computer science

Process-centered design

Process-centered design is a computer science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Process-centered design rather than just read about it. In short: Process-centered design (PCD) is a design methodology, which proposes a business centric approach for designing user interfaces. Because of the multi-stage business analysis steps involved right from the beginning of the PCD life cycle, it is believed to achieve the highest levels of business-IT alignment that is possible through UI.

Key takeaways

Process-centered design belongs to computer science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Process-centered design to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Process-centered design from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Process-centered design (PCD) is a design methodology, which proposes a business centric approach for designing user interfaces. Because of the multi-stage business analysis steps involved right from the beginning of the PCD life cycle, it is believed to achieve the highest levels of business-IT alignment that is possible through UI.

Purpose This method is aimed at enterprise applications where there is a business process involved. Unlike content oriented systems such as websites or portals, enterprise applications are built to enable a company's business processes. Enterprise applications often have a clear business goal and a set of specific objectives like- improve employee productivity, increase business performance by a certain percent, etc.

Comparison between other popular UI design methods Although there are proven UI design methodologies (like the most popular "user-centered design", which helps design highly Usable Interfaces), PCD differentiates itself by precisely catering to business process intensive software which has not been the case with other UI design methodologies.

Process-UI alignment Process-UI alignment is a component of PCD, which ensures tight alignment between the business process and the enterprise application being developed. UI design activities are affected by PCD. For example: A call center software used by a customer support agent, if designed for high process-UI alignment will achieve tremendous agent productivity improvement and call center performance; which is not likely to be seen if it were designed only for user satisfaction, ease of use, etc.

See also Business process Overall labor effectiveness User-centered design Usability

References

External links Align Journal, October 3, 2007, Retrieved on Aug 01, 2008. Process-User Interface Alignment: New Value From a New Level of Alignment More research exploring the relation between business process and user interfaces: ACM SAC 2008: Sousa, Mendonca, Vanderdonckt

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Process-centered design

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Process-centered design claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In computer science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Process-centered design before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Process-centered design ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Process-centered design

In research: Process-centered design appears in computer science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Process-centered design in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Process-centered design is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Business processes, Design, Information technology management, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Process-centered design outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Process-centered design in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Process-centered design means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Process-centered design out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Process-centered design in simple terms?

Why does Process-centered design matter?

Because it connects several computer science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Process-centered design?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Process-centered design.