Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Stakeholders also need to be able to understand possibly unfamiliar,
even complex, concepts in order to make informed evaluations, for exam-
ple of different technical options or plans and policies. Citizens must be-
lieve that there is a 'level playing field' if they are to contribute fully to the
development process, and this includes being able to have a dialogue with
designers. Techniques are therefore particularly needed which bridge the
gap between designers' knowledge and citizens' knowledge, breaking
away for example from technical jargon and the complex text-based de-
scriptions which characterize many if not most large scale ICT develop-
ment projects.
9.6 Envisioning
As a precursor to contributing to design decisions, citizens have to develop
an awareness of the potential of technological capabilities available. Then,
crucially to perceive that the emerging capabilities have relevance to their
lives, are suited to their needs and capacities, and are affordable and ac-
cessible. The requirement here is for techniques which not only allow
stakeholders to visualize the form of design solutions, but which provide
sufficient detail for them to be able to assess the 'impact' of the design at
different levels - at the individual level, for ease of use, joy of use, etc. and
at the collective level for organizational and/or social impact.
9.6.1 Visual Representations
Sketches, prototypes and mock-ups have long been a part of the designer's
repertoire of tools. Each of these forms of representation offers stake-
holders the opportunity to explore and evaluate aspects of design. Lower-
fidelity representations such as sketches or diagrams may be better for
testing out concepts because they are seen as more 'disposable' and less
costly. However, they are only capable of conveying superficial or limited
aspects of a design, and may be capable of being interpreted in widely
different ways by different stakeholders. Scenarios and use-cases have
become popular in the requirements engineering community as a way of
exploring and defining requirements, but these too can lead to different in-
terpretations and resulting requirements.
Such techniques have often been used in an evaluation context, i.e. to
present the potential user with a representation of a future situation on
which they can comment. Prototypes and simulations can be a good way of
finding out from users whether the features of a design meet their needs,
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