Methodological Approach to Design Problem and Usability

Abstract

Problems in user-centered design are often not specified precisely because of the inability of the client to understand the exact requirement or because a complete clarification requires inevitable initial exploration However, an imprecise specification should not prevent initiation of the problem. It is important that designer and client continuously communicate during the entire design process to make sure that they agree with the desired outcome. In this paper we present and illustrate a methodological approach for the user interface design problem. Most software engineering methods follow a common methodological tradition that normally seek to control the complexity and fluidity of design through techniques that filter the information to decompose the problems under consideration. In this article, we suggest that the solution to the design problems consists of a complete specification of the set of components and their relations that together describe an artifact that delivers the functions and satisfies the constraints.