• Journal of the Korean Society for information Management
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• v.22 no.4 s.58
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• pp.23-38
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• 2005

In order to make interactive computing systems, including information systems, usable it is important to bring users into the design process. This article surveys and introduces several major system design approaches that are widely accepted as approaches from a users' perspective. A user model developed by the author is introduced following these existing approaches. This user model is developed from actual users' understanding of their goals and strategies to solve their information needs by using Dervin's Sense-Making Theory with Sense-Making Timeline Interviews. This user model reveals a different timeline from the default menu presentation orders that originally comes with the software. Steps for developing a user model from the Sense-Making Timeline Interviews are suggested for further application and guidelines in developing user models for system design and evaluation.

• Journal of the Korean Society for information Management
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• v.23 no.4 s.62
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• pp.197-214
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• 2006

A Web-based environment has very various and heterogeneous users. The emphasis on their individual characteristics may make it hard to reach the general understanding of how they seek and use information on the Web. The purpose of this study is to find common patterns in information seeking behavior on the Web by analyzing a series of cognitive movement of users in interaction with the Web. Based on Dervin's concept and Timeline interview methodology, this study collected 37 Web experience descriptions from 21 respondents, which consisted of 302 steps. Findings addressed that Web information seeking behavior can be classified into seven types : Starting, Searching, Viewing/B row sing , Examining/comparing, Finding/compiling, Deciding/Acting, and Ending. Movement paths in the seven-type information seeking process showed that user's interaction with the Web was repeated and circulated at the Viewing/Browsing step and that information seeking behavior on the Web was multi-directional and non-linear.