This paper describes the first case study of a continuing practice-based PhD as a work-inprogress... more This paper describes the first case study of a continuing practice-based PhD as a work-inprogress, exploring the benefits of open design in the conception (and development) of medical products. Described here is the first attempt to tackle some of the issues facing the implementation of open design in a field where a recognised move to 'open' working practices & innovation is needed. Presented are some initial results, and some analysis that (it is hoped) will provide an opportunity for discussion. There are moral and pragmatic reasons to include people in the design process, especially true for medical products-whatever their complexity. Some people cannot participate in traditional collaborative design workshops (through suppressed immune systems, immobility, etc) and open design presents an opportunity for those excluded to participate in the design process, such as those people with Cystic Fibrosis. This is a chronic genetic condition, affecting the internal organs and having a very great impact on a person's quality of life; as one example, people who have Cystic Fibrosis are strongly discouraged from meeting together. Open design by its nature is a collaborative activity, and the work described here aims to prototype a wholly virtual meeting of people, and empower them to conceive and develop their own products based on their own lived experience of Cystic Fibrosis. The project involves the development of a community of people with Cystic Fibrosis, supported through tools and online 10th European Academy of Design Conference -Crafting the Future workshops with a designer, within an Action Research methodology. It is expected that open design has a positive contribution to make in this field, despite the very real questions surrounding its implementation; and the transition of the designer's role from production of artefacts to facilitating and nurturing design activity is explored in this work.
This paper presents IDA-S, a systematic framework for use in describing and defining relationship... more This paper presents IDA-S, a systematic framework for use in describing and defining relationships between a human operator and an (partially) automated system. The purpose of the framework is to support systems engineers, human-factors experts and other design stakeholders, in exploring alternative ways in which a function might be shared between a human and a machine. This paper discusses one particular aspect of IDA-S, namely the way that the framework describes supervisory arrangements for automated systems.
Version 2.0 -incorporating a second round of peer input. For the #ICTDEthics project. Collated, d... more Version 2.0 -incorporating a second round of peer input. For the #ICTDEthics project. Collated, drafted and edited by: Andy Dearden and Dorothea Kleine.
This paper describes our experiences of using scenarios to design a `knowledge mediating' CBR... more This paper describes our experiences of using scenarios to design a `knowledge mediating' CBR system. We show how we built negotiated descriptions of decisions made by the business, how these descriptions emerged through processes of negotiation and reenement and how we envisaged ways in which work processes would be transformed by our new system. We argue that envisaging the changing context of work is a vital step in the successful integration of decision technology.
This paper describes research in progress that aims to explore the role that open design could pl... more This paper describes research in progress that aims to explore the role that open design could play in the development of medical products. Including people in the development process of medical products has been shown to have benefits to both producers and users but is not universally applied. There are multiple factors from a producer's point of view as to why a collaborative development process is not used, but similarly there are some medical conditions that preclude a person's involvement in collaborative group work. For example, people who have the chronic condition Cystic Fibrosis are excluded from traditional collaborative design sessions due to susceptibility to certain communicable diseases. Open design offers the opportunity for people normally excluded in collaborative design processes to not only be included, but also shape the direction of the enquiry. Through the use of social media, and other collaborative internet-enabled tools the dissemination and development of ideas can occur. This goes beyond the fundamental moral and pragmatic arguments for collaborative working, since the knowledge and experience of the people participating is harnessed and available to all. This process therefore bears the hallmarks of a truly emancipatory technique, compatible with the notion of human flourishing and that the concept of a person's 'health' extends beyond a mere absence of illness. The research is based around a series of practical case studies within an Action Research framework, the first of which is outlined here, where artefacts will be produced using open design; drawing upon established methods using prototypes as research and trialing the combination of physical tools (e.g. 3D printing) and virtual meeting spaces to facilitate the design activity.
IDA-S (Information, Decision, Action and Supervision) is a conceptual framework for thinking abou... more IDA-S (Information, Decision, Action and Supervision) is a conceptual framework for thinking about partial automation, i.e. systems in which the delivery of a system function is performed by acombination of human and automated activities. The framework offers a generic decomposition of any function into a number of elements that can be considered as primarily performed by the machine, or primarily performed by the human user or operator.
