Innovation in user-centered skills and performance improvement for sustainable complex service systems

In order to leverage individual and organizational learning and to remain competitive in current turbulent markets it is important for employees, managers, planners and leaders to perform at high levels over time. Employee competence and skills are extremely important matters in view of the general shortage of talent and the mobility of employees with talent. Two factors emerged to have the greatest impact on the competitiveness of complex service systems: improving managerial and employee's knowledge attainment for skills, and improving the training and development of the workforce. This paper introduces the knowledge-based user-centered service design approach for sustainable skill and performance improvement in education, design and modeling of the next generation of complex service systems. The rest of the paper cover topics in human factors and sustainable business process modeling for the service industry, and illustrates the user-centered service system development cycle with the integration of systems engineering concepts in service systems. A roadmap for designing service systems of the future is discussed. The framework introduced in this paper is based on key user-centered design principles and systems engineering applications to support service competitiveness.     

Exclusion by design: intersections of social,digital and data exclusion

ABSTRACT

As smart technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), automation and Internet of Things (IoT) are increasingly embedded into commercial and government services, we are faced with new challenges in digital inclusion to ensure that existing inequalities are not reinforced and new gaps that are created can be addressed. Digital exclusion is often compounded by existing social disadvantage, and new systems run the risk of creating new barriers and harms. Adopting a case study approach, this paper examines the exclusionary practices embedded in the design and implementation of social welfare services in Australia. We examined Centrelink’s automated Online Compliance Intervention system (‘Robodebt’) and the National Disability Insurance Agency’s intelligent avatar interface ‘Nadia’. The two cases show how the introduction of automated systems can reinforce the punitive policies of an existing service regime at the design stage and how innovative AI systems that have the potential to enhance user participation and inclusion can be hindered at implementation so that digital benefits are left unrealised.     

The cognitive ergonomics and the articulation of the functions of industrial products.. binah.oliveira@gmail.com

The sustainable development is a challenge to all areas of knowledge. In the field of design, it motivates an enhanced discussion about the functions of systems, products and services. Accordingly, this paper presents a theoretical contribution to the sustainable articulation of the functions of industrial products from principles of cognitive ergonomics. This paper is based on an exploratory literature about the functions of industrial products and further study of the relationship between man and object of Cognitive Ergonomics, specifically linked the aesthetic perception and symbolic. Presents qualitative results of this correlation, which indicates the feasibility of a better articulation in product development. The paper argues that in the practical field of design, the best articulation of the functions may influence the effectiveness of product performance in its relationship with the user. Already, on theoretical grounds, this new articulation can help designers to understand the nature of the transdisciplinary functions and the insights into product design.     

Design for reflection

Since a few years, a number of academic papers have been proposing to shift from user-centered design to human-centered (or person) design. In this contribution, we discuss as the common tread underlying these works the idea that design should also address the reflective part of our human experience, and not only aim to maximize the experiential aspects. Our review is complemented with examples derived from the internet world and from ICT consumer products. The main research areas we see as promising for the approach of "design for reflection" are: design for pauses, design for detachment, design for serendipity.     

上海电子信息产品制造业转型升级的思路——目标、方向、关键点、路径与发展模式

上海电子信息产品制造业在上海六大重点工业行业中占重要地位,但产业表现出“大而不强”的特征;产业的自主创新能力亟待提升。在后危机时代上海商务成本逐渐高企,土地等资源条件紧张的产业发展环境下,电子信息产品制造业的转型升级显得尤为迫切。本文通过分析该产业发展现状和面临的问题,提出上海电子信息产品制造业转型升级的思路、升级的方向、升级的路径、发展模式和关键点,并提出保障上海电子信息产品制造业更快更好转型升级的对策建议：提升政府的服务水平,营造优越的产业发展生态环境;聚焦产业“高新高效高端”特征,打造优势产业链;加强创新服务,强化以知识与智力资本动态比较优势为禀赋的竞争优势。     

