This article summarises activities and results from the quality assessment project ‘Quality Assurance of IT Support at Work’ (ITQ) which has been performed by Swedish researchers in close cooperation with trade unions 1999–2005. The ITQ project is part of a network, UsersAward, which works for the goal to develop and implement a strategy for good software products on the work floor. A main result of the ITQ project is the first version of a software certification programme, User Certified 2002, which is described in some detail. The underlying theoretical arguments for its design and the performed pilot projects which have informed its implementation are also presented. The outcome of performed certifications is discussed in terms of stakeholder response; in terms of whether to certify artefact, processes, or both; and in terms of the relationship between software certification, standardisation, and public procurement agreements. One conclusion from the project is that a viable software certification programme has to cover the software's built-in features, its deployment process, and its actual situated usage. A second conclusion is that the buying organisation has to implement integrative processes in which its organisational development and its implementation of IT systems are coordinated. Conclusions are also drawn with respect to the set of organisational patterns underlying the UsersAward initiative – certifications, user panels, user surveys, user conferences and a yearly IT Prize contest. Finally, implications and plans for the future, especially international research and union cooperation activities, and further development of the certification process are described.

Computer use and interaction possibilities are changing quickly, while use contexts and application types are radically broadening. Technology no longer consists of static tools belonging only to the workplace but permeates work on the move, homes and everyday lives. Pervasive technologies, augmented reality, small interfaces, tangible interfaces, etc. are dramatically changing the nature of HCI (human–computer interaction). We witness the creation of ad hoc configurations of large and small user interfaces. The new interfaces are moveable and used in changing locations and contexts; different tasks are done through a combination of specialized technologies. A wider repertoire of physical instruments is available than the keyboard and the mouse. Based on examples from recent research projects and a collage of concepts and solutions, we discuss how these recent developments challenge our understanding of usability and interaction design. In particular, we discuss how the Scandinavian tradition of user involvement in development is facing up with the challenges of new work and of non-work contexts. There is a tendency that much recent investigations into non-work settings get stuck in a divide between work on the one hand, and leisure, arts, and home on the other; between rationality on the hand, and emotion on the other. The Scandinavian tradition can be developed to embrace people's whole lives and transcend the dichotomies between work, rationality, etc. and their negations and a Scandinavian perspective should and could move the current co-determination framework outside of work.

The Centre for user oriented IT Design (CID) at the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) in Stockholm, Sweden was established in 1995. CID brings together researchers and designers from computer science, arts, media and communication, and human sciences with industry and user organizations. The focus is on the design and study of usable, interactive IT applications, integrating usability aspects, technical aspects and aesthetic aspects. The main themes of CID's activities are Connected communities, Interactive learning environments, Forms of interaction and User orientation, the latter which is also a central aspect of the work in the other areas. In this paper, experience from the first 5 years of CID is described and discussed.

We describe the iterative design of two collaborative storytelling technologies for young children, KidPad and the Klump. We focus on the idea of designing interfaces to subtly encourage collaboration so that children are invited to discover the added benefits of working together. This idea has been motivated by our experiences of using early versions of our technologies in schools in Sweden and the UK. We compare the approach of encouraging collaboration with other approaches to synchronizing shared interfaces. We describe how we have revised the technologies to encourage collaboration and to reflect design suggestions made by the children themselves.

Limitations in resolution of bilevel display screens and processing power of processors call for special considerations in the design of computerised tools for make-up of document and newspaper pages. Here we discuss and illustrate various such considerations for presentation of text with typography, graphics and continuous tone images.