Enterprise information systems for use: From business processes to human activity

The success and business impact of enterprise information systems often depends heavily on usability. Enhancing the performance of actual users in the context of their real-world activities must be a major design focus of information systems design. The richest information and most advanced functionality is of limited value if it is not useful and easily used within the context in which it is needed. Human-computer interaction is always embedded in a larger context of human activity that is complex and changeable. Activity theory provides a framework for understanding the full richness of human activity, and activity modeling offer a means for building systematic, simplified models that enable the design of information systems that support user performance within the complexity of human interactive activity. Recent advances in activity modeling and the relationship to user modeling and business process modeling will be presented.