Authors: Andrew Gemino, Drew Parker, Kamal Masri
Tags: 2010, cognitive load theory, conceptual modeling, UML
Defining information system requirements can be challenging. Researchers have proposed new techniques to address the challenge, such as the Unified Modeling Language, but adoption of these techniques remains low. Adoption has been slow even though failure rates of information systems development projects remain relatively high. A key problem in these failures remains the communication of requirements between problem owners and systems designers. This paper uses the Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning as a theoretical basis for examining methods to improve understanding of requirements models. Two approaches to enhancing user’s understanding, guided pretraining and interactive pacing, are explored in this paper. An experiment is described to test these approaches. Results are encouraging, but mixed, in that guiding can reduce the time to realize an equivalent level of understanding by 30 to 40 percent, but interactive pacing tends to increase time to realize an equivalent level of understanding by 12 to 25 percent. The paced interaction also seems to support developing understanding when guided pretraining is not provided. These results suggest the presentation f model information is an important consideration in supporting domain understanding of model users.
Cite as:
Gemino A., Masri K. and Parker D. (2010). “Developing Understanding through Guided Interaction in Conceptual Modeling,” in AIS SIGSAND, St. John’s, NL, Canada, May 29-30, 2010.
