a range of sub-problems, proposing and assessing partial solutions, and integrating them as to satisfy the overall problem. This process is collaborative and often involves communication between non-co-located engineers. The development and communication of design solutions require engineers to form and share design rationale, that is, the argumentation in favour or against proposed designs.These aspects of the engineering design process have led to the development (Kunz & Rittel, 1970) and subsequent investigation (Buckingham Shum & Hammond, 1994;Fischer, Lemke, McCall, & Morch, 1991) of the issue-based information system (IBIS) method, a graph-based formalisation of the decisions made during a design process along with the reasons why they were made. The IBIS method envisions a decision-making process where problems (or issues) are given solutions (or answers) after a thorough debate involving technical, economical, life, environmental and safety considerations. It also provides means to actively develop, communicate and record the reasons (or arguments) in favour or against the options explored during the design process. Initially, IBIS was conceived purely as a conceptual information system and its first implementations were paper-based and totally operated by hand. However, over time several software tools supporting editing and visualisation of IBIS graphs have been developed, for example, Compendium, DRed and design Visual Understanding Environment (designVUE) (e.g. see Aurisicchio & Bracewell, 2013;Buckingham Shum et al., 2006). These IBIS-based tools,

When an emergency occurs, citizens can be a helpful support for the operation centers involved in the response activities. As witnesses to a crisis, they initially can share updated and detailed information about what is going on. Moreover, thanks to the current technological evolution people are able to quickly and easily gather rich information and transmit it through different communication channels. Indeed, modern mobile devices embed several sensors such as GPS receivers, Wi-Fi, accelerometers or cameras that can transform users into well-equipped human sensors. For these reasons, emergency organizations and small and medium enterprises have demonstrated a growing interest in developing smart applications for reporting any exceptional circumstances. In this paper, we present a practical study about this kind of applications for identifying both limitations and common features. Based on a study of relevant existent contributions in this area and our personal direct experience in developing and evaluating emergency management solutions, our aim is to propose several findings about how to design effective and efficient mobile emergency notification applications. For this purpose we have exploited the basic sensors of modern mobile devices and the users’ aptitude for using them. The evaluation consists of a practical and a theoretical part. In the practical part, we have simulated a traffic accident as closely as possible to a real scenario, with a victim lying on the ground near a car in the middle of a street. For the theoretical part, we have interviewed some emergency experts for collecting their opinions about the utility of the proposed solution. Results from this evaluation phase confirm the positive impact that EN application have for both operators’ and citizens’ perspective. Moreover, we collected several findings useful for future design challenges in the same area, as shown in the final redesign of the proposed application.

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This article introduces a new soft keyboard, named Tap and Slide, specifically designed for mobile devices. The new interaction method, on which the keyboard is based, allows performing text entry operations in a very small space, so minimizing the space required. To evaluate the keyboard from a usability point of view, three studies were performed: the first verifies whether the subjects’ abilities expressed in terms of technological knowledge may specifically provide advantages in performing text entry operations, the second tries to understand the ease of learning of the keyboard considering both accuracy and efficiency in task execution, and the third analyzes the performance of the soft keyboard in comparison with the more common QWERTY soft keyboard