This symposium addresses the challenge of translating user data to specifications suitable for interface development. Four methodologies will be presented: Decision requirements tables, ecological interface design, object-view and interaction design and procedural networks. These four methodologies will be contrasted relative to three dimensions: (1) type of data used in analysis, (2) point in the design process at which each methodology focuses its impact and (3) the formalisms each uses for translating psychological data into engineering data suitable for specification development. Our introductory remarks will elaborate on these three dimensions, and present an example design problem. The four session participants then will present their respective methodologies, how each addresses the three dimensions and how each can be used to address the example design problem.
