HCI Challenges in Government Contracting

Ira S. Winkler

Science Applications International Coporation
200 Harry S Truman Parkway
Annapolis, MD 21401
winkler@c3i.saic.com
+1-301-261-8424

Elizabeth A. Buie

Computer Sciences Corporation
1100 West Street
Laurel, MD 20707
ebuie@csc.com
+1-301-497-2524

Keywords

User-centered design, government contracting, organizational context, analysis

Introduction

Governments spend huge resources on custom computer systems, developed by contractors to government specifications under government monitoring. Although a number of these systems involve defined usability efforts, a majority of the development efforts have little requirement for system usability. For these systems, usability generally relies on the awareness, skills, and perseverance of the developers. HCI practitioners face an exceptionally daunting task in government environments, because funding allocations for the various development activities are clearly defined very early in the development process. A relatively poor understanding of usability issues by most development and acquisition managers usually gives the HCI effort short shrift. Government HCI practitioners met at a Special Interest Group (SIG) Session at CHI '94 to discuss the challenges they face in their work assignments and to explore potential approaches to the challenges.

THEME

This workshop will continue the discussions brought up at the CHI'94 SIG on HCI Challenges in Government Contracting. This SIG focused on the unique challenges that confront HCI practitioners in the government contracting arena. The SIG attracted over 30 participants representing government, industry, and academia from the United States and Europe. The SIG participants first outlined the important challenges faced by experienced and conscientious HCI practitioners. The primary issues identified stemmed from an apparent lack of respect on the part of the responsible parties (acquisition and development managers, and writers of government specifications) for the intricacies involved in the HCI process. SIG participants then suggested strategies for overcoming the challenges. The potential solution areas include the education of the industry, government and research communities about the challenges affecting the delivery of usable systems.

A report of the SIG session, including the challenges and strategies, appeared in the October 1994 SIGCHI Bulletin. Additionally, an Internet mailing list was created to provide for a method of continuing the discussion started at the SIG. The list has attracted subscribers from all over the world, and demonstrates the continuing interest in the subject.

GOALS

The workshop will build upon the findings of the SIG by expanding upon the potential solution areas identified. Participants will initially be invited to contribute additional problem and solution areas that were not identified during the SIG meeting. The challenges will then be discussed and defined in a group setting, for approximately one hour. Afterward, the workshop participants will split into groups to refine the definitions of the potential solutions. The groups will be given the task of devising action plans that address the challenges. Specifically, they will develop detailed and feasible steps that can lead to the recognition of HCI as a legitimate discipline that is a specific and integral part of the development process for government systems. After several hours, the groups will reconvene to present their findings to the entire workshop. At that time, the whole group will examine the solutions for practicality and appropriateness.

The findings of this workshop will be published in the SIGCHI Bulletin. To expand them outside the HCI community, papers will be prepared for submission to journals that focus upon the developer and government community as a whole, such as the Communications of the ACM and the DoD CrossTalk. Areas of potential research will also be identified for the HCI community. It is anticipated that subjects for several papers will also be identified for presentation at CHI'96 and publication in HCI-related journals.