Functional and non-functional goals, design and usage of cognitive systems

Abstract

A mismatch between the goals as interpreted by a designer of a system or a system's interface and the goals of the users can be a cause for problems in system usage and danger to safety. A successful tool for communicating system information between designers, the interface and users is the abstraction hierarchy (AH). Creation of an AH forces designers to assemble knowledge about the system and its goals, and, translated into an interface, as done with ecological interface design, it forms a permanent communication vehicle from designers to users. One problem with the AH, however, is its focus on functional aspects of the system, it shows a straight, linear path between the system's implementation and its goals, illustrating how an ideal, unbreakable installation might achieve these. However, in most systems the integrity of the installation is constantly at risk, introducing constraints on the behavior and functions in the system. The paper discusses the problems with the present approach. Viewing the AH as a tool for exploration and discovery of a system's non-functional goals and non-functional interactions should provide an answer here