Using K-MADe for learning task modeling: interests and difficulties

Abstract

Teaching user-centred software design covers many aspects. One of the most important ones is task modeling. Since task modeling contributes largely to the ergonomic quality and acceptance of the resulting software, it is essential for task modeling concepts to be well understood by future software designers. To this end, this study aims at evaluating a task model (K-MAD) and its associated tool (K-MADe) as regards the task modeling training. This article describes the rationale of the study, the model and the software tool used, the teaching steps, and the experience feedback on the practical use of the software. The latter identifies the benefits and disadvantages of this practical use from the teaching point of view, but also from a practical standpoint, including in terms of evolution of the models obtained and of their edition.