Definition of User Typology

The following report represents an attempt to go further the usual way of dealing with user typologies in the field of Information and Communication Technology. Our attempt started as we recognized the value of the new International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF), proposed by the World Heart Organization, which, as described in the second chapter, approaches the problem of defining user health status and capabilities in a more integrated and complete way. The innovative philosophy and methodology of the above mentioned classification leaded us to hypothesize the possibility of using it as a basis to define user needs, finding important positive aspects and potentialities in the mentioned approach, as described in chapter 3, "ICF potentiality for user needs representation". To be able to encompass the whole filed of user capability in the context of technology mediated communication in the most extended and complete way, we describe user needs in the usual way in chapter 4, "Traditional definition of user needs". Starting from such background we propose an "Hypothesis on using the ICF coding to model user needs" in chapter 5, defining an extension of the MAIS conceptual model that takes into account the proposed hypothesis. Two more chapters, not directly related to user typologies, follow as a proposal of discussion to the whole consortium. Chapter 6 proposes an "Hypothesis on applying ICF coding to devices capability", following our idea of defining comparable classification of user needs and device capabilities in order to facilitate matching between user possibility of communication and capability of a state device, thus obtaining a range of possible way of communicating and interacting with the service, among which the user can exert his/her preferences. Finally the seventh chapter "User profile model and quality of service" presents some interesting hints on service quality and its correlation with user needs and existing requirements.