Smart buildings should offer automation and intelligence capabilities to their users, and should be customized to the specific needs of the workers and inhabitants. This simple concept implies that the design of a smart building automation system should always start with the analysis of actual user needs, their main requirements, and the development of the system should primarily target those specific requirements. The flexibility of a smart building should be at the service of its users.
Design methodologies for helping system designers to capture user requirements include User Studies, that may be conducted in the form of Focus Groups, and that may lead to a set of design guidelines and recommendations.
The paper "Supporting Caregivers in Assisted Living Facilities for Persons with Disabilities: a User Study", recently published in the Universal Access in the Information Society journal (Springer), addresses these issues in the context of an "Assisted Living Facility", hosting persons with motor and cognitive disabilities, and identifies a set of needs and requirements that will help caregivers in their daily routines.
The study has been developed with the precious collaboration of the caregivers and the managers of Cooperativa P.G. Frassati, in Torino.
More info: