Capturing the Context of Use to Inform System Design
Abstract
New system design often focuses on opportunities afforded by technology without careful analysis of the needs of the people and work involved. A strong consensus has been found across diverse design traditions regarding the need for in-depth analysis of the context of use to inform system design. Analysis of context of use encompasses identifying and characterizing the range of situations that can arise, the demands they impose, and the motivations and activities of the people involved. This paper presents three case studies in which context of use analysis was a key part of successful system design. The three case studies represent work-centered design, emerging from cognitive engineering and cognitive systems engineering; interaction design, emerging from industrial and communication design; and participatory design, emerging from the Scandinavian labor movement. The case studies highlight commonalities in experience and core tenets across traditions. They argue for the importance of incorporating context of use analyses as part of the systems engineering process and illustrate a variety of approaches for context of use analysis.
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The proposed solution, endorsed by the World Health Organization and International Standards Organization, is to use UCD, bringing the end user and content experts together with UX designers to co-design an mHealth app.
“The proposed solution, endorsed by the World Health Organization, [22] and International Standards Organization [42], is to use UCD, bringing the end user and content experts together with UX designers to co-design an mHealth app [23,43,44].”
From Co-Designing the MOSAIC mHealth App With Breast Cancer Survivors: User-Centered Design Approach (2024) · cites this paper as [43]
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Werner, N. E., Campbell, N. L., Boustani, M., Ganci, A., & Holden, R. J. (2022) · Research in Social and Administrative Pharmacy · doi:10.1016/j.sapharm.2022.03.014 · Cited by 27 · see citing works
Co-Designing the MOSAIC mHealth App With Breast Cancer Survivors: User-Centered Design Approach
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- Authors
- Evenson, S., Muller, M., & Roth, E. M.
- Affiliations
- Carnegie Mellon University (US)
- IBM (United States) (US)
- Roth Cognitive Engineering
- Corresponding author
- Roth, Emilie M.
- Venue
- Journal of Cognitive Engineering and Decision Making
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2008-09
- Volume
- 2
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 181-203
- ISSN
- 1555-3434 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2007565561
- Cited by
- 14
- References
- 53
- Citations by year
- 2025: 1 · 2024: 1 · 2023: 1 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 1 · 2017: 1 · 2015: 3
- FWCI
- 2.44
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Cognitive Engineering and Decision Making (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Human-Computer Interaction › Usability and User Interface Design
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Biomedical Engineering › Ergonomics and Human Factors
- Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Human-Computer Interaction › Innovative Human-Technology Interaction
- Keywords
- system design, cognitive systems engineering, interaction design, participatory design, systems engineering process, human factors, design traditions, case studies
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