The amount of ergonomics and user involvement in 151 design processes

Ergonomics, usability and user-centered design are terms that are well known among designers. Yet, products often seem to fail to meet the users' needs, resulting in a gap between expected and experienced usability. To understand the possible causes of this gap the actions taken by the designer during the design process are studied in this paper. This can show whether and how certain actions influence the user-friendliness of the design products. The aim of this research was to understand whether ergonomic principles and methods are included in the design process, whether users are involved in this process and whether the experience of the designer (in ergonomics/user involvement) has an effect on the end product usability. In this study the design processes of 151 tangible products of students in design were analyzed. It showed that in 75% of the cases some ergonomic principles were applied. User involvement was performed in only 1/3 of the design cases. Hardly any correlation was found between the designers' experience in ergonomic principles and the way they applied it and no correlations were found between the designers' experience in user involvement and the users' involvement in the design process.     

A Systems Approach to Social Entrepreneurship

Currently, disabilities organizations are increasingly being challenged by the requirement for individualized service, expectations to show personal outcomes, and the need to base their services on evidence-based practices. Social entrepreneurship (SE) is being put forward as an innovative approach for dealing with these challenges. This article presents a systems approach to SE based on a program logic model. This model identifies the input factors (a strong social vision, exploiting opportunities, maximizing resources), throughput strategies (entrepreneurial orientation, critical thinking skills, networking, capacity building), and outcome components (improving people’s lives, community-building, improving society) of SE at the micro, meso, and macro level. Also, the importance of planning for contextual changes as a social entrepreneur is discussed. The article concludes with presenting three inspiring practices regarding SE in the field of disabilities organizations.     

Ergonomics and design for sustainability in healthcare: ambient assisted living and the social-environmental impact of patients lifestyle

This work presents considerations on Ergonomics and Design for Sustainability in the healthcare field based on research experiences of the Technology and Design for Healthcare (TeDH) research group of INDACO (Industrial design, communication, arts and fashion) department of Politecnico di Milano. In order to develop a multidisciplinary approach to design able to answer to specific user needs such as elderly in an environmental sustainable way (1) this paper shows the results we achieved concerning ergonomics and environmental impact in product development (2), the extension of this approach to interior and home design and the advantage of the application of Information Communication Technologies (ICT). ICT can help people with special needs to make their everyday life easier and more safe, at the same time, ICT can make social-environmental impact of everyday behavior evident and can be applied to manage sustainability. The specific theme is thus to integrate ergonomics and sustainability competences in the development of Ambient Assisted Living through a Product- Service System approach. The concept of product service system has the potential to improve product performances and services, establish new relations and networks with different actors in order to satisfy user needs and apply a systems approach considering environmental, social and economic factors in the users' environment.     

From assessing needs to designing and evaluating programs: Case study of a family support program in Portugal

In the last years, researchers have been emphasizing the importance of promoting needs-led, context-specific, user-centered services in the context of child protection. However, policy-makers and service planners around the world largely depend on US-based research evidence of what is effective in the domain of family support. This work presents, in two studies, the process of design and evaluation of a targeted family support intervention that was developed and implemented in Portugal.Following the Common Language Approach to needs assessment (Dartington Social Research Unit, 2001), in study 1 we screened 100 children and their families attending a generalist child care service for risk and protective factors. Four different clusters of needs were identified. One cluster was selected as target-group for the design of a service to match their needs. Results indicated that families in this cluster had socioeconomical disadvantages, a challenging family environment and inadequate parenting practices. Children were showing signs of problematic social behaviors.In study 2 we describe the theoretical process model and the logic model for the intervention, and experimentally evaluate the program's efficacy. Results from pre–post assessments indicate improvements in the intervention group (N = 20) in several areas of parental empowerment and family relations, comparing with the control group (N = 20).This approach to need-service matching seems to be a viable pathway to design needs-led, context-specific, and user-centered services, and to assess their efficacy, thereby informing policy makers and service planners.     

