1. Redevelopment of the user logging facility to allow subsequent analysis of the data to be more automated - Previous analysis of the user log files were performed manually so was both time-consuming and laborious. To overcome this, the structure of the log files required to be changed and more information had to be recorded into the log file. To perform the automatic parsing and analysis of the log files, spreadsheet macros were written that could assign design activity categories to each user action. This allowed the total time spent on each type of design task to be calculated and automatically plotted. In addition, repeating patterns of activity could be identified to help determine what is the best practice for particular design tasks. 

2. Move to a more powerful VR hardware platform to give a more immersive experience - This involved moving from an SGI Octane2 workstation to an SGI Onyx4 visualisation system to increase the computing and graphical power. This will allow a more realistic VR environment to be developed and more functionality can be incorporated into the system without overloading the hardware. This added functionality includes improved navigation tools and additonal design tools to create more realistic cable harnesses.

3. Perform user trials to obtain feedback on the VR design system and to analyse the generated log files - A trial involving 10 users were carried out and involved the participants performing several design tasks and being logged unobtrusively in the background. To gain further insight on the usability of the system, the participants were also asked for feedback using a questionnaire.

4. Incorporate the user logging tools into the Grand Challenge project - Having applied the user logging functionality in a 3D immersive design environment, the next step was to apply the same techniques to a traditional 2D CAD-like design environment. Due to the difficulty in obtaining access to the source code of commercial CAD packages, a design application called BAMZOOKi was selected as the platform to test the logging tools. This package is  aimed at children and is used to design and test mechanical creatures that have to perform physical tasks.

5. Extraction and formalisation of  design knowledge - By using a spreadsheet macro to parse the log files, IDEF0 diagrams can be automatically plotted to allow the design processes to be visualised and formalised. This formalised design knowledge can then be utilised in an information push system, which is integrated into the design environment, to aid users who are carrying out a similar design task. By monitoring the users' actions continuously in real-time, any repeating patterns that matches known patterns in a database will allow the system to identify what task the user is carrying out and relevant information can displayed to the user if assistance is required.