"The managers are queuing up to be part of this process now; until we got C-innovate involved they would not go near it" - Peter Manning, E-business Manager, East Sussex County Council.
Glossary of Terms
Accessibility testing
The purpose of accessibility testing is to determine how usable something is for users of different abilities. One of the reasons to perform accessibility testing is to ensure users of different abilities have equal access to information and functionality.
Benchmarking
Benchmarking takes data from different points in time allowing comparisons to be made over time. Through benchmarking your organisation can measure changes to work practices and processes with greater precision. Benchmarking can significantly enhance performance adding a great deal of value.
Benefits mapping
For mobile roll outs to meet a business case, the benefits which mobile devices have led to or are expected to lead to need to be identified. Without mapping what these benefits are it is difficult for expectations to be set about the effectiveness of the implementation. Benefits mapping is not a simple process; for example benefits may be cashable or non cashable, be owned by different stakeholders and experienced differently by stakeholders.
Benefits measurement
Measuring benefits can allow an organisation to identify whether expected benefits are being achieved, measure the extent of current benefits and identify other benefits. The NPIA indicate three core qualities of metrics used to measure benefits:
• provide a meaningful indication as to how your project is altering the performance of the system being monitored
• show any changes in performance are attributable to your project
• be practical; in terms of both resources and objectivity (not changing the behaviour being monitored)
Benefits management
This is a process of organising and managing toward the achievement of identified benefits.
Benefits realisation
The actual realisation of benefits involves change and enablers (work practice, IT, processes, training etc) and the measurement, tracking and managing of key benefits. In addition the NPIA states that there are four key parts to benefits realisation; preparing, identifying, evaluating and realising:
• preparation – understanding of the vision and objectives
• identification – determine what the benefits, changes and enablers are
• evaluation – establishment of measures, baselines and reporting
• realisation – implementation of change and enablers and the measurement, tracking and managing of key benefits
Business change
Implementing enablers and changes in the organisation (such as the implementation of new technologies and changes to work practices) impacts on the way business occurs. Understanding, documenting and communicating business benefits is important for understanding what business change is occuring.
Card sorting
Concepts are written onto card and a user group creates a category tree with them, representing structures. The purpose of card sorting is to enable the design of work processes, web site navigation and hardware/software features.
Cognitive psychology
Cognitive psychologists focus on the mental processes between stimulus and response. Cognitive psychology investigates mental processes such as problem solving, memory and language.
Contextual Design
This is used by designers to ensure IT systems (hardware and software) are usable and effective. Data is gathered from users in the field, such as officers on station, and these findings influence design. Contextual design involves ethnographic methods.
Contextual interview
Users are observed in their place of work with the interviewer interrupting the user occasionally to discuss their work. The interviewer discusses the findings with the design team ensuring the designed product is both usable and effective.
Culture
There are many definitions of ‘culture’. At its simplest culture can be understood as discernible patterns of human knowledge, belief and behaviour accompanied by shared attitudes, values, goals and practices.
Cultural change
Lasting structural and social changes within an organisation or set of linked institutions and lasting changes to shared ways of thinking, beliefs, values, procedures and relationships of stakeholders.
Engineering psychology
Studies of the relationships of people to machines in order to improve such relationships; often involving redesigning equipment, changing the way people use machines, or changing the location in which the work takes place.
Ethnography
Researchers using this approach become a ‘participant observer’ taking part in the events they study rather than attempting to be wholly objective.
Expert reviews
Expert reviewers have the experience enabling designs to be assessed or issues identified. Expert reviews can be used in preparation for focus groups and usability testing.
Human factors
Involves the study of all aspects of the way humans relate to the world around them, especially to technological systems. Human factors are a cognitive or physical property of an individual or social behaviour influencing the functioning of technological systems. Studying human factors enables improvements to operational performance and safety.
Human Computer Interaction (HCI)
This is the study of people and digital technologies from a psychological perspective. Both academia and industry are pivotal in studying HCI and enabling good user experience and good usability.
MSP – Managing Successful Programmes
Principles and Processes providing advice on organisation, processes, communication and ways of thinking; used for the management and control of a programme.
NPIA – National Policing Improvement Agency
The NPIA is a policing organisation acting as a central resource to the police. The NPIAs mission is to drive improvements in the police service; it is also responsible for managing critical national infrastructure. The NPIA is positive about adopting proven ideas from outside sources as part of its remit of improving the delivery of policing.
Social psychology
Seeks to understand how people and groups interact by focusing on the individual and group as the correct units of analysis.
Prototyping
This provides a standard against which other developments in a system or product can be judged. A prototype is an original or first. Prototypes allow tests to be run and alternatives to be considered.
Stakeholder engagement
Stakeholders are the various people or organisations that have an interest in, or are affected by, a particular piece of work. As stakeholders impact on each other and particular pieces of work it is important to understand their motivations and goals. By involving stakeholders in a particular piece of work, by engaging them, there is a greater chance of successfully navigating needs and interests.
Usability
How efficient and elegant (usable) an object is for the users who are attempting to interact and carry out tasks with the object.
User engagement
As with Stakeholder engagement different users are affected in different ways by pieces of work; user engagement is multi faceted but is primarily concerned with ensuring the interests of users are factored into pieces of work.
Usability testing
Testing systems to identify how usable objects are in terms of both elegance and functionality.
Work practice change
Part of cultural change and business change; work practice change occurs at the user end. New technologies or processes can alter the work practices of stakeholders. These changes can form part of the business change of the organisation and the broader cultural change of the organisation.