This article discusses the evolution of a "DistRibuted Agile Methodology Addressing Technical Ict... more This article discusses the evolution of a "DistRibuted Agile Methodology Addressing Technical Ictd in Commercial Settings" (DRAMATICS) that was developed in a global software corporation to support ICTD projects from initial team setup through ICT system design, development, and prototyping, to scaling up and transitioning, to sustainable commercial models. We developed the methodology using an iterative Action Research approach in a series of commercial ICTD projects over a period of more than six years. Our learning is reºected in distinctive methodology features that support the development of contextually adapted ICT systems, collaboration with local partners, involvement of end users in design, and the transition from research prototypes to scalable, long-term solutions. We offer DRAMATICS as an approach that others can appropriate and adapt to their particular project contexts. We report on the methodology evolution and provide evidence of its effectiveness in the projects where it has been used.
Research on Information and Communication Technologies and/for Development (ICTD) is difficult be... more Research on Information and Communication Technologies and/for Development (ICTD) is difficult because engineers and technology designers come from very different backgrounds from the people whose challenges that they are trying to address. They are separated by large physical distances and significant social differences. To overcome these challenges, much research involves occasional short visits by external researchers from rich and privileged situations to developing regions to investigate problems and generate ideas. These may be further developed back at the engi eers ho e base before return visits for deployment and evaluation. This paper examines some of the ethical limitations of this u gee resear h model. It reflects on our experiences in evolving more fruitful research practices. We argue that relying on bungee research as a primary model of research engagement is unethical, and we suggest some minimal conditions that are necessary, but not sufficient, for such visits to be ethically defensible in ICTD research.
INTRODUCTION This workshop builds upon issues raised at the HCI2004 panel on "Values in HCI&... more INTRODUCTION This workshop builds upon issues raised at the HCI2004 panel on "Values in HCI" [9]. In that panel, a tension was raised between dispassionately providing support to the design of products and services, regardless of the intended use, and the social responsibility of the scientist. Consequently, both personal values and the value that good analysis can bring to design were discussed. The technical challenges of HCI are great. However, it is a reasonable assertion that many members of the HCI community feel a need to do good for the world. But what kind of “good”, and how do we define “the world”? We feel that this implicit motivation has received too little explicit attention with HCI. This workshop will give centre stage to values: both the values that motivate the direction of our work and the value that we seek to deliver.
We recommend reading this poster in combination with the full ethical standards document: . ICTD/... more We recommend reading this poster in combination with the full ethical standards document: . ICTD/ICT4D research is multi-disciplinary, multi-stakeholder and based in different cultural contexts, yet in recent years, calls have been heard to agree minimum ethical standards across this field. This paper documents the participatory process we co-facilitated in response to these calls on behalf of the community, and presents the resulting document as collectively agreed set of minimum ethical standards, to be reviewed and updated in years to come. We call on journals, conference organizers, reviewers, ethics committees, institutional review boards and funders to uphold these standards and support their implementation. Social and professional topics~Codes of ethics • Human-centered computing • Information systems~Information systems applications.
