Remote User-Centered System Design : Case Study: Redesign of Uppsala Kommun International Website

• Main Author: Sahab, Abolghasem Sohail
• Format: Others
• Language: English
• Published: Uppsala universitet, Människa-datorinteraktion 2010
• Subjects: usability; remote work; website; Computer and Information Sciences; Data- och informationsvetenskap
• Online Access: http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-135255

Building a useful and usable website for international users requires more than translating the content of an existing site to other languages. It should be designed in a way to meet the needs of these users. In order to build a usable website, we need to use a methodology that has a focus on usability. One methodology that is considered essential for designing and developing usable systems is “User-Centered System Design” (UCSD). UCSD has the focus on understanding users’ goals and needs, involving them in participatory design, and evaluating the design with them. However, how can we use UCSD while the users are geographically spread out? To address this question I have studied and employed different approaches to perform UCSD remotely. As a case study, I have used these approaches to design a new international website for Uppsala Kommun (Municipality). The results show that it is possible to perform the UCSD remotely. However, special consideration should be taken for finding representative users. Remote UCSD is not a substitute for UCSD. It can be considered as a methodology for situations where users are geographically spread out. It can also be used as a complementary approach to UCSD.