Scenario-Based Observation Approach for Eliciting User Requirements for Haptic User Interfaces

As tactual information processing of visually impaired users has not been investigated sufficiently and there are few guidelines on the development of haptic user interfaces, development of haptic assistive system can pose many challenges. Despite the breadth and variety of tools available for elicitation of user requirements, no single tool adequately provides the needed information to develop such a specialized system for a unique user population where the understanding of user behaviors is limited. This article explores the state-of-art of requirements engineering, discusses the challenges in developing a haptic assistive system, and proposes a methodology of combining a controlled observation in a naturalistic setting with scenario-based design for effective and efficient user requirements elicitation. A case study of developing a haptically enhanced, collaborative learning-by-feeling science education system for visually impaired students was conducted to show validity and effectiveness of the proposed methodology. The case study showed that the methodology has a variety of benefits including the reduced uncertainty and a better fit to the natural behaviors of the user population.