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Working with open communities in design-led projects
Call for participation:NOTE REVISED DATES
A workshop organised by the Living Memory project, sponsored by i3Net and
to be run in association with i3 Spring Days, March 1-3, 2000 at Glyfada,
Athens, Greece. The fee will be decided by the i3Net but will be reasonably
low since it is to cover the costs for meals and coffee breaks.
Background
Many of the I3 projects have actively involved social researchers in the
design process for several years. It is timely to ask what has worked and
what hasn't, from social research perspectives. The I3 projects are
generally seen as being "design-led", driven by design partners visions of
technology applications for various user communities. These communities are
typically characterised in terms of some shared interest, demographic
attributes, or usage of public or semi-public space (real or virtual). They
are very "open" compared with those previously studied in the fields of
CSCW, Participatory Design and HCI. Previous social research in these
fields has overwhelmingly focused on workplaces, and relatively
well-defined user groups. Its place in design has often turned out to be
contentious, given the differences between social research and design
perspectives.
Working with prospective users in open communities presents social
researchers with issues that may be equally, if not more, problematic. A
tentative list is offered below, but it is the main aim of this workshop to
actively involve ethnographers, social scientists, HCI specialists, and
usability experts in discussions on whatever issues they have experienced
and want to highlight. The themes/headings below will be used as the
starting point for small group discussions; each guided by a facilitator
who will draw together their outcomes. An opening speaker (to be confirmed)
will be invited to set the scene for the day's activities.
Collections and Associations
How have prospective users been selected? What is the nature of the target
user group in specific open communities? If any sampling strategy was
deemed desirable, has it turned out to be realizable? Has research data on
"what people do" been accessible? How has it been balanced with "what
people say"? Have prospective user's beliefs, assumptions, needs and
desires been profiled according to designer's expectations? Has data
collection been as systematic as you would have wished? How and when has an
appropriate balance been struck between the ethnographic approach of
"getting involved" in users current practices, and the PD approach of
"involving users" in re-designing them?
Interventions
Design is by its nature an intervention in current user practices, and
various artifacts and methods have been experimented with in I3 projects.
Speculative stories, scenarios and design (as a commercial, craft or
research activity), cultural probes, mock-ups and "low tech" prototypes
have served to communicate and test design concepts, as a precursor to
testing novel technologies through iterative prototyping. What has worked
and by what criteria? How have they complemented the social researcher's
role? What theoretic perspectives can be brought to bear in reporting them
to academic audiences? How have users been involved as participants in the
design process eg through co-design activities?
Motivations
Social researchers are more conventionally involved in research that
informs social policy making than technology design. What do those new to
multi-disciplinary research in technology design make of the differences?
For example, have "users" social problems been addressed and taken up, or
have they been marginalised in favour of those that designers want to
design for? Should we expect otherwise? Have users had expectations that
cannot be met, and how have the politics of this been handled? How have
their motivations to participate been translated into "needs" and "goals"?
Summations
In what ways has social research been represented relevantly for a design
audience? Does social research do more than inform the design process? Can
it co-lead design? What methods are appropriate to ensure that the "voice"
of users approached, consulted or involved in your project is adequately
represented. Has sufficient analysis been possible, according to your own
expectations and notions of academic rigour and independence? Have social
research processes been represented in I3 events as well as the designed
artifacts that projects produce?
Call for participation
We invite potential participants, from both the i3 community and the wider
international community, to submit a 1 page outline indicating your
involvement, interest and contribution to the domain as described above.
Following a review process 2 or 3 of participants will be invited to "open"
the discussion on each topic (15 minute presentations) and produce a short
paper (3 pages) for the conference publication. It is hoped that ALL people
submitting outlines will be able to attend the workshop to participate in
and contribute to the discussion and debate.
Send your outline of interest in HTML (preferred) or plain text format
xxxxxx - TOM to confirm… electronically to [log in to unmask] As
outlines are submitted they will be posted on this Web site where they will
be available for reviewers. The outlines for all attending participants
will also be posted on the Web site.
We aim to limit the number of participants to approximately 40 people to
ensure that all are able to contribute effectively to discussion and debate
(mostly in groups of around 10). Preference will be given to those who have
submitted an outline of interest as described above. It is important that
you notify [log in to unmask] of your intention to participate as
soon as possible.
Important dates:
1 page outline of involvement, interest and contribution to the domain:
January 15th 2000
Notification: February 1st 2000
Confirmation of participation by all participants: 8th February 2000
Short papers due from "opening" speakers: February 16th 2000
Publication
A published volume (in print and electronic form) will be produced for the
workshop, comprising the invited speaker's talk, opening statements, and
summary of the outcomes of discussion on each topic. The opening statements
will be available electronically prior to the workshop; invited speaker's
talk and summaries of outcomes following the workshop.
Living Memory Context
In the Living Memory context this workshop supports one of our key
objectives which is "to demonstrate a new approach to research, development
and design" highlighting particularly the relationship between research,
through the involvement of the community, and design. It supports one of
our main activities, that of studying the needs and desires of an "open"
community.
Organising Committee
Katie Bates, Kathy Buckner, Eric Laurier, Tom Shearer, Angus Whyte,
Living Memory Project
Department of Information Management
Queen Margaret University College
Clerwood Terrace
Edinburgh
EH12 8TS
Tel: 0131-317-3510
Fax: +44 (0)131-317-3166
Review Committee
Kathy Buckner, Queen Margaret University College
Prof. Elisabeth Davenport, Napier University
Stephen Kyffin, Philips Design
Dr Eric Laurier, Queen Margaret University College
Liesbeth Scholten, Philips Design
Dr Angus Whyte, Queen Margaret University College
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