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This paper reports on a phenomenological study that informs experience-design led product development. The study focused on a deep understanding of the lived experience of six visual impaired people (VIP) living in a Danish city. The emerging insights showed that the experience of visual impairment could be understood from four categories: 1) adapting to a new life, 2) belonging to a group and culture, 3) undertaking social obligations, and 4) having one's abilities recognized. Maslow's hierarchy of needs informed the process of relating the categories to a set of emerging design principles, requirements, and implications for social responsibility. This contribution clarifies the type of product solutions that may be needed at the starting stage and the post-starting stage of living with vision impairment (VI). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Websites are increasingly used as a medium for providing information to university students. The quality of a university website depends on how well the students' information classification fits with the structure of the information on the website. This paper investigates the information classification of 14 Danish and 14 Pakistani students and compares it with the information classification of their university website. Brainstorming, card sorting, and task exploration activities were used to discover similarities and differences in the participating students' classification of website information and their ability to navigate the websites. The results of the study indicate group differences in user classification and related task-performance differences. The main implications of the study are that (a) the edit distance appears a useful measure in cross-country HCI research and practice and (b) the comparative approach of thematic and taxonomic analysis can be used to understand classification and website structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report from a case study of the implementation of an electronic whiteboard system at two emergency departments at Danish hospitals. The purpose of the whiteboards is to support the clinicians in maintaining an overview of the patients at the departments. The electronic whiteboard system was designed in collaboration with clinicians from the departments. Compared to existing dry-erase whiteboards, the electronic whiteboards present more information and allow some automated updating. Based on observations supported by interviews we describe how tradition and transcendence were balanced in the implementation of the whiteboards at the two emergency departments. The electronic whiteboards were initially configured to resemble the dry-erase whiteboards and then gradually reconfigured and extended through an improvisational process, along with changes in the clinicians' work practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report on the initial findings of an exploratory action research study about effects specifications using the systems development method Effects-driven IT development. It is part of a larger IS pilot implementation project conducted in the Danish health care sector. Through interviews and a workshop we have identified and specified effects that comprise the basis for an evaluation of the project between several organisational stakeholders with diverse professional backgrounds. The challenges we experienced during the effects specification process were to balance a dichotomous focus between on one hand the visions of the participants and on the other hand the limitations of the IT artefact functionality to be evaluated. To do this a very strict focus on the effects specification is required and at most one of the variables like artefact functionality, new stakeholders and political requirements, should be presented to the participants of the specification. We also experienced that gathering organisational participants at a workshop with a common goal of discussing and prioritizing a finished list of effects would create a mutual learning process among the participants and facilitators of the workshop. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasing the organizational benefits from IT projects is a key concern in most organizations. The use of Project Portfolio Management (PPM) is generally recommended by consultants (e.g. Kaplan 2005) and researchers (e.g. De Reyck et al 2005) as one way of increasing the organizational benefits from IT investments. This article reports from an action research project aiming at understanding and improving IT PPM practices in Danish municipalities, thereby contributing to the general body of knowledge concerning PPM of IT projects. Our findings suggest that the participating organizations might benefit from a structured approach as suggested by the literature (e.g. Kaplan 2005), but also that the prescriptive PPM literature in some areas is too simplistic when compared to the reality faced by the participating practitioners. Especially, our research suggests that different PPM elements should be prioritized differently depending on the IT-management maturity and role of IT in the organization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It has been suggested that formative evaluation should be an integrated part of system implementation in order to improve the outcome of system use. In a design project an approach combining participatory design (PD) and formative evaluation has shown a great potential for improving the design of large and complex systems. Thus, the aim of the study is to experiment with how PD combined with formative evaluation may improve the implementation and use of large and complex systems within the healthcare sector. This resulted in a participatory formative evaluation approach supported by a self designed effect map. The purpose of the effect map is twofold: a) To encourage user participation in the early activities of formative evaluation b) The effects specified can be used as formative evaluation measures and guidance in the process of improving the system. The evaluation approach and the effect map is applied in an action research study in the Danish health care sector aiming at improving the medication process and the use of the electronic medication record supporting the medication process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]