Primary Health Care Research & Development, Apr 12, 2018
Aim: To develop a simple health literacy intervention aimed at supporting informed reproductive c... more Aim: To develop a simple health literacy intervention aimed at supporting informed reproductive choice among members of UK communities practising customary consanguineous marriage. Background: The contribution of 'health literacy' to reducing health inequalities and improving primary health-care efficiency is increasingly recognised. Enhancing genetic literacy has received particular attention recently. Consanguineous marriage is customarily practised among some UK minority ethnic communities and carries some increased risk of recessive genetic disorders among offspring compared with unions among unrelated partners. The need to enhance genetic literacy on this issue has been highlighted, but no national response has ensued. Instead, a range of undocumented local responses are emerging. Important knowledge gaps remain regarding how the development and implementation of culturally appropriate, effective and sustainable responses can be achieved. Methods: Our co-design approach involved active participation by local people. Initial insight generation employed six focus group discussions and 14 individual interviews to describe current understandings and information needs. A total of 11 personas (heuristic narrative portraits of community 'segments') resulted; four participatory workshops provided further understanding of: preferred information channels; feasible information conveyance; and responses to existing materials. Prototype information resources were then developed and feedback gathered via two workshops. Following further refinement, final feedback from healthcare professionals and community members ensured accuracy and appropriateness. Findings: The project demonstrated the utility of co-design for addressing an issue often considered complex and sensitive. With careful planning and orchestration, active participation by diverse community members was achieved. Key learning included: the importance of establishing trusting and respectful relationships; responding to diversity within the community; and engendering a creative and enjoyable experience. The resultant materials were heavily shaped by local involvement. Evaluative work is now needed to assess impacts on knowledge and service uptake. Longer term sustainability will depend on whether innovative community-level work is accompanied by broader strategy including investment in services and professional development.
This paper analyzes a subset of data from a project that sought to transfer knowledge and skills ... more This paper analyzes a subset of data from a project that sought to transfer knowledge and skills around design led approaches for service improvement to teams working in Health and Social Care in the United Kingdom. Through this analysis the authors sought to understand the range of responses that individual participants had to undertaking service improvement work in a design led project. This was a qualitative study using interviews to gain reflections from participants. These interview transcripts were analyzed using framework analysis. Participants were recruited from three disparate organizations, a public health team of a local authority, a mental health charity and a UK National Health Service mental health initiative. Six main themes were identified, namely; design practice, collaborative working, creating an environment for innovation, team skills and attitudes and transfer of knowledge. The findings suggest that the design approach can contribute to a range of factors that have been identified as valuable for innovative teams. The paper adds to the evidence base and supports further exploration of the use of design in Service improvement and wider innovation endeavours.
International journal of human-computer studies, 1997
This paper investigates the use of formal mathematical models in the design of interactive system... more This paper investigates the use of formal mathematical models in the design of interactive systems and argues for the development of generic models that describe the behaviour of a class of interactive systems. In recent years a number of authors have suggested methods for modelling interactive systems using notations and frameworks drawn from software engineering mathematics. We argue that these models tend to be either : so abstract as to limit their ability to express important interaction concerns for specific systems , and limited in the degree to which they support the construction of software that conforms to the designer's intention ; or so specific to an individual system that they provide only limited re-use across development projects and are therefore likely to be too expensive to develop except in a few special applications such as safetycritical systems. We argue that it is possible to construct a generic model of a class of interactive systems at an intermediate level of abstraction. Such a model would of fer wider reusability than detailed specifications of a single system , but greater expressiveness and support for software development than fully general abstract models. To support our argument we review a number of existing models in the literature and present a generic model of interactive case memories , a class of systems used in case-based reasoning .
International journal of human-computer studies, Feb 1, 2000
In this paper, we describe an approach to allocation of function that makes use of scenarios as i... more In this paper, we describe an approach to allocation of function that makes use of scenarios as its basic unit of analysis. Our use of scenarios is driven by a desire to ensure that allocation decisions are sensitive to the context in which the system will be used and by insights from economic utility theory. We use the scenarios to focus the attention of decision makers on the relative costs and benefits of developing automated support for the activities of the scenario, the relative impact of functions on the performance of the operator's primary role and on the relative demands placed on an operator within the scenario. By focussing on relative demands and relative costs, our method seeks to allocate the operator's limited resources to the most important and most productive tasks within the work system, and to direct the effort of the design organisation to the development of automated support for those functions that deliver the greatest benefit for the effective operation of the integrated human-machine system.
