Definition Of User Requirements Research Articles

Co-creation of a self-management application for asthma: A citizen science protocol

Digital health can effectively engage patients in the self-management of their asthma. Still, it will only reach its full potential when apps are aligned with patients’ needs and are integrated into clinical practice. We aim to test a framework for the involvement of patients/carers in all phases of developing and implementing an app for asthma. This protocol was co-designed with six asthma patients/carers and includes 5 tasks. Regular interactions among patients, developers and healthcare professionals will be a priority for user requirements definition (task 1) and iterative development and testing until the app’s initial version (tasks 2-3). Patients/carers and healthcare professionals will be fully engaged in the real-life feasibility study (task 4) and management and dissemination activities (task 5). The eligibility criteria to participate in tasks 2-4 are 1) diagnosis of asthma or carer of a person with asthma; 2) ≥18 years; 3) ability to use apps and access a mobile device with Internet. We anticipate applying questionnaires such as the User Experience Questionnaire and the System Usability Scale in all app testing tasks. We expect to have a final version of the asthma app that meets patients’/carers’ needs and experiences and healthcare professionals’ concerns. This will be an attractive app to support patients in self-management of their disease, keeping their asthma in control, having fewer asthma symptoms, and enjoying life. This study will be a framework for fully involving patients, carers and citizens in the iterative co-production development and implementation of an asthma app.

Cancer care pathways across seven countries in Europe: what are the current obstacles? And how can artificial intelligence help?

Cancer poses significant challenges for healthcare professionals across the disease pathway including cancer imaging. This study constitutes part of the user requirement definition of INCISIVE EU project. The project has been designed to explore the full potential of artificial intelligence (AI)-based technologies in cancer imaging to streamline diagnosis and management. The study aimed to map cancer care pathways (breast, prostate, colorectal and lung cancers) across INCISIVE partner countries, and identify bottle necks within these pathways. Email interviews were conducted with ten oncology specialised healthcare professionals representing INCISIVE partner countries: Greece, Cyprus, Spain, Italy, Finland, the United Kingdom (UK) and Serbia. A purposive sampling strategy was employed for recruitment and data was collected between December 2020 and April 2021. Data was entered into Microsoft Excel spreadsheet to allow content examination and comparative analysis. The analysed pathways all shared a common characteristic: inequalities in relation to delays in cancer diagnosis and treatment. All the studied countries, except the UK, lacked official national data about diagnostic and therapeutic delays. Furthermore, a considerable variation was noted regarding the availability of imaging and diagnostic services across the seven countries. Several concerns were also noted for inefficiencies/inequalities with regards to national screening for the four investigated cancer types. Delays in cancer diagnosis and treatment are an ongoing challenge and a source for inequalities. It is important to have systematic reporting of diagnostic and therapeutic delays in all countries to allow the proper estimation of its magnitude and support needed to address it. Our findings also support the orientation of the current policies towards early detection and wide scale adoption and implementation of cancer screening, through research, innovation, and technology. Technologies involving AI can have a great potential to revolutionise cancer care delivery. This study highlights the widespread delay in cancer diagnosis across Europe and supports the need for, systematic reporting of delays, improved availability of imaging services, and optimised national screening programs. The goal is to enhance cancer care delivery, encourage early detection, and implement research, innovation, and AI-based technologies for improved cancer imaging.

A three step protocol for the development of an innovative footwear (shoe and sensor based insole) to prevent diabetic foot ulceration.

The incidence of diabetic foot ulceration (DFU) is increasing worldwide. Therapeutic footwear is usually recommended in clinical practice for preventing foot ulcers in persons with diabetes. The project Science DiabetICC Footwear aims to develop innovative footwear to prevent DFU, specifically a shoe and sensor-based insole, which will allow for monitoring pressure, temperature, and humidity parameters. This study presents a three-step protocol for the development and evaluation of this therapeutic footwear, specifically: (i) a first observational study will specify the user requirements and contexts of use; (ii) after the design solutions were developed for shoe and insole, the semi-functional prototypes will be evaluated against the initial requirements; (iii) and a pre-clinical study protocol will enable the evaluation of the final functional prototype. The eligible diabetic participants will be involved in each stage of product development. The data will be collected using interviews, clinical evaluation of the foot, 3D foot parameters and plantar pressure evaluation. This three-step protocol was defined according to the national and international legal requirements, ISO norms for medical devices development, and was also reviewed and approved by the Ethics Committee of the Health Sciences Research Unit: Nursing (UICISA: E) of the Nursing School of Coimbra (ESEnfC). The involvement of end-users (diabetic patients) will enable the definition of user requirements and contexts of use to develop design solutions for the footwear. Those design solutions will be prototyped and evaluated by end-users to achieve the final design for therapeutic footwear. The final functional prototype will be evaluated in pre-clinical studies to ensure that the footwear meets all the requirements to move forward to clinical studies. The three-step study outlined in this protocol will provide the necessary insights during the product development, ensuring this new therapeutic footwear's main functional and ergonomic features for DFU prevention.

