Capturing what is needed in multi-user system design: observations from the design of three healthcare systems

The design of large-scale collaborative multi-user systems requires both a detailed understanding of the work of many individuals and an understanding of how the individual pieces fit together in the larger organizational context. In order to manage the complexity of the design task, designers develop and use various representations of work practices which selectively include some details, but omit others. This paper presents some heuristics based on our experience in the design of three healthcare systems that can help designers in determining what information needs to be included in representations for the design of multi-user systems. We present eight questions which can be used to capture important work practice information. We include a retrospective analysis of several design examples and suggest how the use of these questions can be integrated into design practice.