Operator error has been blamed for many accidents and incidents in safety-critical systems. It is... more Operator error has been blamed for many accidents and incidents in safety-critical systems. It is important that human-machine interface (HMI) designers are aware of the relationships between their design decisions, operator errors, and the hazards associated with a system. In this paper, we demonstrate how information from risk analysis can be combined with formal specification of the HMI, to support designers in exploring these relationships. We use the concept of interactor to model the human-machine interface (HMI); together with a concept of impact, which we define informally as: “the effect that an action or sequence of actions has on the safe and successful operation of a system.” We show how interactors can be used as design representations for the HMI at the earliest stages of design, as well as providing a medium by which risk analysts can inform HMI designers about the impact of human-errors. To demonstrate the feasibility of this approach, we consider a simple, gas-fired, electricity generating plant as a case study. Our proposed approach is intended to complement, rather than compete with, existing design and analysis methods for the HMI. The method achieves this by making risk analysis information available in the early stages of HMI design.
This paper describes the first case study of a continuing practice-based PhD as a work-inprogress... more This paper describes the first case study of a continuing practice-based PhD as a work-inprogress, exploring the benefits of open design in the conception (and development) of medical products. Described here is the first attempt to tackle some of the issues facing the implementation of open design in a field where a recognised move to 'open' working practices & innovation is needed. Presented are some initial results, and some analysis that (it is hoped) will provide an opportunity for discussion. There are moral and pragmatic reasons to include people in the design process, especially true for medical products-whatever their complexity. Some people cannot participate in traditional collaborative design workshops (through suppressed immune systems, immobility, etc) and open design presents an opportunity for those excluded to participate in the design process, such as those people with Cystic Fibrosis. This is a chronic genetic condition, affecting the internal organs and having a very great impact on a person's quality of life; as one example, people who have Cystic Fibrosis are strongly discouraged from meeting together. Open design by its nature is a collaborative activity, and the work described here aims to prototype a wholly virtual meeting of people, and empower them to conceive and develop their own products based on their own lived experience of Cystic Fibrosis. The project involves the development of a community of people with Cystic Fibrosis, supported through tools and online 10th European Academy of Design Conference -Crafting the Future workshops with a designer, within an Action Research methodology. It is expected that open design has a positive contribution to make in this field, despite the very real questions surrounding its implementation; and the transition of the designer's role from production of artefacts to facilitating and nurturing design activity is explored in this work.
This paper presents IDA-S, a systematic framework for use in describing and defining relationship... more This paper presents IDA-S, a systematic framework for use in describing and defining relationships between a human operator and an (partially) automated system. The purpose of the framework is to support systems engineers, human-factors experts and other design stakeholders, in exploring alternative ways in which a function might be shared between a human and a machine. This paper discusses one particular aspect of IDA-S, namely the way that the framework describes supervisory arrangements for automated systems.
Version 2.0 -incorporating a second round of peer input. For the #ICTDEthics project. Collated, d... more Version 2.0 -incorporating a second round of peer input. For the #ICTDEthics project. Collated, drafted and edited by: Andy Dearden and Dorothea Kleine.
This paper describes our experiences of using scenarios to design a `knowledge mediating' CBR... more This paper describes our experiences of using scenarios to design a `knowledge mediating' CBR system. We show how we built negotiated descriptions of decisions made by the business, how these descriptions emerged through processes of negotiation and reenement and how we envisaged ways in which work processes would be transformed by our new system. We argue that envisaging the changing context of work is a vital step in the successful integration of decision technology.
This paper describes research in progress that aims to explore the role that open design could pl... more This paper describes research in progress that aims to explore the role that open design could play in the development of medical products. Including people in the development process of medical products has been shown to have benefits to both producers and users but is not universally applied. There are multiple factors from a producer's point of view as to why a collaborative development process is not used, but similarly there are some medical conditions that preclude a person's involvement in collaborative group work. For example, people who have the chronic condition Cystic Fibrosis are excluded from traditional collaborative design sessions due to susceptibility to certain communicable diseases. Open design offers the opportunity for people normally excluded in collaborative design processes to not only be included, but also shape the direction of the enquiry. Through the use of social media, and other collaborative internet-enabled tools the dissemination and development of ideas can occur. This goes beyond the fundamental moral and pragmatic arguments for collaborative working, since the knowledge and experience of the people participating is harnessed and available to all. This process therefore bears the hallmarks of a truly emancipatory technique, compatible with the notion of human flourishing and that the concept of a person's 'health' extends beyond a mere absence of illness. The research is based around a series of practical case studies within an Action Research framework, the first of which is outlined here, where artefacts will be produced using open design; drawing upon established methods using prototypes as research and trialing the combination of physical tools (e.g. 3D printing) and virtual meeting spaces to facilitate the design activity.
