SBIR Phase I: Work-Centered Application Development through Patterns

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will address the skill gap that exists within the software development community in the production of work-centered software. To this end, Stottler Henke will develop a novel software development environment that reduces the complexity of interaction design – bridging the gap between the analysis of the work domain and the development of well-designed supporting software. The proposed WorkWell system will provide for an enhanced Contextual Design process with tools that enable software developers to draw on the aggregate experience of other work-centered application designers. This will be achieved through the application of proven design/interaction patterns that will, for instance, enable software developers to resolve the conflicts between the desire for automation and user’s need for a feeling of control. Further, WorkWell will support an incremental process for mapping the semantics of user goals to underlying software functionality and the user interface design. Phase I will result in a limited prototype that will demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed approach. The results of these efforts will have a great impact on society – furthering the understanding of work-centered design and enabling corporations to produce software that will enjoy higher user adoption rates and improve efficiency. There is a large market for tools that can improve the efficiency and effectiveness of software development efforts. The WorkWell system offers corporations the means to produce intuitive and effective software under the time and resource limitations that exist in the commercial world and thereby achieve much higher user adoption rates for their products.