Design

Question 1

What are the benefits associated with user engagement in SW-dev?

Answer 1

To enable usability, user participation is widely adopted, also for understanding context, and bridging the gaps between e.g. devs in the west and users in the global south (DHIS2) - <3 UCD or PD <3

Question 2

What are the levels of PD?

Answer 2

Informative: users provide and/or receive info.
Consultative: users comment on predefined services etc.
Participative: users influence decisions relating to the whole system.

Question 3

What are the four different types of PD?

Answer 3

Singular, serial, parallel and community PD.

Question 4

Describe singular PD

Answer 4

The one we use in UiO. Few users, some tech, participating end users with a participative role.

Question 5

Describe Serial PD

Answer 5

Designing an artefact for use in multiple setting/groups etc. Illustration from Titlestad -> problematic bc for each update, you leave the older ones behind - not continously interacting with the global development/core devs.

Question 6

Describe Parallel PD

Answer 6

Instead of doing it sequentially (as in serial PD), you do it simultaneously; users are engaged in several sites at the same time, informing the generic design, while core devs makes visits to sites in parallel.

Question 7

Describe Community PD

Answer 7

A broader community negotiates generic features, with local customization without involvement from core devs. The most regular one in Open Source, e.g. by forking from GIT.

Question 8

What is Scaffolding?

Answer 8

A social structure that you build around a structure. It supports design and implementation. DHIS2 is an example of local scaffolding for competence development (which in turn enhances the product).
At UiO, the group teachers = as scaffolding.

Serves as a temporary support function, and not a part of the final product. Easy to set up in local conditions.

Question 9

What is a Boundary spanner?

Answer 9

Might be a person who function as a mediator, crossing boundaries between organizations and teams that is often distributed over large distanses and cultures.
In DHIS2 the boundary spanners usually are under the national “teams”, e.g. DHIS2 Bangladesh/DHIS2 Tanzania.

Question 10

What are scaffolding and boundary spanning used for?

Answer 10

The two terms are ways of coping with geographical and organizational distribution and diversity of roles in platform development.

Question 11

Are there any challenges related to creating locally relevant applications in large IS that are used by a heterogeneous user group?

Answer 11

When a system is scaled, so is often the heterogeneity of the user group as well - different users, settings, mental models etc ==> makes it hard to create a generic system that works well for everybody. Who to be included in the design/dev process?

X:
It has for a long time been on the agenda to create a standardizes national patient journal system in Norway, but this is hard because of established routines, practices, norms, culture, other systems etc.

Rolland/Monteiro also examplifies this with a large shipping survey company distributed between many countries (+cultures).

HISP and DHIS2 is a good example.

Question 12

Name some activities that are typically included when designing a SW-application

Answer 12

• Usability; Nielsens 10 heuristics, Normans 6 design principles etc.
• Mental model
• Context - PD
• Data gathering methods: interviews, surveys, observation, diaries, field studies.
• Design processes
• Iterating
• Testing
• Prototyping?