IDA-S (Information, Decision, Action and Supervision) is a conceptual framework for thinking abou... more IDA-S (Information, Decision, Action and Supervision) is a conceptual framework for thinking about partial automation, i.e. systems in which the delivery of a system function is performed by acombination of human and automated activities. The framework offers a generic decomposition of any function into a number of elements that can be considered as primarily performed by the machine, or primarily performed by the human user or operator.
This article discusses the evolution of a "DistRibuted Agile Methodology Addressing Technical Ict... more This article discusses the evolution of a "DistRibuted Agile Methodology Addressing Technical Ictd in Commercial Settings" (DRAMATICS) that was developed in a global software corporation to support ICTD projects from initial team setup through ICT system design, development, and prototyping, to scaling up and transitioning, to sustainable commercial models. We developed the methodology using an iterative Action Research approach in a series of commercial ICTD projects over a period of more than six years. Our learning is reºected in distinctive methodology features that support the development of contextually adapted ICT systems, collaboration with local partners, involvement of end users in design, and the transition from research prototypes to scalable, long-term solutions. We offer DRAMATICS as an approach that others can appropriate and adapt to their particular project contexts. We report on the methodology evolution and provide evidence of its effectiveness in the projects where it has been used.
Research on Information and Communication Technologies and/for Development (ICTD) is difficult be... more Research on Information and Communication Technologies and/for Development (ICTD) is difficult because engineers and technology designers come from very different backgrounds from the people whose challenges that they are trying to address. They are separated by large physical distances and significant social differences. To overcome these challenges, much research involves occasional short visits by external researchers from rich and privileged situations to developing regions to investigate problems and generate ideas. These may be further developed back at the engi eers ho e base before return visits for deployment and evaluation. This paper examines some of the ethical limitations of this u gee resear h model. It reflects on our experiences in evolving more fruitful research practices. We argue that relying on bungee research as a primary model of research engagement is unethical, and we suggest some minimal conditions that are necessary, but not sufficient, for such visits to be ethically defensible in ICTD research.
INTRODUCTION This workshop builds upon issues raised at the HCI2004 panel on "Values in HCI&... more INTRODUCTION This workshop builds upon issues raised at the HCI2004 panel on "Values in HCI" [9]. In that panel, a tension was raised between dispassionately providing support to the design of products and services, regardless of the intended use, and the social responsibility of the scientist. Consequently, both personal values and the value that good analysis can bring to design were discussed. The technical challenges of HCI are great. However, it is a reasonable assertion that many members of the HCI community feel a need to do good for the world. But what kind of “good”, and how do we define “the world”? We feel that this implicit motivation has received too little explicit attention with HCI. This workshop will give centre stage to values: both the values that motivate the direction of our work and the value that we seek to deliver.
We recommend reading this poster in combination with the full ethical standards document: . ICTD/... more We recommend reading this poster in combination with the full ethical standards document: . ICTD/ICT4D research is multi-disciplinary, multi-stakeholder and based in different cultural contexts, yet in recent years, calls have been heard to agree minimum ethical standards across this field. This paper documents the participatory process we co-facilitated in response to these calls on behalf of the community, and presents the resulting document as collectively agreed set of minimum ethical standards, to be reviewed and updated in years to come. We call on journals, conference organizers, reviewers, ethics committees, institutional review boards and funders to uphold these standards and support their implementation. Social and professional topics~Codes of ethics • Human-centered computing • Information systems~Information systems applications.
