User-Centred Requirements Handbook |
An important aspect in weighing up alternative system concept options will be the costs and benefits that users perceive, as well as each option's effectiveness in meeting the business goals. This activity provides a basis for eliminating certain concept options and selecting the most suitable.
The information collected are the costs and benefits of the system concept from each user group's view. These will be drawn from a range of viewpoints including task characteristics, job content, security, organisational procedures and personal development. It will thus highlight general implications of the new tasks on the users' jobs and the human aspects of the organisation.
Process
In order to capture user cost/benefits in a structured way, the following method may be used. Users judge whether the benefits to be gained by using particular products are outweighed by the costs experienced (usually implicit such as effort or delay). Factors that are considered include ease of use, ease of learning, training, etc. It is worthwhile to try to be explicit about the costs and the benefits for particular user groups so attention can be paid to these during design. The method is most useful for systems which affect whole work processes rather than single-user, single-task products.
The method enables a realistic study of the costs and benefits of the new system across a range of user groups early in the development cycle, allowing new options to be considered.
The resources required are fairly small. The process requires input from people with knowledge of different user types in existing work process.
The stages in performing the user cost/benefit analysis are as follows:
Procedure
1. Each user group/stakeholder is identified (or drawn from Form 1.2). For each group Form 2.7 is completed. There are two parts to the form as shown on the following pages. One part covers individual tasks or roles of the different users, while the other looks at characteristics of the job in general. Either or both parts of the form may be completed as appropriate.
2. Review the organisational process diagram (Section 1.10, Figure 7).
3. List the benefits for each user group in the 'benefit' column for each aspect of the system that would be regarded as a benefit, and rate its importance from +1 to +5.
4. List the costs for each user group in the 'cost' column for each aspect of the system that would be regarded as a cost, and rate its importance from -1 to -5.
5. Where costs appear to outweigh the benefits, try to think of a change to the system that would help to redress the balance. This may involve changing the system functions, the way they are implemented, or the organisational design in which the user is operating. Write this down in the sixth column: 'Modified or New User Requirement' column. An example of Form 2.7 is given below.
Note: The ratings are intended to highlight the importance of the costs and benefits of individual factors. The scores for different factors should not however be added together as the scores for different factors may not be of an equivalent scale.
6. Summarise the costs and benefits at the bottom of the form, and try to assess how acceptable, to the user group, the whole system concept would be.
7. If more than one user group is being considered, complete Form 2.7 for each.
8. If necessary, identify how a more equitable spread of costs and benefits can be achieved for all user groups. Refer back to the organisational process diagram (section 1.10) and modify it to capture the changes of how each user group relates to each other. There is, of course, no guarantee that the requirements of different user groups will be compatible with each other.
Form 2.7 - User cost/benefits (Example)
| 2.7 User Cost/Benefits | ||||||
| User group: Bank staff. | ||||||
| Issue | Benefits | Rating +1 to +5 | Costs | Rating –1 to –5 | Modified or New User Requirement | Ref. |
|
Main roles or tasks: 1. Day to day maintenance of bank machine Receive some form of warning when bank machine needs to be refilled with money and paper. Refill as required. |
Able to respond to faults before bank customers complain | +3 |
Interruption of warnings and having to keep checking bank machines. Time consuming task |
-3 |
Rota of staff to check on level of paper and money in machine. Develop faster refill mechanism. |
2.7.1 2.7.2 |
|
2. Dealing with faults Receive warning if machine develops a fault. Decide what type of fault has arisen. If minor fault correct oneself. If more major, contact maintenance to come out and repair |
Increased responsibility as able to sort out some problems locally. Some broadening of skills. Social and professional contact with another group. |
+2 |
Time and effort May be criticised if call out maintenance for minor problem |
-2 |
Develop diary of past faults to guide staff on correcting faults and when to call out an engineer |
2.7.3 |
Transfer to Form 3.5
System Functions and Features and Form 3.4
Technical environment
| 2.7 User Cost/Benefits | ||||||
| User group: Help desk support engineer. | ||||||
| Issue | Benefits | Rating +1 to +5 | Costs | Rating –1 to –5 | Modified or New User Requirement | Ref. |
| Job Security | ||||||
| Job Content
1. Task variety 2. Effort required 3. New skills/skills lost 4. Work pace/deadlines 5. Workload 6. Satisfaction |
Increased range of tasks Fault correction. |
+3 +5 +1 |
-1 -1 0 0 |
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Organisational procedures 1. Discretion and autonomy 2. Standardisation and formality 3. Power and influence 4. Privacy 5. Communications 6. Status |
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Personnel policies 1. Basic pay 2. Other rewards 3. Career prospects 4. Industrial relations |
||||||
| Summary: Generally an improvement to working procedures. | ||||||
Transfer to Form 3.9 Social and
Organisational Requirements