If you have picked up this book and are browsing the Preface, you may well be asking yourself"What makes this book different from the large number I can find on amazon. com?". Well, the answer is a blend of the academic and the practical, and views of the subject you won't get from anybody else: how psychology and linguistics influence the field of requirements engineering (RE). The title might seem to be a bit of a conundrum; after all, surely requirements come from people so all requirements should be user-centred. Sadly, that is not always so; many system disasters have been caused simply because requirements engineering was not user-centred or, worse still, was not practised at all. So this book is about putting the people back into com puting, although not simply from the HCI (human-computer interaction) sense; instead, the focus is on how to understand what people want and then build appropriate computer systems.

Human-CenteredSoftwareEngineering: BridgingHCI,UsabilityandSoftwareEngineering From its beginning in the 1980’s, the ?eld of human-computer interaction (HCI) has beende?nedasamultidisciplinaryarena. BythisImeanthattherehas beenanexplicit recognition that distinct skills and perspectives are required to make the whole effort of designing usable computer systems work well. Thus people with backgrounds in Computer Science (CS) and Software Engineering (SE) joined with people with ba- grounds in various behavioral science disciplines (e. g. , cognitive and social psych- ogy, anthropology)inaneffortwhereallperspectiveswereseenasessentialtocreating usable systems. But while the ?eld of HCI brings individuals with many background disciplines together to discuss a common goal - the development of useful, usable, satisfying systems - the form of the collaboration remains unclear. Are we striving to coordinate the varied activities in system development, or are we seeking a richer collaborative framework? In coordination, Usability and SE skills can remain quite distinct and while the activities of each group might be critical to the success of a project, we need only insure that critical results are provided at appropriate points in the development cycle. Communication by one group to the other during an activity might be seen as only minimally necessary. In collaboration, there is a sense that each group can learn something about its own methods and processes through a close pa- nership with the other. Communication during the process of gathering information from target users of a system by usability professionals would not be seen as so- thing that gets in the way of the essential work of software engineering professionals.

The idea for this workshop originated when I came across and read Martin Zelkowitz's book on Requirements for Software Engineering Environments (the proceedings of a small workshop held at the University of Maryland in 1986). Although stimulated by the book I was also disappointed in that it didn't adequately address two important questions - "Whose requirements are these?" and "Will the environment which meets all these requirements be usable by software engineers?". And thus was the decision made to organise this workshop which would explicitly address these two questions. As time went by setting things up, it became clear that our workshop would happen more than five years after the Maryland workshop and thus, at the same time as addressing the two questions above, this workshop would attempt to update the Zelkowitz approach. Hence the workshop acquired two halves, one dominated by discussion of what we already know about usability problems in software engineering and the other by discussion of existing solutions (technical and otherwise) to these problems. This scheme also provided a good format for bringing together those in the HeI community concerned with the human factors of software engineering and those building tools to solve acknowledged, but rarely understood problems.

This book constitutes the thoroughly refereed post-conference proceedings of theFirst International Workshop on Usability and Accessibility focused RequirementsEngineering, UsARE 2012, held in Zurich, Switzerland, in June 2012 in conjunctionwith ICSE 2012, the 34th International Conference on Software Engineering, and theSecond International Workshop, UsARE 2014, held in Karlskrona, Sweden, in August2014, in the course of RE 2014, the 22nd International Requirements EngineeringConference.This book consists of 10 chapters of which 9 are extended versions of the paperspresented at the two UsARE events. Amongst them, 3 are extended versions of thepapers presented at UsARE 2012 and 6 are extended versions of papers presented atUsARE 2014 - rounded off by a new chapter that was added as authors are doingrelevant work on the same topic. The chapters are organized into three sectionsaccording to their main focus: usability and user experience, accessibility andapplications.

A new product can be easy or difficult to use, it can be efficient or cumbersome, engaging or dispiriting, it can support the way we work and think - or not. What options are available for systematically addressing such parameters and provide users with an appropriate functionality, usability and experience? In the last decades, several fields have evolved that encompass a user-centred approach to create better products for the people who use them. This book provides a comprehensible introduction to the subject. It is aimed first and foremost at people involved in software and product development – product managers, project managers, consultants and analysts, who face the major challenge of developing highly useful and usable products. Topics include: The most important user-centred techniques and their alignment in the development process Planning examples of user-centred activities for projects User-oriented approaches for organisations Real-life case studies Checklists, tips and a lot of background information provide help for practitioners

Looks at the application design process, describing how to create user-friendly applications.

Written by psychologists, this book focuses on the design of computer systems from the perspective of the user. The authors place human beings firmly at the centre of system design and so assess their cognitive and physical attributes as well as their social needs. The model used specifically takes into consideration the way in which computer technology needs to be designed in order to take account of all these human factors. The text comprises a careful mix of theory and applications and is spiced throughout with practical examples of do's and don'ts in designing systems.

Foundations for Designing User-Centered Systems introduces the fundamental human capabilities and characteristics that influence how people use interactive technologies. Organized into four main areas—anthropometrics, behaviour, cognition and social factors—it covers basic research and considers the practical implications of that research on system design. Applying what you learn from this book will help you to design interactive systems that are more usable, more useful and more effective. The authors have deliberately developed Foundations for Designing User-Centered Systems to appeal to system designers and developers, as well as to students who are taking courses in system design and HCI. The book reflects the authors’ backgrounds in computer science, cognitive science, psychology and human factors. The material in the book is based on their collective experience which adds up to almost 90 years of working in academia and both with, and within, industry; covering domains that include aviation, consumer Internet, defense, eCommerce, enterprise system design, health care, and industrial process control.

Usability has become increasingly important as an essential part of the design and development of software and systems for all sectors of society, business, industry, government and education, as well as a topic of research. Today, we can safely say that, in many parts of the world, information technology and communications is or is becoming a central force in revolutionising the way that we all live and how our societies function. IFIP's mission states clearly that it "encourages and assists in the development, exploitation and application of information technology for the benefit of all people". The question that must be considered now is how much attention has been given to the usability of the IT-based systems that we use in our work and daily lives. There is much evidence to indicate that the real interests and needs of people have not yet been embraced in a substantial way by IT decision makers and when developing and implementing the IT systems that shape our lives, both as private individuals and at work. But some headway has been made. Three years ago, the IFIP Technical Committee on Human Computer Interaction (IFIP TC13) gave the subject of usability its top priority for future work in advancing HCI within the international community. This Usability Stream of the IFIP World Computer Congress is a result of this initiative. It provides a showcase on usability involving some practical business solutions and experiences, and some research findings.

This is a guide to eliminating the waste of time, money and effort resulting from poor product development. It provides product definition requirements needed at the start of any product development process.