--The aim of this session is to explore, in depth, the different roles of users in information fusion. It has been acknowledged by researchers that there is a need for more recognition of the active contribution of users to ensure the success of many real-world information fusion (IF) applications. Most IF applications are not fully automated, and users may interact with these applications in different ways. For example, users can be decision makers or operators using the output of IF systems as input for taking action. Alternatively, users may be intelligence officers using an IF application more interactively for situation assessment and threat analysis, e.g. not taking the output as it is, but actively querying the information fusion application to generate different types of output. Finally, users may even actively take part in the fusion process, whereby fusion activities on different levels of the JDL model may be a co-production of human contributions and automatic processes. In the latter case, coordination of human and automated tasks becomes crucial for overall systems performance. Users also play a crucial role in the IF systems design process. As holds for information systems development in general, it is important for IF systems development to actively involve future users of the system in activities like requirements identification, conceptual design, testing and implementation of the system. Furthermore, when new IF applications need to be integrated with existing systems and organizational work processes, in-depth studies are required to identify how information processing, fusion and decision making in the current situation is performed. Outcomes of such studies provide valuable information for the design process and for a smooth embedding of the new IF application in the existing organization.

--Joeri van Laere, PhD, is a post-doc researcher within the Information Fusion Research Program at the University of Skövde, Sweden. Joeri holds an MSc in Management science from Eindhoven university of Technology in the Netherlands and has performed a PhD study entitled Coordinating Distributed Work at Delft University of Technology. Joeri has much experience in work systems analysis and the design, execution and evaluation of so called organizational prototyping sessions, where one aims to merge information systems usage and work processes and routines into a productive socio-technical system. Within the Information Fusion Research Program he has been project leader for an integration project that analyses how user requirements, cognitive and organizational issues are and can be addressed in information fusion research and applications. Joeri has participated in Fusion 2007 and Fusion 2008 with several papers and is co-organizer of the yearly workshop SWIFT (Skövde Workshop on information Fusion Topics).

--Maria Nilsson is a PhD student at University of Skovde, Sweden within the Information Fusion Research Program. Maria holds a BSc in cognitive science from University of Skövde, Sweden and an MSc in HCI with ergonomics from UCL Interaction Centre, UK. She also recently defended her licentiate thesis entitled: “Mind the Gap: Human Decision Making and Information fusion”. Her main research interest is in cognitive science and other HCI related issues. In particular she is working on transforming distributed cognition into a method for capturing interaction between users and technology in the context of information fusion. Maria has previously participated in Fusion 2006, 2007 and 2008 with several papers.