Exploring functions of the lost seeking devices for people with dementia

This paper utilized a user-centered design approach as the foundation for technology in dementia care in order to improve the quality of telemedicine service. A status-quo analysis and questionnaire survey were conducted to explore the actual needs of the elders in using the lost seeking devices and the problems they encountered. In total, 37 caregivers for people with dementia were surveyed (20 female, 17 male, M = 50.08, SD = 15.47). The dementia-patients: 16 are male, 21 female (M = 72.75, SD = 10.23). Through analysis and induction, 3 problems were identified: poor information transmission, low user acceptance, individual material security anxiety. 2-4 improvement proposals are suggested for each problem. Most care-givers hope technological products would increase the efficiency and safety, but they also think it's too expensive and lack of computer skills. This result demonstrates the choice of seeking methods depends on the education level of the caregivers and most of them are elders. The concern of data leakage is also related to today's fraud issue, which may be the reason limiting the promotion of electronic products and biometrics. Further research is required, suggesting researchers should pursue improvements in lost seeking design devices in dementia for caregivers.     

Design for Usability; practice-oriented research for user-centered product design

The Design for Usability project aims at improving the usability of electronic professional and consumer products by creating new methodology and methods for user-centred product development, which are feasible to apply in practice. The project was focused on 5 key areas: (i) design methodology, expanding the existing approach of scenario-based design to incorporate the interaction between product design, user characteristics, and user behaviour; (ii) company processes, barriers and enablers for usability in practice; (iii) user characteristics in relation to types of products and use-situations; (iv) usability decision-making; and (v) product impact on user behaviour. The project team developed methods and techniques in each of these areas to support the design of products with a high level of usability. This paper brings together and summarizes the findings.     

Visual social network analysis: effective approach to model complex human social, behaviour & culture

The advent and adoption of internet-based social networking has significantly altered our daily lives. The educational community has taken notice of the positive aspects of social networking such as creation of blogs and to support groups of system designers going through the same challenges and difficulties. This paper introduces a social networking framework for collaborative education, design and modeling of the next generation of smarter products and services. Human behaviour modeling in social networking application aims to ensure that human considerations for learners and designers have a prominent place in the integrated design and development of sustainable, smarter products throughout the total system lifecycle. Social networks blend self-directed learning and prescribed, existing information. The self-directed element creates interest within a learner and the ability to access existing information facilitates its transfer, and eventual retention of knowledge acquired.     

Improving wheelchair prescription: an analysis of user needs and existing tools

Wheelchair users experience many situations that affect the stability and associated performance of their wheelchair. Stability is affected by user characteristics and abilities, environmental features and conditions, and wheelchair modification and accessories. Wheelchair prescribers need effective tools and methods to provide quantitative evaluation and prediction of the behavior of the user-wheelchair system in a variety of static and dynamic situations. Such information is very important to guide efficient management of associated risks and adjust chairs accordingly. This project involves a user-centered approach for design and evaluation of a load cell based wheelchair stability assessment system (Wheel-SAS). Here, the current methods for assessing stability are described, and their shortcomings explained. The user-centered design approach being applied to the development of the associated Wheel-SAS hardware and software is described. Future work including semi-structured interviews and an online survey with wheelchair prescribers and associated healthcare professionals for deriving user requirements and a design specification for a load cell system for measuring dynamic wheelchair stability are detailed.     

Triangulating perspectives to inform the development of a smartphone application for foster,kinship, and adoptive parents

Abstract

This article describes the initial phase of a user-centered, inductive process for informing the development of a smartphone application (app) to complement an in-person trauma-focused knowledge and skills training class for child welfare resource parents (i.e. foster, kinship, and adoptive parents). Based on the participatory design approach for technology development, a qualitative study was designed to capture and triangulate relevant knowledge and opinions from resource parents, training instructors, and parenting education experts. The most prevalent themes emerging among these stakeholder groups included the need for a simple app interface and the potential for the app to (1) cultivate connection, affirmation, and combat resource parent feelings of isolation; (2) reinforce in-class knowledge and support skill practice at home; and (3) monitor resource parent, child, and family progress over time. Detailed findings are presented, including direct quotes from focus group and interview participants and elaboration on the prevalent themes, which may benefit others in the early stages of human services app design and contribute to the creation of guidelines for the development of technology-based human services interventions.     

