Participatory design for mobile application for academic management in a Brazilian University

Abstract

The object of this work is to report on the research process for the development of a mobile software application devised for academic management - SIGAA - at Rio Grande do Norte Federal University (UFRN), in Brazil. Using the methodology of Participatory Design (PD), Prototyping, and other participatory techniques, the application's interfaces were developed, and three types of prototypes for the registering and editing of student presence were tested. The implications inherent to each model, and usability recommendations for the formulation of usability guidelines for the academic information management applications project were also ascertained. © 2013 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.