Lessons Learned on Developing Educational Systems Using a Hybrid User Centered Methodology - New Contributions in Information Systems and Technologies - page 198

Lessons Learned on Developing Educational Systems
Using a Hybrid User Centered Methodology

António Pedro Costa 1,3 , Luís Paulo Reis 2,3 , and Maria João Loureiro 1

1 CIDTFF - Research Centre "Didatics and Technology in Education of Trainers",
DE/UA - Education Department, University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal
[e-mail], [e-mail]
2 DSI/EEUM - Information Systems Department, School of Engineering,
University of Minho, Guimarães, Portugal
[e-mail]
3 LIACC - Artificial Intelligence and Computer Science Laboratory, Porto, Portugal
[e-mail], [e-mail]

Abstract. This paper describes the lessons learned on the development of
educational applications using a Hybrid User Centered Development
Methodology (HUCDM). This is a simple, iterative and incremental
development process that has as building blocks the principles of User Centered
Design (UCD), specified in the International Organization for Standardization
9241-210 - Ergonomics of Human -System Interaction (210: Human -centered
design for interactive systems), together with practices and values from agile
software development methods. The process consists of four main stages:
specification/planning, design, implementation and maintenance. Prototyping
and evaluation are carried out across the entire process. By developing a
application in a Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) we were able to learn
several lessons that may be useful for other educational software developers
such as the need to involve the user in the evaluation (as verifier), but also to
integrate him into the team, as informant or co-designer. This improves user
satisfaction in comparison to involve the user only on the evaluation phase.

Keywords: Software Engineering, Educational Software Development
Methodologies, Agile Methods, Hybrid Methodology Hybrid for User Centered
Development, User Centered Design.

1

Introduction

Software development concerns the computer programming, documenting, testing,
and bug removing needed for the creation of applications and frameworks that may
result into a final software product. It refers to a process of writing and maintaining
the source code, but in a wider definition it also includes all that is involved in the
creation of the desired software until its final use, and its planned and structured
process of development. Software development includes research, methodologies,
development processes, specification, prototyping, modification, reuse, re-
engineering, maintenance, or any other activities that help the development of the
final software product.