S556 SYSTEMS ANALYSIS & DESIGN

Week 7

Artifacts

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Artifacts are tangible things people create or use to help them get their work done

An artifact reveals the assumptions concepts strategy structure

Artifacts

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Artifacts might be: To-do lists Forms Spreadsheets Physical objects under construction (e.g., a

paper-based proj mgt poster on a wall) Any other example?

Artifacts

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Artifacts: are manipulated in the sequence models are passed between people in the flow

model Pay attention to how people use artifacts

E.g., any notes on the form?

Artifact Model

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An artifact model is a drawing or photocopy of the artifact (see B&H p. 105)

Information presented by the object Parts of the object Structure of the parts Annotations, e.g., any handwriting? Presentation, e.g., shape, layout, etc. Additional conceptual distinctions Usage, e.g., when created, how used, etc. Breakdowns

Artifact Model: Information Content

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The content of an artifact tells us the story of a part of the work by: How the content was put in How it was used Who used it

Exercise: Find out how your classmate records a next group meeting in a personal calendar

Culture

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Culture defines expectations, desires, policies, values, and the whole approach people take to their work

Cultural context: the mindset that people operate within and that plays a part in everything they do

Cultural Context

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Issues of cultural context Not concrete Not technical Not represented in an artifact Not written on a wall Not observable in a single action

Cultural Context

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Issues of cultural context are: Revealed in the language use Implied by recurring patterns of behavior,

nonverbal communications, and attitudes Suggested by how people decorate and

the posters they put on their walls

Influence of Culture: Tone?

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Influence of Culture: Tone?

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Influence of Culture: Tone?

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Influence of Culture

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Policies What are the polices people follow? How are policies recorded? Are there policy manuals? Are they used?

(cf., artifact model)

Influence of Culture

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Organizational influence Are there organizations, individuals, or job

functions that keep showing up, either as troublesome or helpful?

What are the organizations or job functions that always seem to get in the way?

Listen to how people talk about others

Influence of Culture

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Influence of Culture

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Making Culture Tangible

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Cultural model provides a tangible representation (see p. 113 & 114 in B&H)

In a cultural model, we represent: Influencers (people, organizations, and

groups) Influences Problems/breakdowns

Cultural Model Rules (B&H p. 109-110)

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Influencers are shown as large bubbles Bubbles sit on one another, showing how one

org forces another to take or not take actions Influences are shown as arrows piercing

the bubbles with labels Label with language representing the

experience of the people doing the work Breakdowns with the culture are marked

with a lightning bolt

Cultural Model

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Cultural model =\ organization charts Individual managers appear only they

are charismatic figures

Physical Environment

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PE: How people move How the space supports or hinders

communication Location of the tools people use (hardware,

networks, machines) to do work

Impact of the Physical Environment

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Organization of Space Are there stations? How do they relate to the work? Are stations grouped to follow the flow of

work?

Impact of the Physical Environment

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Division of Space Where are the walls? Do they follow the structure of the work? Do they interfere with it? How do people over come the problems?

Impact of the Physical Environment

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Grouping of People How are people grouped in the spaces?

By function or by project? Does each person have their own

separate office area?

Observe the Physical Space

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Impact of the Physical Environment

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Organization of Workplaces How are the individual stations, offices,

or work areas organized? What is kept out, ready to hand, and

available?

Observe the Physical Space

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Impact of the Physical Environment

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Movement When do people move? What triggers them to leave one place to

go to another? Understanding why the movement

happens help you decide whether it makes more sent to support it better or eliminate it

Physical Model

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A physical model: a drawing of those aspects of the

workplace Shows how the physical environment

affects the work Is annotated to show how the space is

used Is to show strategies, intents, and

cultural values revealed by the space use

Physical Model (B&H ,p. 117)

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The places in which work occurs (e.g., room, workstations, offices, hallways)

The physical structures that constraints the space (e.g., desks, file cabinets, dividers)

The usages and movement within the space that indicate strategies, intents, and cultural values

The hardware, software, communication lines, and other tools (e.g., printers, post-its, phone)

The artifacts that people use (e.g., to-do lists, piles of stuff, bills, spreadsheets)

The layout of the tools, artifacts, furniture, and walls

Breakdowns

Physical Model

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Ask Qs: Do people accept the workplace as it is? Do they work around it? Does the work as it is experienced

mismatch work? What do people do about it?

Physical Model

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Physical model =\ a floor plan for the work site An inventory of the computer room Show detail unrelated to the project focus

Example of Physical Model

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SLIS S556https://wiki.mozilla.org/Bugzilla:CMU_HCI_Research_2008

Consolidated Physical Model

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Pitfalls Not taking the physical environment

seriously E.g., if people don’t have printers by their

desks, don’t build a system that requires frequent trips to the printer

E.g., If your users walk around all the time, don’t try to tie them to a desk by giving them a product that only runs on a desktop

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Five Work Models

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Different models reveal different aspects of work

Seeing how users work drives design Later on, consolidate individual models

A Rich Picture (Monk & Howard)

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A rich picture A graphic representation that identifies

primary stakeholders, their interrelationships, and their concerns

A tool to record the work context and to articulate how they should affect the design

A Rich Picture (Monk & Howard)

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Structure Refers to aspects of the work context that are slow

to change (e.g., ???) Process

Refers to the transformation that occur in the process of the work

Concerns Issues, problems, breakdowns (represented by

thought bubbles)

Tensions Tensions between stakeholders should be

identified by the “crossed swords” icon

Rich Picture: Example

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http://studysoftwareengineering.wordpress.com/

A Rich Picture (Monk & Howard)

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In participatory design Brainstorming Storyboarding Paper-based prototyping

In lightweight usability methods Need to prepare prototypes & scenarios

Note: no single technique is capable of capturing full diversity of the work process

Exercise

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Create a cultural model based on the case of Karen’s situation in the Broadway Entertainment Company