Experiences of cancer survivors in Europe: Has anything changed? Can artificial intelligence offer a solution?

IntroductionCancer is a major global health issue. Despite technological advancements in oncology, challenges remain in many aspects related to cancer management. This study constitutes one part of the user requirement definition of INCISIVE EU H2020 project, which has been designed to explore the full potential of artificial intelligence (AI) based technologies in cancer imaging. The study aimed to explore cancer survivors’ experiences of cancer care in five European countries.MethodsA qualitative study employing semi-structured interviews was conducted. A purposive sampling strategy was used to recruit participants across the five validation countries of INCISIVE project: Greece, Cyprus, Spain, Italy, and Serbia. Forty cancer survivors were interviewed between November 2020 and March 2021. Data was analysed thematically using the framework approach and coded using NVivo12 software.ResultsThe analysis yielded several gaps within the cancer care pathway which reflected on the participants experiences. Five key themes were revealed; (1) perceived challenges during the cancer journey, (2) the importance of accurate and prompt diagnosis, (3) perceived need for improving cancer diagnosis, (4) absence of well-established/designated support services within the pathway and (5) suggestions to improve cancer care pathway.ConclusionCancer survivors experienced significant burdens pertaining to cancer diagnosis and treatment. Our findings underscored some main gaps within the cancer care pathway which contributed to the challenges articulated by the participants including lack of resources and delays in diagnostic and treatment intervals. Additionally, several suggestions were provided by the cancer survivors which could be considered towards the improvement of the current state of care, some of which can be optimised using new technologies involving AI such as the one proposed by INCISIVE.

Enhance Tax Administration to Informal Traders in Tanzania through Digital Technology- The User Requirements Definition

Studies on mobile technology have so far focused on the usage of digital technology to enhance business operations. However, in Tanzania, little is known on the user requirements for a technological solution that connects informal practitioners and regulatory framework. Therefore, this study focuses on a digital tool to enhance the tax administration of informal practitioners. The user requirement considered set-up of informal traders, the canon of tax, activity theory, and the technological acceptancy model. This qualitative study, collected data through focus group discussions, interviews, document reviews, site visits and studio work. The study confirmed that digital tools should enhance activities, and the qualities that attract informal traders to use. The study resulted in an early-stage prototype, also, the lesson on establishing user requirements that connect informal practitioners and regulatory framework was learned. This paper contributes to the inclusion of informal practitioners in digital technology and taxation in developing economy like some of African Countries.

Concise Definition of Aviation PNT User Requirements Based on OFD

Definition of aviation is the core of PNT system requirements analysis and research, The quality of PNT user requirements definition will directly affect the scientificity and effectiveness of other research work of the system, QFD(Quality Function Deployment) is a systematic technical method and management method. In the process of product development, all activities are driven by users’ needs. QFD has been widely used in manufacturing, industrial and commercial military fields, and achieved great results. House of quality(HOQ) is the basic tool for establishing QFD system and essence of OFD method. The typical house of quality framework and analytical solution method can be used not only in the development process of new products, but also in the whole process of analysis in other fields. In this paper, aiming at the concise definition of PNT user requirements, QFD technology is used to build QFD model of PNT user requirements and PNT system technology based on the analysis of existing PNT information requirements and future aviation navigation development trend. In order to facilitate the analysis and simplify the approach of aviation navigation as the user requirements, and GNSS, SBAS, DEM, VOR, NDB, ILS and GBAS as the main system technologies. Finally, the technical quality house model of PNT system of aviation navigation task is given, so as to complete the concise definition of PNT user requirements of aviation users.

