Integrating activity theory and organizational modeling for context of use analysis

Activity Theory is a theoretical-based context analysis technique that anchors the ethnographer descriptive work, calling his attention to the individual and social elements of human activities. For more than a decade, it has been a recognized framework for enhancing computer design practices, however there are still no methods for integrating context analysis based on Activity Theory with traditional system modeling techniques. In this paper we present a system design process that integrates ethnographic analysis based on Activity Theory with the i* organizational modeling technique. The approach uses human-practices analysis as the social root for system requirements derivation.

[1]  Alex Sandro Gomes,et al.  Aliando Teoria da Atividade e TROPOS na Elicitação de Requisitos de Ambientes Colaborativos de Aprendizagem , 2003, WER.

[2]  B. Nardi.  Activity theory and human-computer interaction , 1995 .

[3]  J. Goguen.  Requirements Engineering as the Reconciliation of Technical and Social Issues , 1994 .

[4]  David F. Redmiles,et al.  Introduction to the Special Issue on Activity Theory and the Practice of Design , 2002, Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW).

[5]  Nigel Fielding,et al.  Using Computers in Qualitative Research , 1991 .

[6]  Ian Sommerville,et al.  Social analysis in the requirements engineering process: from ethnography to method , 1999, Proceedings IEEE International Symposium on Requirements Engineering (Cat. No.PR00188).

[7]  David R. Millen,et al.  Rapid ethnography: time deepening strategies for HCI field research , 2000, DIS '00.

[8]  A. N. Leont’ev.  The Problem of Activity in Psychology , 1974 .

[9]  Martin C. Maguire,et al.  Context of Use within usability activities , 2001, Int. J. Hum. Comput. Stud..

[10]  John Mylopoulos,et al.  Integrating organizational requirements and object oriented modeling , 2001, Proceedings Fifth IEEE International Symposium on Requirements Engineering.

[11]  Daisy Mwanza,et al.  Where Theory Meets Practice: A Case for an Activity Theory Based Methodology to Guide Computer System Design , 2001, INTERACT.

[12]  Phil Turner,et al.  From description to requirements: an activity theoretic perspective , 1999, GROUP.

[13]  Helmut Krueger,et al.  Activity theory and the practice of design: evaluation of a collaborative tangible user interface , 2004 .

[14]  J. Wertsch.  The Concept of Activity in Soviet Psychology , 1981 .

[15]  Susanne Bødker.  Activity Theory as a Challenge to Systems Design , 1990 .

[16]  Jonathan Earthy,et al.  The Benefits of Using ISO 13407: Human Centred Design Process for Interactive Systems , 2001, INTERACT.

[17]  B. Nardi.  Context and consciousness: activity theory and human-computer interaction , 1995 .

[18]  Joseph A. Goguen,et al.  Requirements engineering as the reconciliation of social and technical issues , 1994 .

[19]  Jaelson Brelaz de Castro,et al.  Deriving use cases from organizational modeling , 2002, Proceedings IEEE Joint International Conference on Requirements Engineering.

[20]  Alex Sandro Gomes,et al.  Mapeando Diagramas da Teoria da Atividade em Modelos Organizacionais Baseados em i* , 2004, WER.

[21]  Luiz Eduardo Galvão Martins,et al.  An approach to software requirements elicitation using precepts from activity theory , 1999, 14th IEEE International Conference on Automated Software Engineering.

[22]  Martin C. Maguire,et al.  Methods to support human-centred design , 2001, Int. J. Hum. Comput. Stud..

[23]  Aaas News,et al.  Book Reviews , 1893, Buffalo Medical and Surgical Journal.

[24]  Ivar Jacobson,et al.  The unified modeling language reference manual , 2010 .

[25]  David F. Redmiles,et al.  Activity Theory and System Design: A View from the Trenches , 2002, Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW).

[26]  David Benyon,et al.  Ethnography, theory and systems design: from intuition to insight , 2000, Int. J. Hum. Comput. Stud..

[27]  John Mylopoulos,et al.  Towards requirements-driven information systems engineering: the Tropos project , 2002, Inf. Syst..

[28]  Mikko Korpela,et al.  Activity Analysis as a Method for Information Systems Development: General Introduction and Experiments from Nigeria and Finland , 2000, Scand. J. Inf. Syst..