Applying the Shinayakana Systems Approach to the Design of Software in a Sustainability Context

Abstract

There is a burgeoning interest in supporting Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in reducing their total emissions through accounting, reporting, and target setting. As part of the work reported here, a software prototype named Klima that provides greenhouse gas emissions accounting, reporting, and target setting capabilities was designed, implemented and evaluated. An important aspect of the design and development work involved selecting a model to support users in completing the target setting task. The Shinayakana Systems Approach [5, 7, 8] was applied to the design of the prototype’s Decision-Support System (DSS). The prototype was evaluated by six usability experts. The usability evaluation of the software prototype employed a combination of qualitative (think-aloud) and quantitative (after-scenario questionnaire) methods. Findings from the evaluation were positive overall, and taken to indicate that the Shinayakana Systems Approach is a suitable framework for tackling complex problems such as setting emission reduction targets.