Working with users in system development: some methodological considerations

Abstract

Over the last couple of decades, there has been a growing awareness of the importance of involving the users throughout the product development life cycle. The end-users are the individuals who will use the finished product on a regular basis, and in this sense they are the final arbiters about whether a design meets their needs and requirements. One way to ensure that the requirements of the user population are eventually met in the final product is to work with the users throughout the life cycle. Conversely, the highest risk approach occurs when a commodity is produced based on a design which has had no input from the intended users. User involvement in the product life cycle is well-documented and it is generally recognised that the benefits of user participation are greatest at the start of the design process decreasing as the product moves through the various life cycle stages. The focus of this paper is on the end-user involvement in the initial stages of the development of an advanced warning and diagnostic system for civil aircraft. It should be noted that the end-goal of this particular stage of the research was a set of guidelines for the software engineers to use when modelling a simulation of the proposed warning system.