Monitoring global changes in biodiversity and climate essential as ecological crisis intensifies

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services have presented unequivocal evidence for human induced climate change and biodiversity decline. Transformative societal change is required in response. However, while the Global Observing System for Climate has coordinated climate observations for these assessments, there has been no equivalent actor for the biodiversity assessment. Here we argue that a central agency for coordinated biodiversity observations can lead to an improved assessment process for biodiversity status and coupled climate - biodiversity observations in areas of mutual interest such as monitoring indicators of Nature's Contributions to People. A global biodiversity observation system has already begun to evolve through bottom up development of the Essential Biodiversity Variables. We propose recommendations on how to build on this progress through definition of user requirements, observation principles, creation of a community data basis and regional actions through existing networks.

7.1.1 Reduction of Late Design Changes Through Early Phase Need Analysis

AbstractContractors in the oil and gas industry are experiencing an increased pressure to deliver projects at a lower cost and at a shorter schedule. Extensive requirements combined with strict governing documents restrict project designs. Therefore, contractors need efficient governing processes that capture customers' needs and ensure that system requirements relates to these customer needs.In the execution phase of a project, the engineering degrees of freedom are limited. In the early project phase of concept and study, the basic design is established. The design freeze occurs in the tender phase, based on a best interpretation of customer needs. This causes any changes made in the execution phase to be costly and have the potential to impose severe subsequent consequences. Proper use of systems engineering ensures a minimal amount of late design changes. The most important systems engineering process in such a context, is the capturing of customer needs and definition of user requirements. We researched the processes used to capture system requirements today, and the potential impact of using systems engineering techniques for this purpose. We uncovered multiple gaps in the current process of capturing customer needs, which subsequently led to the definition of system requirements based on international standards and best practices, instead of actual needs. Our research also showed that with a process of capturing customer needs based on systems engineering techniques, as much as 92% of the costs imposed by late design changes are avoidable.

Workshop Builds Strategies to Address Global Positioning System Vulnerabilities

Workshop Builds Strategies to Address Global Positioning System Vulnerabilities

User-Centered Methods for new Product Concept Development

When developing a successor of an existing product, it is relatively easy to involve consumers in the early stages of the process – one could for example observe them using the current products, and discuss with them what could be improved. However, when creating products from ‘scratch’, consumers might find it difficult to articulate future needs, to appreciate the potential and limitations of new technologies, or think about possible applications. So, consumer “co-creation” in the early creative phase will require alternative approaches towards user requirements definition, concept development, and concept feedback. A range of different approaches to include the consumer perspective early in the development process will be presented. Furthermore, implications from a Human Factors perspective will be discussed.

Application of Cognitive Task Analysis in User Requirements Definition and Prototype Design

The Aircraft Maintenance Intuitive Troubleshooting (AMIT) project is a three-year Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) effort headed by the Logistics Readiness Branch, Warfighter Readiness Research Division, Human Effectiveness Directorate (HEAL) through NCI Information Systems, Inc, with the support of the University of Dayton Research Institute (UDRI). AMIT's goal is to support aircraft maintenance technicians by providing the right information, appropriate to their experience level, so they will more efficiently and effectively complete their task. Multiple data collection strategies were adopted, including an extensive literature review, a series of process interviews, and a progression of CTA interviews. The CTA effort was designed to capture where the process is inadequate or breaks down. Areas of the maintenance process identified as most challenging includes debrief, problem duplication, and troubleshooting. Resulting design recommendations include Graphical System Representations, electronic technical orders, electronic wiring diagrams, access to other information sources, and application of case based reasoning.

The impact of new regulations on computerized systems in a GCP regulated environment

AbstractApproaches to computer system validation have changed considerably over the past few years. Rules and guidance documents are now focusing mainly on electronic records management, transmission and maintenance (with emphasis on data integrity and security). Strategies for the implementation and validation of computerized systems need to consider the opportunity to use tools such as process mapping and risk analysis to support the validation effort. In particular, process mapping is useful during theô user requirement definition phase, while risk analysis has became a key tool when defining the scope of computer system validation. These considerations can extend to the e‐CRF system used for collecting clinical trial data through the web. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Risk Perception during Information System Development in Non-Profit Health Care Organizations

The perception of risk exposure among design team members during the early phases of information system development projects can provide valuable strategic information for clinical organizations. To develop a typology of perceived risks during information system development projects in health care, interviews were performed with key team members from a specialist clinic, primary health care, and an informatics research group, during the requirements specification. Phenomenological data analysis and secondary integration of the results in available theories were performed. System objectives, the user requirements definition procedure, the communication pattern between design team members and project management were found to be perceived as the main risk areas. In the secondary analysis, the technical factors, identified as preventing a maximization of the use of the resources, were lack of informatics knowledge among economic decision makers and differences between customers and suppliers regarding their views on the nature of system design. During the implementation of a given strategy, decision makers may consider the requests of their own sponsors in the first place and maximize the use of the project resources in the second place. Informatics knowledge plays a key role in risk perception during the development of an information system in health care. Political considerations by team members are important to take into regard, since these may influence technical and economic decisions.

