Deriving the requirements from the personas

After analysing the information we gathered from our persona's we were able to generate the requirements for our Robot Teaching Assistant.

Analysis:

It should be able to allow Serena, who has minimal technology exposure, to interact with the Robot Teaching Assistant with least supervision as possible. Serena only uses her computer with her parents so her reaction to the robot may well be a new experience.

Jason and Ben are technology aware, so reliability must be considered as a key requirement, since these users are already quite advanced with technology, they would not want the teaching assistant to have slow responses.

We can argue that Tom falls between both these groups. He has basic computing experience and has some exposure with technology as he enjoys gadgets. He may find it awkward to interact with the Robot Teaching Assistant as he has basic skills within technology disciplines.

Ben’s use of social networks and instant messaging, for instance, MSN Messenger, has resulted in Ben being impatient with technology, which is not very responsive. Furthermore, the need for a responsive teaching assistant is also backed-up by Jason gaming exposure, for example, Jason plays fast paced video games such as FIFA 2007. The responsiveness of the teaching assistant is a critical requirement due to today’s technology centric society. The responsiveness falls into a 2 categories: -

1). Movement
2). Query handling – Group and Individual interaction

Tom is preparing for his SATS (11+) exam and having the teaching assistant available during the break times would offer Tom extra support. The robot must be available at all times during the opening hours to assist with any queries. The role of the teaching assistant is to offer support throughout the day to the actual teacher; hence, the teaching assistant will be available during school hours.

Data Protection
http://www.hants.gov.uk/education/schools/dataprotection/
To comply with the school’s data protection policy, the teaching assistant must follow this policy accordingly whenever accessing school records. Furthermore, when the teaching assistant manipulates the records, the data must be updated with the central school server.

Health & Safety
The Three Laws Of Robotics, formulated by Isaac Asimov in 1942, have these basic principles: -

A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.

A robot must obey orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.

(Reference: http://www.anu.edu.au/people/Roger.Clarke/SOS/Asimov.html,
Date Accessed: 31st Jan 2007)

The teaching assistant must comply with these principles to ensure the well being of the children. This is a major area due to advancement of robotic technology.

This is not a requirement derived from the persona's, however, as it is a legislative requirement.

We can also take into consideration the health and safety of the teaching assistant. Again, this requirement is not necessarily derived from the persona's, but it is necessary that the teaching assistant be water proof to protect itself from rain/accidental spillage etc.

Sensing Emotions / Objects
After analysing the persona's, we have come to the conclusion that the robot teaching assistant must be able to sense human emotion. The persona's all had a list of fears which can affect the child's emotions. Ben, for example, has a particular fear for a teacher called Miss Darcy, whilst Jason has a fear for his next door neighbours cat Molly. These emotions can affect how the teaching assistant should perceive human interaction, so it is of vital importance that sensing is a key requirement.

Local Access with School Database
The teaching assistant should be able to access the school database for information such as school timetabling information. This is of importance, as when analysing, the persona's, each persona had a set structure for the school day and the Teaching Assistant must be able to keep track of lessons etc.

Now that we have derived the requirements from the persona's, a formal set of requirements can now be defined.