Overview
Potential users
The K-MADe tool is
intended for people wishing to describe, analyze and formalize the
activities of human operators, of users, in environments (computerized
or not), in real or simulated situation; in the field, or in the
laboratory.
Although all kinds of
profiles of people are possible, this environment
is particularly intended for ergonomics and HCI (Human Computer Interaction) specialists in.
Purpose of the K-MADe tool
K-MADe makes it possible
to create, edit and query models of users tasks. It is an environment
resulting from ergonomics and IHM research, and intended to facilitate
the implementation of a user-centered analytic perspective, according a
model-based approach, for the design and the ergonomic evaluation of
the interactive software.
Contributions to the integration of ergonomics to the process
of design are in particular: to facilitate, by formal semantics and
generic formats the description, the examination, and analysis of
tasks; to limit the inter-individual variations; to increase the level
of completion of descriptions; to authorize further the processing of
descriptions, in particular the queries of the model; and to facilitate
the paths between models of the field and the stages of the software
lifecycle.
Phases of use
K-MADe can be used at
the time of data collection in the field; during the analysis of user
activities; during the validation of the models; etc. It can be also be
used during the various phases of the development, for example: for the
specification of hypothetical tasks models, to contribute with the
design and the evaluation of usability as well as the drafting of
documentation. K-MADe can also be considered to help the end-user in
the form of task documentation, e.g., for training.
K-MAD model
K-MADe is based on the
K-MAD model (Kernel of Model for Activity Description), (Lucquiaud and
al., 2002; Lucquiaud, 2005a and b).
The model is
hierarchical. It represents the activity of the user in the form of
tasks trees, from the most general (mother-task) to the most detailed
(elementary actions), while passing by intermediate tasks
(daughter-tasks).
Tasks
: a task is defined by a name, a number (automatic), a purpose,
duration, a feedback information (observable effects by the user) :
- A task can incorporate observations ;
- A task is characterized by a level of priority (very, rather, not very) ;
- A task is characterized by a frequency (high, medium, low) ;
- A task is characterized by an executant (user, system, interactive, abstract) ;
- When the executant is a user (individual intervening in the described activity), the task is characterized by methods (sensorimotor, cognitive). The various users associated with the tasks are identified as actors, characterized by a name, a level of experience (beginner, average, expert) and skills.
Conditions for
execution : a task is associated with possible
constraints for execution : preconditions (conditions so for the task
to be achievable), iterations (condition for task iteration).
Side effects :
a task is associated with possible side effects:
postconditions (actions resulting from the task, i.e., dynamics of the
model objects: setting attributes values, creation or removal of
objects), events (events being generated during the execution of the
task).
Objects of the
model : these objects characterize the environment of the
user. They are the objects that the user handles or which influence the
course of the activity (external events not user-initiated,
characterized by a name and a source).
Representation
of the objects : the various types of objects are as
follows :
- Abstract objects : characteristics relating to the concepts
handled by the user ;
- Abstract attributes : characteristics of the abstract
object ;
- Concrete objects : corresponds to an instance of an
abstract object ;
- Groups : grouping of concrete objects ;
- Concrete Attributes : allows to associate a value for each
characteristic defined by the abstract attributes of the abstract
object ;
- Users : set of users who intervene in the described
activity ;
- Events : set of events that can be triggered or caused by
the described activity.
K-MADe features
The K-MADe tool implements
the whole set of the model characteristics. It makes it possible to
edit, modify and question (the querying functionalities of the model
are under development) the task models. The tool is available in French
and in English and consists mainly of the following tools :
- Graphic editor of K-MAD task models. Use of direct
manipulation techniques for creating, modifying and removing tasks ;
- Editor of tasks
characteristics (see the list above). The editor works three ways. A
reduced “light” way with only the characteristics
considered to be most important, a way which lists in tables all the
characteristics, and finally a form which shows in an organized form
all task characteristics (precondition, tasks body and postcondition).
This last representation is used for the printing of the full task ;
- Editor of abstract
objects, users, events and concrete objects. Possibility of adding,
modifying and removing objects. The modification and removal of an
object involves obligatorily a modification on the directly dependant
objects ;
- Tool for the editing of
expressions for the preconditions, the postconditions and the
iterations. The tool is capable to check if the grammar of an
expression is correct ;
- Simulator to animate models of K-MAD tasks ;
- Various tools for task model analysis (statistical,
coherence, advanced search,…) ;
- Tool for printing the task trees and the task
characteristics ;
- And so on.
