Department of Computer Scienceand Information System
Brunel University, Uxbridge, Middlesex, UB8 3PH, U.K.
Telephone 44 1895 274000 Fax 44 1895 251686
Robert.Macredie@brunel.ac.uk
Department of Mathematics and Statistics
Brunel University, Uxbridge, Middlesex, UB8 3PH, U.K.
Telephone 44 1895 274000
Abstract
This special issue stems from our belief that users are central to the design of computer software, and that developing models of users has the potential to inform software design. The range of models that can be developed and the ways in which they are used in the design of computer software are vast. Models can be formal (or `hard') representation of the user on which the behaviour of the software rests. Such models are often used in areas of Artificial Intelligence to `guide' the behaviour of the system depending on the actions of the user. Such models are often complex and restricted to a small set of user behaviours. Less formal (or `softer') approaches to modelling exist. Often the model of the user is not a formal representation held within the software, but can instead be thought of as a `picture'of the potential user which is used to inform the software's design. Examples of this approach can be found in the design of user interfaces which consider general characteristics of users - such as their memory limitations, or the associations that they ascribe to particular colours - in an attempt to create more usable applications software.