New approaches to requirement elicititation

Workshop theme and goal

Understanding context of use and its associated user requirements is a key success factor in ICT systems development (Preece at al., 2002; Dix et al. 2004). A range of well-known methods and techniques are supporting context analysis and user requirements specification, such as interviews and contextual enquiries, user workshops, field studies, personas and scenarios.
Existing methods are however severely challenged by three important trends:

1. New technology and application areas, such as new user-centric media, social networking applications and user generated content where end-users become a "major media producer and distributor" (EC, 2007), make it difficult to apply traditional methods for context analysis. The context of use for these applications is fast changing, unpredictable, and highly dependent on the mass of users that may start using an application under development.
2. Users' preferences and competencies are a moving target. One of the best examples of this may be the broad-scale adaptation of online community services such as Facebook, Lunarstorm (Sweden) and Nettby (Norway). Within the period of the last couple of years, user requirements to online social applications was fully changed due to widespread experiences with new application opportunities.

3. Many ICT solutions do no longer serve individual users, but cater to the needs and requirements of online and offline socialities. Developing new media services implies building communities and encouraging social interactions and co-creation of content (Vanattenhoven & Jans, 2007). We therefore need to go beyond user requirements and also include social requirements (CITIZEN MEDIA, 2007).
In response to these trends we see the emergence of new approaches for requirements analysis on the levels of the user, the context and the social interactions. Research has been conducted on the use of new tools and techniques such as on-line experience sampling (Chen and Nilan, 1998), social media tools (Näkki, 2007), and on-line tools for identification of end-users patterns of media use. Also, new environments for technology innovation such as Living Labs (Niitamo at al., 2006; Pierson & Lievens, 2005) represent a promising new approach to user, context and social requirements analysis.
The goal of the workshop is to discuss new approaches to requirements analysis. More specifically, the objectives of the workshop are:

Examine potentials and limitations of traditional context and user-requirements analysis methodology
Present new methods and tools for user, context and social requirement analysis and report experience with them
Discuss future directions for advancing the state-of-the-art and state-of-the-practice in this area The participants of the workshop will be invited to present their experience and research on methods and tools for requirements analysis. In particular, participants will be encouraged to present work involving new media, and applications for social networking and user generated content. Also more sociological analyses of the digital media usage by online and offline communities are invited, especially those that inform technology design. The presentations and discussions will enable the participants of the workshop to exchange their experience and gain new knowledge in this area.

References

EC (2007) User Centric Media Future and Challenges in European Research European Commision, Information Society and Media, Luxembourg.
Chen, H., and Nilan, M. (1998). An exploration of web users' internal experience: Application of the experience sampling method to the web environment. WebNet 98 World Conference. Orlando, Florida.CITIZEN MEDIA (2007). Initial context, user and social requirements for the CITIZEN MEDIA applications, Sixth Framework Programme, IST 2.41.6, available at: http://www.ist-citizenmedia.org:8080/display/PU/Deliverables
Dix, A., Finlay J., Abowd, G.D., Beale, R. (2004) Human-Computer Interaction, Pearson, Prentice Hall.
Näkki, P. (2007) Utilising social media tools in user-centred design. Paper presented at the CHI 2007 workshop Supporting non-professional users in the new media landscape. Available online at: http://soc.kuleuven.be/com/mediac/chi2007workshop
Niitamo, S.K., Eriksson, M., Hribernik, K.A. (2006). State-of-the-Art and Good Practice in the Field of Living Labs , proceedings of ICE2006, the12th International Conference on Concurrent Enterprising, Milan, Italy.
Pierson, J. & Lievens, B. (2005) Configuring living labs for a 'thick' understanding of innovation. Paper presented at 'EPIC 2005 (Ethnographic Praxis in Industry Conference, organised by Microsoft and Intel)', 13-15 November 2005, Redmond (USA), 114-127.
Preece, J., Sharp, H., & Rogers, Y. (2002). Interaction design : beyond human-computer interaction. New York: J. Wiley & Sons
Vanattenhoven, J. & Jans, G. (2007). Enhancing social interaction and user participation in the development of social applications. Workshop
Chi 2007: Supporting non-professional users in the new media landscape. San José, California.