Some quick comments, embedded below.
Bosse Westerlund wrote:
> 18 okt 2005 kl. 06.38 skrev Jacob Buur:
>
>>
>> PhD students in interaction design are typically expected to generate
>> theory or methods as part of their applied research. There is the
>> additional expectation that the theories are able to 'inform'
>> design', i.e. have some influence on how designers may work, although
>> what this means is seldom explicit. The goal of this research is to
>> investigate what 'informing design' actually means, and how this
>> understanding can help formulate 'theory' in the concrete.
>>
So, can one summarise this as: seeking to understand how design theories
influence design practice? While there may be a certain loss of finesse
in this single sentence, it does seem to me to capture the spirit.
>
> Hi.
> [...]
> Our approach was to work concurrently. The ethnographer, designer and
> computer scientist would all participate in the fieldwork, workshops,
> prototyping activities etc. Thereby the need for explicitly informing
> through language was not our only channel for aquiring knowledge. We
> all got our own experiences from the activities. But of course my
> experiences as a designer were enriched by the ethnographers
> participation, her questions, reflections, etc. And of course the same
> goes for presence of the computer scientist who had a different
> perspective, a different set of questions, etc. that also informed me
> as a designer.
> We all got shared experiences that ‘informed’ our work.
This is similar in principle to what we call 'concurrent engineering',
wherein all the interested parties participate simultaneously in the
undertaking. The synergy that results can be most gratifying, both
personally for the participants, and for the outcomes of the
undertaking. Not to mention usually making it easier to communicate
(because of the shared experiences acting as grounding for the sharing).
Of course, this runs rather counter to the 'scientific' approach,
wherein if, say, an anthropologist is studying designers then one would
imagine the observers attempting to remain detached from the subjects.
This isn't a bad thing, mind you, just different. And if it's yielding
fruitful results, then it should be vigorously pursued!
Cheers.
Fil
> [...]
> cheers,
> Bosse
--
Prof. Filippo A. Salustri, Ph.D., P.Eng.
Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering
Ryerson University Tel: 416/979-5000 x7749
350 Victoria St. Fax: 416/979-5265
Toronto, ON email: [log in to unmask]
M5B 2K3 Canada http://deed.ryerson.ca/~fil/
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