5. Conclusions
Results of the field study confirm the broad potential for use of IT in a number of areas based on an HCD process. The results of the in-depth interviews confirm the demand for a mobile technology as daily work support for inexperienced as well as more experienced employees in the maintenance staff. The diagnostic process was accelerated, while simultaneously, the overall diagnostic quality improved. Notably, inexperienced employees made fewer observed errors. The empirical results validate the significant impact of information technology on job performance. Just for the three scenarios, the time for diagnosis was reduced by a total of 119 min. Additionally, participant observation showed a reduction in errors made during the diagnostic process. Furthermore, the importance of an HCD approach during the development process is a formative criterion of particular importance. Since experts have been shown to exhibit superior performance on memory tasks (Lindgaard, 1995), by conceptualizing a performance-supporting system based on the mapping of expert knowledge, an optimized diagnostic strategy can be achieved. Thus, it is important to attain a deeper understanding of the domain within which problem solving needs to be supported, and additionally of how the relationships between relevant variables are perceived by experts (Lindgaard, 1995). Moreover, the mobile context of use should be more focused, as users reported some concerns regarding the nonfunctional features, such as the weight of the device on which the mobile application is running.
