August 20, 2009International Workshop on Information Technology for Innovative Services 20091 Development of Web Counseling System ◎ Yasunori Shiono (Toyo

August 20, 2009 International Workshop on Information Technology for Innovative Services 2009 1

Development of Web Counseling System

◎Yasunori Shiono (Toyo University)Takaaki Goto (The University of Electro-Communications)

Tetsuro Nishino (The University of Electro-Communications)Chieko Kato (Toyo University)

Kensei Tsuchida (Toyo University)

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Contents1. Introduction

1.1 Background1.2 Purpose

2. Development with Agile Methods2.1 Development Method 2.2 System Requirements2.3 Interviews Regarding the Overall Image of Online Counseling 2.4 Correlation Analysis of Interviews

3. Online Web Counseling System3.1 System Overview 3.2 Authorities and Their Functions

4. Conclusion

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1. Introduction

1. 1 Background

1. 2 Purpose

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1.1 Background

• Various technologies are being developed in the computer industry.– Online services and systems have been

proposed in many fields.

• User satisfaction and cost-cutting are becoming increasingly important .

• User-Centered Design (UCD) is necessary. – Agile software development based on UCD has

received a lot of attention.

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1.1 Background(cont.)

• User-Centered Design (UCD) – User requirements are considered right from the

beginning and included into the development.– UCD are advocated in the Human-Computer

Interaction (HCI) literature.• Psychologically-based statistical methods

provide invisible user requirements.

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1.1 Background(cont.)

• The number of Japanese who stay in foreign countries – is now over 1 million– is increasing year after year

• The risk of suffering mental health problems is high due to problems such as– working away from home, language barriers,

differences in culture, human relationships, and medical facilities.

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1.2 Purpose

• To construct an online web counseling system using agile software development for people assigned overseas in Asia– To develop effective online counseling system

using psychologically-based statistical methods

– To prevent mental health problems from worsening as a result of early negligence for those assigned overseas in Asia

– To enable counselors to provide consultation via the Web without going to the client’s location

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2. Development with Agile Method2.1 Development Method

2.2 System Requirements

2.3 Interviews Regarding the Overall Image of Online Counseling

2.4 Correlation Analysis of Interviews

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2.1 Consideration of Development Method

• We needed to decide on specifications that satisfy the needs of counselors and clients for upstream operations.

• UCD was desired.• We developed an online web counseling

system in cooperation with a clinic using agile software development.

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2.1 Consideration of Development Method (cont.)

• Agile software development has the following features:– Iterations of analysis and design– People-to-people exchange– Response to changes– Bolstering cooperation with customers– Release of available software at the end of

each iteration

Effective system incorporating UCD

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2.1 Consideration of Development Method (cont.)

• Development flow: 1. Developed a prototype system based on

system requirements. 2. Conducted interviews about the system. 3. Discussed and analyzed the interviews. 4. Completed the system based on the content of

the interviews.

In each stage, we repeatedly discussed and analyzed with the people in charge of the clinic.

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2.2 System Requirements

• The mail counseling should be managed by one mail server.– Confidentiality of counseling content is

important.– Encrypting mail server communication is

difficult.

• The server should be managed by an associate member.– Outside contractors are at risk of leaking

counseling content.– We used open source software.

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2.2 System Requirements (cont.)

• User interface– Page color– Layout

• Basic functions– PDF uploading/downloading– Log function

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2.3 Interviews Regarding the Overall Image of Online Counseling

• Seven people were interviewed before starting the online counseling system.

• Questions1. What do you think of online counseling?2. What information do you want to know when

you use online counseling?3. Do you have any concerns regarding the

security of online counseling?4. What do you think of our online counseling

system?

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2.3 Interviews Regarding the Overall Image of Online Counseling (Cont.)

• Results:1. What do you think of online counseling?

- It is easy to access. (3 people)- It does not take much time. (2 people)

2. What information do you want to know when you use online counseling?

- I want to see the counselor’s face. (5 people)- I want information about the counselor’s

background. (7 people)

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• Results:3. Do you have any concerns regarding the

security of online counseling?- I’m not really concerned about their security.

(2 people)- I don’t trust the security system now being used.

(1 person)- If there is a warning concerning the security, I will

read it. (1 person)

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• Results:4. What do you think of our online counseling

system?- I want to know many things about the counselor.

(5 people)- I want to know how many people are using this

system. (3 people)- I would like to have more boxes to check regarding

what’s troubling theme. (3 people)- I would like to have everything written closer to the

center of the page. (2 people)- I want to be able to check the e-mail the

counselor’s sent. (2 people)

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• People had a good impression of online counseling, and nobody had a bad impression.

