A systematic method of social analysis for computer systems design

GR/K81911

Principal investigator: Prof. Ian Sommerville, Lancaster University

Summary of Objectives and Results

The motivation for this research came from our extensive previous experience in using ethnographic studies to inform the software systems design process. While these were clearly of value, we were convinced that we needed to evolve the technique so that it was usable by software engineers and so that the results of the studies were documented in a form that was accessible to them. We therefore established the following project objectives:

  1. To develop a methodical approach to the analysis of social interactions in the workplace which can be used to inform the design of computer systems support including the design of graphical notations to represent cooperation.
  2. To explore how these approaches can be integrated with structured methods of systems analysis and design.
  3. To evaluate the utility of these approaches by trials in an organisational setting.

We have satisfied all of these objectives. We have developed a systematic approach to social analysis called Coherence that provides guidance for analysts on social analysis, we have investigated how the results of these analyses may be documented using an extended version of the UML and we have evaluated the approach by trials in a major UK bank.

Coherence is a viewpoint-oriented approach to analysis and we recommend that 3 social viewpoints be used. These are:

  1. Distributed coordination How is the division of labour manifest through the work of individuals and its coordination with others?
  2. Plans and procedures How do plans and procedures function in the workplace?
  3. Awareness of work How does knowledge of the work of others affect work practice?

To structure the analysis within these viewpoints, we have identified a number of concerns that are common to all of them. These are:

  1. Paperwork and computer work How do forms and other artefacts on paper or screen act as embodiments of the process?
  2. Skills and the use of local knowledge What are the everyday skills employed by individuals and teams in order to get the work done?
  3. Spatial and temporal organisation How does the spatial organisation of the workplace reflect how the work is performed?
  4. Organisational memory How do people learn and remember how to perform their work?

We have defined a process to carry out the social analysis and have produced guidelines for expressing the results of the analysis using various UML models. In essence, we see the primary result as being a set of use-cases that can then become the starting point for more detailed object-oriented analysis. However, in addition to a use-case model, we have extended the notion of UML sequence diagrams to document cooperation in the workplace and also provide an initial object model based on the workplace artefacts that have been identified.

Further details

Further details of the project are available from

http://www.comp.lancs.ac.uk/computing/research/cseg/projects/coherence

Acknowledgement

This research was supported by the IT and Computer Science Programme of the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council.