User-centered Design for the mCLOUD Open Data Portal
The Task
The availability of digital data plays an ever increasingly important role for intelligent mobility. With the information and communications infrastructure, mCLOUD (www.mcloud.de), the BMVI provides a data platform via which application developers, researchers or traffic planners can obtain open data without additional costs or restrictions of use. The mCLOUD is continuously further developed. The objective here is the creation of the maximum possible acceptance through the focussing on the actual user requirements – especially those of the open data community. Through this user-centred development and updating process it is intended that the continued use of the open data of the BMVI is promoted, the external effects are increased and the economic and innovative potential of open data is harnessed.
Thanks to the user-centred design from con terra, in exciting workshops we gained a thorough understanding of the actual users of the mCLOUD. In most cases the expectations of the participants were exceeded and the results convincing: Personas and user stories illustrate actual requirements and expectations. Despite the intensive work, the workshops were entertaining.
Dr. Roland Goetzke - Referat DG 25
The Customer
The Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure (abbreviated as BMVI) is a cabinet-level ministry of the Federal Republic of Germany. The ministry, together with its subordinate bodies, carries out the departmental tasks in those areas which affect the mobility of people, goods and data.
The responsibility covers the transport infrastructure of the Federation as well as the nation-wide availability of modern broadband networks. To the tasks of the BMVI belongs, amongst other things, the modernization of the mobility on the basis of intelligent transport systems.
The Solution
For the most possible complete and correct recording of the user requirements, the BMVI uses the range of services of the User-Centred Design (UCD) from con terra GmbH. Through the fact-based, scientific approach, vague terms such as „User Experience“ or „Usability“ become intelligible, concrete and objective.
Together with the participants in interactive UCD workshops, more than 30 typical mCLOUD users were created and for some of them their specific objectives, tasks, problems and wishes were mapped. With these so-called personas in view, actual user stories could be derived out of which resulted the clear requirements for practical working with the mCLOUD.
The solution is based on
ISO-Norm 9241-210 which defines the user-centred design as an incremental iterative process with four steps
Interactive UCD workshops with stakeholders from companies, the administration and civil society
Personas and user stories as motivational tools
The Benefit
The results of the UCD workshop flow into the user-centred and sustainable further development of the mCLOUD as important decision aids. Through the involvement of the relevant players, maximum transparency and acceptance is created, entirely in line with the 1st National Action Plan within the framework of the Open Government Partnership.
Summary
mCLOUD is the information and communications infrastructure of the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure
The mCLOUD should be sustainably and user-oriented developed further and expanded
For this, the Federal Ministry uses the user-centred design from con terra
For this, the Federal Ministry uses the user-centred design from con terra
Real users can actively take part in the further development in interactive workshops
Personas and user stories are established tools and deliver easily understood results for use in further steps
This method creates transparency for and acceptance by the actual users
Birgitta Lubahn