How developers anticipate user behavior in the design of assistance systems

Abstract

This paper proposes a new perspective on the old problem of function allocation. Instead of analyzing a synchronous interaction between human and computer, we suggest it could be more helpful to reconceptualize function allocation as an asynchronous division of labor between developers/designers and operators/users of human-computer systems. A study with 31 teams of developers was conducted in order to determine the effect of various forms of contact with a system and user participation on the results of a development process. The implications of lacking expected effects for future research are discussed. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2007.