A Proxy Stakeholder Approach to Requirements Engineering for Inclusive Navigation

TL;DR

This paper introduces a proxy stakeholder approach to requirements engineering for inclusive navigation, emphasizing customizable, collaborative, routine-based solutions to better support individuals with cognitive impairments.

Contribution

It proposes a novel proxy stakeholder concept in requirements engineering, grounded in empirical research, to improve navigation technology design for cognitive diversity.

Findings

Identified key challenges faced by individuals with cognitive impairments in navigation.

Developed design recommendations emphasizing customisability and multi-user support.

Highlighted the importance of routine-based navigation and collaborative strategies.

Abstract

Wayfinding, or the ability to navigate one's surroundings, is crucial for independent living and requires a complex combination of cognitive abilities, environmental awareness, and technology to manage this successfully. Individuals with cognitive impairment (IwCI) often face significant challenges in learning and navigating their environment. Despite its importance, mainstream navigation technologies are rarely designed with their diverse needs in mind. This study reframes the search for places as a socially distributed task and emphasizes the role of proxy stakeholders, who act on behalf or in coordination with IwCI during navigation. Using a qualitatively led mixed-methods approach, which includes an international survey and a three-stage interview study, we examine the real-world strategies that proxy stakeholders employ to support daily navigation. The findings are synthesized into a set of empirically grounded design recommendations that emphasize customisability, collaborative use, and support for routine-based navigation. Our findings highlight key challenges and adaptive practices, which are synthesized into design recommendations that prioritize customisability, routine-based navigation, and multi-user coordination. By introducing the proxy stakeholder concept into the software engineering literature, we propose a more inclusive approach to requirements elicitation and offer practical guidance for designing navigation technologies that better reflect the complex realities of cognitive support.