Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 2
User Needs Analysis Methodology for the
Design of Traveler Information Systems
2.1.
Introduction
The design of a traveler information system implies a high interdependence of
two types of knowledge: knowledge regarding the expectations of the user and the
conditions of use; and knowledge regarding the functional and technical aspects of
the problem. It is a matter of defining the functional structures of a system that meet
the needs of potential users. With this aim, the use of a user-based approach enables
the design process to be efficiently organized [ISO 00], [NOR 86]. Furthermore, the
management of needs must be adapted to the variability of potential contexts of use,
in particular for the consideration of human and technical constraints. The first stage
of this approach is therefore the identification of these two bodies of knowledge
(human and technical needs). Once identified and validated, it is a matter of defining
their adequate formalisms for representation. Finally, it is a matter of building the
bridges enabling these data to be linked. In view of this, the descriptive model of the
interactive system to be developed must try to take into account the complexity of
reality [FAR 98], [WIE 48]. The aim is to summarize the elements of the problem to
be solved in order to specify the appropriate solutions. Authors such as Campos and
Nunes [CAM 04] or Pasquier
et al.
[PAS 95] speak on this subject of a gap between
the problem space and the solution space. The first space consists of the
environment of the problem to be solved with its organizational, technical but also
semantic and cultural constraints. The second is characterized by a modeling based
on representation structures strongly oriented by the design methods.
