Analysis of situations of use to design tools to help change practices

To help farmers change their practices, a growing number of tools are being offered to them and their advisers. One of the challenges is to design these tools so that they effectively and efficiently support those wishing to transform their practices. To meet this challenge, we use an approach based on an analysis of the activity that the tool to be designed should help to change. This analysis highlights the ‘mediations’ that the tool can support between an actor and the object of their action. Based on three completed projects (APPI'N, MoCoRiBa, DeciFlorSys), we demonstrate the impact of this approach on the design process, in terms of: (i) the properties of the tool to be designed and the mediations it supports; (ii) the forms of user involvement; and (iii) the design activity itself.