Interactive Support for Information Services

Software	None OR screenpainting environment like VB OR web application language like Java
Covers	Business process analysis, requirements specification, interface design, service design
Skills Required	Imaginative thinking, systems analysis and design
Challenge	Conceptual ??? Technical ? Programming ?

Brief Description

Many organisations performing a variety of functions (software vendors, government departments, universities) employ staff to help outsiders find information. These information providing staff may either provide information themselves, or reroute queries to other people with specialist knowledge. Increasingly, information requests arrive via email or the World Wide Web rather than by telephone.

The two traditional approaches to computer support for information retrieval are (1) databases that human operators can query, and (2) on-line search engines that end users can interact with directly without a human information provider. Is there a third alternative ? Can a computer support system work interactively with a human user to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of information provision ? Your mission is to evaluate the needs and possibilities for interactive support systems for human information providers, and design ways to achieve those possibilities. The project deliverables should include (1) a scenario or set of scenarios for interactive information provision, (2) a requirements specification for an interactive support system for information provision, (3) a design for an interactive support system, (4) an evaluation of what needs your system would meet, and how well it would meet them. Your design and evaluation would be enhanced by the implementation of the user interface of your system in a screenpainting environment such as Visual Basic.

Extension

If you want a more technical project, build an implementation of a prototype of your system.

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