The user-centred intelligent environments development process as a guide to co-create smart technology for people with special needs

• Published in: Universal access in the information society Vol. 17; no. 1; pp. 115 - 130
• Main Authors: Augusto, J., Kramer, D., Alegre, U., Covaci, A., Santokhee, A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.03.2018; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Computer Communication Networks; Computer Science; Computers and Society; Consortia; Information Storage and Retrieval; Information Systems Applications (incl.Internet); IT in Business; Long Paper; Methodology; User Interfaces and Human Computer Interaction; Human-centred design; Software development process; Intelligent environments
• ISSN: 1615-5289; 1615-5297
• DOI: 10.1007/s10209-016-0514-8

This paper reports on the lessons learnt during the application of a methodology to develop intelligent environments. One important feature of the methodology is that of being strongly user-centred, and the authors report on how that interaction with users took place and how it continuously shaped our project aspirations and outcomes. The methodology was applied to a project which aimed at helping people with Down’s Syndrome and those with similar conditions and needs, to be more included in society. The project was developed by a consortium of commercial, academic, and end user supporting organizations. The paper elaborates on what type of stakeholders engaging activities were considered and how these were distributed along the lifetime of the project and their impact.