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information management:
usability
analysis
Information
Management Systems, whether it is a simple database or a complex decision
support system, are meant to be used by the users. Therefore, at WRIME, Inc., we pay attention to our users to
ensure that the database or information management system that we develop is
“user centric”, instead of “feature centric”.
A user-centric design makes a database or information management system
usable.
A
user-centric system is based on a goal-directed design focused on meeting the
goals of users; on the other hand, a feature-centric design is based on
technology-directed design focused on the programming tools and methodologies.
The
primary step in usability analysis is to collect information on the end-user
requirements for the database or the information management system
The primary purpose of collecting end-user requirements is to understand
how users perform their jobs, what data they currently use and analyze for
decision support purposes, what capabilities they would like to have to improve
the quality of their work, and what they would like to be able to do in the
future. This helps the software/database designers understand the frame of
reference of the end users and minimizes the conventional design pitfalls. A
prime example of these pitfalls in a house-building analogy would be an
architect sizing the rooms based on the structural specifications without
considering the room size requirements of the house owner. This type of design
generally does not encourage the users to use the system.
The
primary steps in characterizing user needs and design attributes for an
Information Management System consist of:
-
Identification
and description of the user groups;
-
Identification
of objectives and goals of each user group;
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Documentation
of primary needs and desires of each user group (synonymously, the resource
disciplines) in terms of data access, visualization, user interface
characteristics, analytical capabilities, integrated results with other
resources, etc.;
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Identification
of user’s perception of
-
Ease of use
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User
friendliness
-
Network
security
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Access
permissions
-
Performance
speed
-
Context
sensitivity in presentation of data and information
-
Intuitive
sequence of data presentation and user queries and results
Our
competent professional staffs have extensive experience in design and
development of “user-centric” databases and software that have gained wide
user acceptance because of their high levels of usability.
If you want your database and information management system to be
attractive to users, please contact WRIME, Inc. to develop user specifications.
WRIME, Inc., will act as an advocate for users and will work with
software development team to ensure that user friendliness is preserved in both
the design and implementation.
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"There
are only two things of importance.
One is the customer, and the other is the product.
If you take care of customers, they come back.
If you take care of product, it doesn’t come back."
Stanley
Marcus
"The
most difficult part of requirements gathering is not the act of recording
what the users want; it is the exploratory, developmental activity of
helping users figure out what they want. ."
Steve
McConnell
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