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Week 2 - 27.02.23 Design/Undesign: Perspectives and biases (jb)

Historical outline and introduction of design method theories, highlighting the notion of design, technology and human experience, as well as understanding who designs design.

Lecture : “Perspectives of Interaction Design”

Readings:

Carroll, J. M. (2000). "Making Use: Scenario-­Based Design of Human­Computer Interactions". The MIT Press. “the Process”

Sanders, E. (2013). "Perspectives on Participation in Design". Transcript Verlag.

Readings to browse:

Dubberly, H. ­(2004). "How do you design?" Dubberly Design Office.

Mareis, C. (2013). "Wer gestaltet die Gestaltung? Zur ambivalenten Verfassung von partizipatorischem Design". Transcript Verlag.

Dreyfuss, H. S. "The designer’s role (sketch)".

Kolko, J. (2011). "Exposing the Magic of Design: A Practitioner’s Guide to the Methods and Theory of Synthesis". (Oxford Series in Human­Technology Interaction) (1 ed.). Oxford University Press, USA.

Reading 1

Carroll, J. M. (2000). "Making Use: Scenario-­Based Design of Human­Computer Interactions". The MIT Press. “the Process”

Keypoints

• Design is hard!

• Six characteristic and difficult properties of design:

  • Incomplete description of the problem to be addressed / Clarifying the Problem
  • Lack of guidance on possible design moves / Identifying Design Moves
  • The design goal or solution scale cannot be known in advance / Envisioning the Solution
  • Trade-offs among many interdependent elements / Recognizing Trade-offs and Dependencies
  • Reliance on a diversity of knowledge and skills / Integrating Diverse Knowledge and Skill
  • Wide-ranging and ongoing impacts on human activity / Anticipating Impacts on Human Activity

• In words:

  If the designer can accurately characterize the problem situation, he or she must discover and pursue effective moves to transform the situation, mitigating the original problem while introducing a minimum of new problematic side effects. The moves are not given in advance, and in general, so-called weak problem-solving techniques are inadequate. The goal or solution state for the problem-solving process is not specified in advance either, and conventional techniques for specifying solutions often introduce errors. lt is common that features in the design solution have subtle mutual dependencies and multiple consequences, involving trade-offs in functionality and usability. The design process depends on the integration of a variety of skills and perspectives, but most design techniques and representations exclude crucial stakeholder constituencies. Finally, the design product has a variety of impacts on people and their organizations, many of them unforeseen and even deleterious. Moreover, many undesirable consequences emerge only after a design product is fielded and put in regular use.

• Solution suggestion: a working design representation tied more directly to situations of use → scenario-based design