• Most people wanted to know about their counselor’s background.– They could not see his or her counselor’s

face.– They were revealing many sensitive personal

things.– They felt anxious.

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• Most people were not overly concerned about security.– We thought they would be focused on

security.– People that were interviewed did not know

much about online security.– If people had been more conscious of security

issues, the results of the interviews probably would have been different.

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• These interviews generated a significant amount of information from users.– Layout, colors, functions, etc.– The changes to the online counseling system

were made based on their opinions.– Clients can feel more confident and trust the

counselor and the system.

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2.4 Correlation Analysis of Interviews

• Results of the correlation analysis (N=23)


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2.4 Correlation Analysis of Interviews (Cont.)

(r=-.201(df=23),ns)-Insignificant-Easy to use did not mean that the design was considered to be good.

(r=-.201(df=23),ns)-Insignificant-Easy to use did not mean that the design was considered to be good.

DesignDesign



(r=-.103(df=23),ns)-Insignificant-Beginners find this system easy to use.

(r=-.103(df=23),ns)-Insignificant-Beginners find this system easy to use.

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How well a person can operate a computer

How well a person can operate a computer



(r=-.0.055(df=23),ns)-Insignificant-Users find that trust comes from other factors.

(r=-.0.055(df=23),ns)-Insignificant-Users find that trust comes from other factors.

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TrustTrust

• The system design was not poor to the point where it was hard to use.– This system’s user interface was effective in

fulfilling the users’ requirement.

• If the system has a certain level of design, users require other things such as function because the purpose of use is clear.– This is different from game software for

entertainment and commercial web sites.


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• The system was designed to such an extent that it would be easy to understand. Thus, though expert users sometimes feel they are doing wasteful operations, this original system was not meant to be this way.

• To obtain trust, we needed to think separately about the design and the ease of use.


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3. Online Web Counseling System

3.1 System Overview

3.2 Authorities and Their Functions

3.1 System Overview • All software is open source software.• Counseling took place by sending mail mutually

on the web.

28Figure 1. System configuration.

3.1 System Overview (Cont.)• All messages are stored in a database on the

system to prevent the information from leaking outside.


3.1 System Overview (Cont.)• Clients access the system by using a Web

browser and input contents of consultation to their own counselor after login.


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3.1 System Overview (Cont.)

• The system automatically sends notification mail to counselors.– This will enable reporting consultation mail to

counselors without logging into the system.

Figure 2. Notification mail.

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• The counselors respond to the clients for the consultation after logging in.

Figure 3. Login page.

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• The system does not limit the time.– Because clients can send and receive

messages at a time that is most convenient for them, they can feel reassurance — they are connected to someone

• Clients sometimes feel like they can talk about things over the internet that they cannot talk about face to face.

• Encrypted communication by SSL is enabled

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3.2 Authorities and Their Functions

• There are authorities for each user, and the utilizable operation differs– Administrator

• Counselor registration • Counselor Assignment • Confirmation of applications for counselors• Confirmation of the account list • Auto notification mail sending log

– Counselor– Client

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3.2 Authorities and Their Functions (Cont.)

Figure 4. Main page for administrator.

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• The only person that can view the contents of a consultation is the assigned counselor.

Figure5. Counselor assignment.


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• There are authorities for each user, and the utilizable operation differs.– Administrator– Counselor

• Mail browsing • Mail sending • PDF up/downloading • Confirmation of access logs• Change in registration information

– Client• Mail browsing • Mail sending• Change in registration information• Counselor application

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Figure 6. Received mail list page for counselor.

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• Anyone can acquire an account with client authority.

• If a counselor is not assigned to a client, the user cannot use counseling functions.

Figure 7. Menu page for client.


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Figure 8. Mail sending screen for client.

• The mail counseling is managed by one our mail server.

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Figure 9. Counselor application page.

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4. Conclusion

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4. Conclusion

• We constructed an online web counseling system using agile software development for people on overseas assignments in Asia.

• The system reflects user needs based on the feedback we received from the people in charge of a clinic and from interviews.

• We confirmed the system was user-friendly by the correlation analysis.

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4. Conclusion (Cont.)

• Future work– Provide additional evaluation of the system.– Improve the system from actual operations.– Increase the confidentiality and security by

various approaches.

Documents

August 20, 2009International Workshop on Information Technology for Innovative Services 20091 Development of Web Counseling System ◎ Yasunori Shiono (Toyo