Design for “Infosuasive” Web Applications - paper to be presented at WWW2008 conference

We just got a paper accepted at the "World Wide Web 20008 International Conference".

Here is the paper abstract:

Value-Driven Design for “Infosuasive” Web Applications
Davide Bolchini, Franca Garzotto, Paolo Paolini

An infosuasive web application is mainly intended to be at the same time informative and persuasive, i.e., it aims at supporting knowledge needs and it has also the (declared or not declared) goal of influencing user’s opinions, attitudes and behaviors. Most web applications, in fact, are infosuasive (with the exception of those the aim of which is mainly operational).

In this paper, we investigate the complex set of elements that inform the very early design of infosuasive web applications. We propose a conceptual framework aimed at supporting the actors involved in this process (strategic decision makers, marketers, business managers, brand designers, communication designers, graphic designers, information architects, technology experts) to integrate their different viewpoints, to organize the variety of issues that need to be analyzed, to find a direction in the numerous design options, and to finally represent the results of this activity in an effective way.

Our approach is value-driven since it is centered around the concept of communication value, regarded as a vehicle to fulfill communication goals on specific communication targets. We place the analysis of these aspects in the wider context of web requirements analysis, highlighting their relationships with business values analysis and user needs analysis. We pinpoint how values and communication goals impact on various design dimensions of infosuasive web application - contents, information architecture, interaction, operations, and lay-out. Our approach is multidisciplinary, and was inspired by goal-based and value-based requirements engineering (often used in web engineering), to brand design (often used in marketing), and to value-centered design “frameworks” (as proposed by the HCI community). A case study exemplifies our methodological proposal, discussing a large project in which we are currently involved.





by the way, the conference features outstanding keynote speakers ("outstanding" at least by their title) >>>