Needs’ elaboration between users, designers and project leaders: Analysis of a design process of a virtual reality-based software

Abstract

is an open access repository that collects the work of Arts et Métiers ParisTech researchers and makes it freely available over the web where possible. b s t r a c tContext: The participation of users in the design process is recognized as a positive and a necessary element as artifacts suit their needs. Two complementary approaches of users' involvement co-exist: the user-centered design and the participatory design. These approaches involve learning process from users to designers and vice versa. However, there has no research in design of virtual reality (VR)-based software dealing with how the elaboration of needs is actually distributed in time and among users, designers and project leaders, as well as how it is actually supported by tools and methods.Objective: This paper aims to observe, in a real design project of a virtual reality-based software, how the various stakeholders (users, designers, project leaders) actually participate by sharing and pulling pieces of information from the process of needs elaboration, and how these contributions evolve throughout the decisions made in the course of the project. Method: Our method, based on the observation of the practices in collective design, allows us to collect and analyze the relationship between each possible action (e.g., elicitation), each stakeholder who initiates these actions (e.g., users) and each phase of the design process (e.g., evaluation phase), and the dynamics of the construction of needs. Results: Our results detail how the elicited needs are dealt with by designers, users and/or project leaders: (1) we show a strong contribution of users in the design, compared to others stakeholders, (2) among the needs elicited by users, most have been validated by the designers, (3) some elicited needs could have been firstly rejected and finally validated and implemented. Conclusion:We identify the reasons which justify and explain our results confronting them to the literature. We underline the conditions have been satisfied in our study in order to involve effectively users in the design of emerging technologies.

Proposal and Implementation of a User-Centered Design Approach for Smart Grid Technologies: Example of the VERTPOM® Project

“…As far as the IBox is concerned, even if the assessment carried out in the consumers' homes shows that it corresponds to their needs in terms of communication of energy consumption, the fact that we were not able to intervene earlier (i.e., neither upstream nor during the development) in this design task, which was rather oriented towards solving technological problems, did not allow us to design a real integrated system (which would have incorporated the functions of the IBox and of the web portal) in order to support EDM activity. Yet, it is important to mobilize users as early as possible in the design of technologies, from the upstream phases (i.e., before IT development) to their in-situ implementation (Loup-Escande, Burkhardt, Christmann & Richir, 2014). On this last point, a future research perspective concerns the longitudinal analysis which would have a double objective: to accompany the change induced by the introduction of these new technologies in the business activities of DSO operators and in consumers' EDM activities on the one hand, and on the other, to help develop the technologies according to real user practices (Rabardel & Beguin, 2005).…”

Ordinary users, precursory users and experts in the anticipation of future needs: Evaluation of their contribution in the elaboration of new needs in energy for housing

“…It is common in the user-centred design process to start with a user's needs analysis phase (Barré et al, 2018;French, 1985;International Organization for Standardization, 2019;Loup-Escande et al, 2014;Pahl et al, 2007). Identification of users' needs is supported by traditional methods such as functional analysis, observation, interview and focus group.…”

Usefulness and needs construction process in innovative artefacts: an exploratory study of designers’ viewpoints

“…A third study (Alenljung & Persson, 2008) has been focused on how the designers represent themselves their own contribution to the process of needs construction. The fourth study (Loup-Escande et al, 2014) is an analysis of the activity and the process of requirements construction within a real design community and project. The study by De La Garza and Fadier (2005) was situated in the domain of printing machine design.…”