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February 01, 2005
Reading notes
This is a mostly theoretical paper. It sets out to illustrate the author’s design process which can be loosely summed up as Observation-Invention. They perform “rapid ethnographic studies”; that is, they interview and observe potential users. Next, they create characters and brainstorm scenarios (around 40) to discover places where technology could be useful. Then they move into a prototype/evaluation phase.
Given the examples of projects that came out of this project, I’m not convinced that the design process advocated here is better than the vision/intuition model that the authors frequently deride. I thought the devices in the other paper where more interesting and their creative process did not seem so involved.
The paper starts off explaining that devices that indicate the availability of coworkers should be indicated only in the periphery of the users awareness. Also, the indicator should not be running on the computer--it could be obstructed by another open window and also some people do not work on the computer. I thought the devices were clever, better than those in the other paper. I especially liked the doll that faced the wall when a coworker was not in the office and faced the room when he was present. Also, the video-conferencing device seemed like it could actually be quite useful, a good way to mix privacy with communication.
Posted by rus200 at February 1, 2005 02:50 PM