Analysing domestic activity to reduce household energy consumption

This paper presents our reflections on the issue of behavioral change according to energy conservation constraints and on the status of sustainability in the design of ambient interactive systems at home. We point out how ergonomics contributes to the study of human factors underlying energy consumption. Relating to situated cognition and human computer interaction, our approach relies both on the ergonomic evaluation of feedback consumption displays and on the modeling of domestic activities in order to identify household concerns in real settings. We present empirical results to illustrate this global approach. The results of those studies allow the design of interactive systems: informative and pedagogical systems as well as pervasive and adaptive ambient systems. In our approach, sustainability is taken into account as a design criterion, as security could be, whereas the main design purpose is to aid households in their daily life in order to build a "sustainable situation".     

What do we mean by Human-Centered Design of Life-Critical Systems?

Human-centered design is not a new approach to design. Aerospace is a good example of a life-critical systems domain where participatory design was fully integrated, involving experimental test pilots and design engineers as well as many other actors of the aerospace engineering community. This paper provides six topics that are currently part of the requirements of the Ph.D. Program in Human-Centered Design of the Florida Institute of Technology (FIT.) This Human-Centered Design program offers principles, methods and tools that support human-centered sustainable products such as mission or process control environments, cockpits and hospital operating rooms. It supports education and training of design thinkers who are natural leaders, and understand complex relationships among technology, organizations and people. We all need to understand what we want to do with technology, how we should organize ourselves to a better life and finally find out whom we are and have become. Human-centered design is being developed for all these reasons and issues.     

Priming from the pulpit: Extending regulatory focus theory to church services

The purpose of this research note is to extend a powerful cognitive psychology theory—regulatory focus theory—to a specific nonprofit organization: churches. We apply this theory to the design of church services to model how church leaders can structure services to enhance congregant experience and generate positive behavioral outcomes. We present an experiment utilizing 126 adult Americans as initial evidence for our framework. The results indicate that using appropriate regulatory focus priming strategies can increase congregant donations.     

Understanding the collaborative-participatory design

In this study, the role of collaboration in design is discussed, placing emphasis on how to include end-users in the development process. The study is based on a literature review focusing on aspects of collaboration in design, usability and human factors. Thereby, it introduces, compares and contrasts the characteristics of both collaborative and user-centered design perspectives, leading to the collaborative-participatory design approach. Finally, the advantages, disadvantages and precautions of implementing collaborative and participatory models are pointed out.     

Social ecological complex adaptive systems: a framework for research on payments for ecosystem services

The environment is both a setting for and a product of human interactions. Understanding the dynamic nature of human-environment interactions is critical for mitigating the impacts of human induced environmental change and understanding how the environment shapes social systems. Current research has focused on the reduced ability of many natural systems to provide ecosystem services and the subsequent impact on human well-being. Furthermore, there has been a proliferation of cases analyzing the impacts of payment programs designed to enhance ecosystem services. However, analyses that link environmental policies through to their ecological results are not common and methods to do so are not thoroughly developed. To better analyze these interactions, a theory or framework is necessary. This article presents a framework of social ecological complex adaptive systems (SECAS). The framework links structuration theory from social science with the theories of complex adaptive systems from ecology to provide an enhanced understanding of the human drivers and responses to environmental change. The framework is presented as a recursive process where social and ecological systems are both the medium for and product of social action and ecological disturbance. A case study of Costa Rica’s ecosystem service payment program is presented as a demonstration of empirical applicability. This framework is proposed as a method to evaluate payments for ecosystem services, conservation policies, urban ecosystems, and for land use change in general.     

Design and the global and human wellbeing

This paper approaches the challenge of considering the principles of sustainable development in the conception of products, services or systems in a specific territory, though inserted in a globalized world. The reflection takes place by crosschecking the information gathered through bibliographical research on the following themes: wellbeing, design, and the local versus global relation. Thus, the strategy of analysis adopted comprehends the triangulation of information for further comparison of the survey and discussion of the data obtained. This paper results in a set of reflections on the interactions between human beings and their territories, towards new conceptions oriented to a more sustainable future.