Use Case 01: Search Tool for Best Practice Guides
As a 'researcher', I want to 'store my measurement data according to the FAIR principles', and the knowledge base should offer me 'annotated best practice guidelines' through a 'search tool'.
Use Cases and User Stories
In today’s digital society, the ability to handle, understand, and manage data in an efficient way is increasingly recognized as a fundamental skill across all disciplines. The DALIA project (DAta LIteracy Alliance [1]) aims to foster data literacy by providing high-quality, openly accessible educational resources (OER). These materials are designed to meet the diverse needs of learners and professionals at various educational levels, levels of RDM experience, and disciplinary backgrounds. The resources are contributed by a wide range of institutions, including the National Research Data Infrastructure (NFDI) consortia, national Research Data Management (RDM) initiatives, data competence centers, and other stakeholders from the research and education landscape. To enable efficient access and use of these learning materials, DALIA is developing a knowledge graph that supports semantic linking and integration, adhering to the FAIR principles—Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable [2,3].
A central element of the DALIA platform development is the implementation of an agile, user-centred approach. Core to this methodology are user stories, which articulate specific user needs and expectations in a structured, scenario-based format [4]. Each user story is framed as: “As a [role with specific RDM experience], I have the [need/requirement] to be fulfilled by a [knowledge base function].” This format ensures that requirements are clearly linked to both the user context and the intended system functionality, while maintaining cross-disciplinary applicability.
Based on these user stories, more detailed use cases are developed, specifying triggers, user actions, system responses, expected outcomes, and acceptance criteria. These use cases guide the iterative design and development of the platform and ensure alignment with real-world needs. The user stories encompass both, the perspectives of learners—seeking relevant learning materials—and contributors, who wish to publish content, share feedback, or access usage reports.
The initial set of user stories was developed by combining general community input and a structured community workshop. Participants were invited to describe their needs via a targeted survey, considering their role, educational level, specialization, and intended use of the platform. This participatory process enabled the integration of a wide range of perspectives and ensured that the platform supports diverse usage scenarios. Through continuous refinement of user stories and active community involvement, DALIA remains adaptive, inclusive, and responsive to evolving user needs in the field of research data management and data literacy.
References
[1] DALIA Search Platform, “Search platform for OER regarding data literacy” https://search.dalia.education/basic (07.04.2025)
[2] M. D. Wilkinson et al., “„The FAIR Guiding Principles for scientific data management and stewardship”, Sci. Data, 3, 160018, 2016, doi: 10.1038/sdata.2016.18.
[3] L. Garcia et al., “Ten simple rules for making training materials FAIR”, PLOS Comp. Biol. 16 (5), e1007854 2020, doi: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1007854.
[4] I. Jacobson et al., “Object-oriented software engineering: a use case driven approach”, Wokingham; Reading, MA (USA), ACM Press, 1992, ISBN: 0-201-54435-0.
Use Case 02: Search Tool for Evaluation of Data Quality
As a 'researcher', I want to 'use other people's data', and the knowledge base should provide me 'metrics & tools for evaluating the formal and content-related data quality'
Use Case 03: Publishing Metadata via the Knowledge Base
As a 'researcher', I want to 'make an FDM tool accessible and findable through the knowledge base', which provides an 'publishing mechanism', along with instructions and quality standards to support this process.
Use Case 04: Suggestions for a Learning Path
As a ‘lecturer’, I would like to 'suggest a learning path to my students in the knowledge base'.
Use Case 05: Suggestions for Competences
As a 'learner', I want to 'develop job-specific competencies', and the knowledge base should 'provide a suitable learning path'.
Use Case 06: Suggestions for Topics
As a 'learner', I would like to know 'which other topics are relevant for me' and these should be 'suggested' to me by the knowledge base.
Use Case 07: Searching and Sorting Topics
As a 'learner', I want to 'improve my career opportunities by learning about data science', and I want to find 'current and application-related online courses' via the knowledge base.
Use Case 08: Feedback and Report
As a 'learner', I want to be able to 'report inappropriate content or rule violations' by contacting the platform host or by clicking the report button associated with the resource.
Use Case 09: Content Update Notifications
As a 'learner', I would like to be informed via a 'notification system' when 'a new or updated file is available', especially for resources or categories that I have subscribed to.
Use Case 01: Search Tool for Best Practice Guides
As a 'researcher', I want to 'store my measurement data according to the FAIR principles', and the knowledge base should offer me 'annotated best practice guidelines' through a 'search tool'.
Use Case 02: Search Tool for Evaluation of Data Quality
As a 'researcher', I want to 'use other people's data', and the knowledge base should provide me 'metrics & tools for evaluating the formal and content-related data quality'
Use Case 03: Publishing Metadata via the Knowledge Base
As a 'researcher', I want to 'make an FDM tool accessible and findable through the knowledge base', which provides an 'publishing mechanism', along with instructions and quality standards to support this process.
Use Case 04: Suggestions for a Learning Path
As a ‘lecturer’, I would like to 'suggest a learning path to my students in the knowledge base'.
Use Case 05: Suggestions for Competences
As a 'learner', I want to 'develop job-specific competencies', and the knowledge base should 'provide a suitable learning path'.
Use Case 06: Suggestions for Topics
As a 'learner', I would like to know 'which other topics are relevant for me' and these should be 'suggested' to me by the knowledge base.
Use Case 07: Searching and Sorting Topics
As a 'learner', I want to 'improve my career opportunities by learning about data science', and I want to find 'current and application-related online courses' via the knowledge base.
Use Case 08: Feedback and Report
As a 'learner', I want to be able to 'report inappropriate content or rule violations' by contacting the platform host or by clicking the report button associated with the resource.
Use Case 09: Content Update Notifications
As a 'learner', I would like to be informed via a 'notification system' when 'a new or updated file is available', especially for resources or categories that I have subscribed to.