High technical know-how is needed to automate a manually conducted task. During the system design process the main focus is usually put on the engineering part, but the involvement of users, their knowledge, workflow, and mental models are rarely considered. The resulting technical system is fully functional, but insufficiently accepted by the users.
As an example of user involvement in requirements analysis, we present a conceptual design of a system with autonomous mobile robots for inspection of gas pipes in large technical plants. In addition to user observation and task analysis, a questionnaire for elicitation of user requirements has been developed. The questionnaire inquires the operators’ knowledge and flow of work during the inspection planning and conducting, the impact of environmental parameters, subjective difficulties, and anticipation of advantages of using the system. The resulting implications for the development and design of human-computer-interface as well as human-robot-interaction are introduced.