A framework for linking Soft Systems Methodology (SSM) and Jackson System Development (JSD)

Abstract. This paper describes a proposed framework for linking soft systems methodology (SSM), a problem structuring technique for use in messy, ill‐defined problem situations, with Jackson System Development (JSD), an information system development methodology which has object‐oriented characteristics. The approach taken has been to embed the modelling phase of JSD within SSM after the conceptual modelling stage, but before the debate on desirable and feasible change. The JSD modelling phase is carried out at a conceptual rather than a real world level. The framework comprises of a series of steps which enable JSD entity structure diagrams to be derived to a large extent from the activities in an SSM conceptual model. A data model may then be built up by exploding the activities in the conceptual model or by using ‘conceptual hows’ to identify more entities and actions. One of the main benefits expected to arise from the use of such a framework is an improved user requirement definition, which is important to successful systems implementation. The difficulties in actually achieving a link relate to the methodological and philosophical differences between SSM and JSD.

Designing Mental Health Facilities: An Interactive Process

Program and funding changes in mental health service delivery in the past 15 years have resulted in ever-changing demands on the use of physical space in mental health facilities. An interactive planning process facilitated by a multidisciplinary design team can anticipate and address many difficulties with space utilization in construction or renovation. An architectural feasibility, study, including a careful definition of user requirements, is a useful document for facilitating intraagency communication, securing external funding, and moving capital projects to completion.

The object-oriented systems life cycle

In software engineering, the traditional description of the software life cycle is based on an underlying model, commonly referred to as the “waterfall” model (e.g., [4]). This model initially atte...

Information system analysis and conceptual database design in production environments with M ∗

A methodology, called M ∗, for information system analysis and database design of production environments is presented in detail. The originality of M ∗ is to recognize the importance of integrating factory analysis methods for data and user requirements definition with logical database design methods for database specification. M ∗ is a pragmatic, complete, manual methodology involving three major phases: Enterprise Modelling and Analysis which is the phase devoted to accurate analysis of the structure of the enterprise and precise definition of the scope of the future database application; Conceptual Design which is the phase concerned with data modelling of both static and dynamic properties of the enterprise; and Implementation Design which is the phase dealing with adaptation of the conceptual schema to the data model specifications of the physical database system used for application development and tuning performances of the physical system. The methodology is explained and illustrated by means of an example related to a Flexible Manufacturing System for mechanical parts.

Language standards for Computer-Aided Learning

Instructional applications of the computer have resulted in the development of many specialized high-level programming languages; each one aimed at providing effective access to the computer by student, teacher, course author, and/or researcher. At any given installation, the benefits to be gained from such a language are quite evident. However, the variety of languages which have evolved has resulted in great difficulty in exchanging Computer-Aided Learning (CAL) program materials among different institutions. Thus much effort is expended on development of software which exists elsewhere, but not in a form suitable for the particular computer installation at the institution wishing to make use of it. A common programming language for CAL applications would represent a major step towards permitting exchange of CAL software between different computer installations. To be effective, such a language must take into account the variety of approaches used in instructional applications of the computer. It must consider the requirements of users with a variety of skills. It must include provision for the utilization of a wide range of specialized input-output devices required to permit effective communication between the user and the computer. As with all standards, provision must be made for the CAL language standard to be updated in order to respond to changes in user requirements. The development and maintenance of standards for programming languages requires the co-operation of the user, the equipment supplier, and the researcher. As a first step towards arriving at definition of user requirements for a CAL programming language, the National Research Council of Canada's Associate Committee on Instructional Technology convened a working panel whose members have participated actively in a variety of CAL applications, with a variety of programming languages involved. The task assigned to the working panel was the definition of a functional specification of a programming language to meet user requirements. To arrive at a standard from the functional specification, requires the production of a detailed specification, followed by implementation at a number of centres. This implementation stage must be completed before one can say a standard truly exists, since a standard has very little meaning to the user if he cannot apply it.