Primary Health Care Research & Development, Apr 12, 2018
Aim: To develop a simple health literacy intervention aimed at supporting informed reproductive c... more Aim: To develop a simple health literacy intervention aimed at supporting informed reproductive choice among members of UK communities practising customary consanguineous marriage. Background: The contribution of 'health literacy' to reducing health inequalities and improving primary health-care efficiency is increasingly recognised. Enhancing genetic literacy has received particular attention recently. Consanguineous marriage is customarily practised among some UK minority ethnic communities and carries some increased risk of recessive genetic disorders among offspring compared with unions among unrelated partners. The need to enhance genetic literacy on this issue has been highlighted, but no national response has ensued. Instead, a range of undocumented local responses are emerging. Important knowledge gaps remain regarding how the development and implementation of culturally appropriate, effective and sustainable responses can be achieved. Methods: Our co-design approach involved active participation by local people. Initial insight generation employed six focus group discussions and 14 individual interviews to describe current understandings and information needs. A total of 11 personas (heuristic narrative portraits of community 'segments') resulted; four participatory workshops provided further understanding of: preferred information channels; feasible information conveyance; and responses to existing materials. Prototype information resources were then developed and feedback gathered via two workshops. Following further refinement, final feedback from healthcare professionals and community members ensured accuracy and appropriateness. Findings: The project demonstrated the utility of co-design for addressing an issue often considered complex and sensitive. With careful planning and orchestration, active participation by diverse community members was achieved. Key learning included: the importance of establishing trusting and respectful relationships; responding to diversity within the community; and engendering a creative and enjoyable experience. The resultant materials were heavily shaped by local involvement. Evaluative work is now needed to assess impacts on knowledge and service uptake. Longer term sustainability will depend on whether innovative community-level work is accompanied by broader strategy including investment in services and professional development.
This paper analyzes a subset of data from a project that sought to transfer knowledge and skills ... more This paper analyzes a subset of data from a project that sought to transfer knowledge and skills around design led approaches for service improvement to teams working in Health and Social Care in the United Kingdom. Through this analysis the authors sought to understand the range of responses that individual participants had to undertaking service improvement work in a design led project. This was a qualitative study using interviews to gain reflections from participants. These interview transcripts were analyzed using framework analysis. Participants were recruited from three disparate organizations, a public health team of a local authority, a mental health charity and a UK National Health Service mental health initiative. Six main themes were identified, namely; design practice, collaborative working, creating an environment for innovation, team skills and attitudes and transfer of knowledge. The findings suggest that the design approach can contribute to a range of factors that have been identified as valuable for innovative teams. The paper adds to the evidence base and supports further exploration of the use of design in Service improvement and wider innovation endeavours.
International journal of human-computer studies, 1997
This paper investigates the use of formal mathematical models in the design of interactive system... more This paper investigates the use of formal mathematical models in the design of interactive systems and argues for the development of generic models that describe the behaviour of a class of interactive systems. In recent years a number of authors have suggested methods for modelling interactive systems using notations and frameworks drawn from software engineering mathematics. We argue that these models tend to be either : so abstract as to limit their ability to express important interaction concerns for specific systems , and limited in the degree to which they support the construction of software that conforms to the designer's intention ; or so specific to an individual system that they provide only limited re-use across development projects and are therefore likely to be too expensive to develop except in a few special applications such as safetycritical systems. We argue that it is possible to construct a generic model of a class of interactive systems at an intermediate level of abstraction. Such a model would of fer wider reusability than detailed specifications of a single system , but greater expressiveness and support for software development than fully general abstract models. To support our argument we review a number of existing models in the literature and present a generic model of interactive case memories , a class of systems used in case-based reasoning .
International journal of human-computer studies, Feb 1, 2000
In this paper, we describe an approach to allocation of function that makes use of scenarios as i... more In this paper, we describe an approach to allocation of function that makes use of scenarios as its basic unit of analysis. Our use of scenarios is driven by a desire to ensure that allocation decisions are sensitive to the context in which the system will be used and by insights from economic utility theory. We use the scenarios to focus the attention of decision makers on the relative costs and benefits of developing automated support for the activities of the scenario, the relative impact of functions on the performance of the operator's primary role and on the relative demands placed on an operator within the scenario. By focussing on relative demands and relative costs, our method seeks to allocate the operator's limited resources to the most important and most productive tasks within the work system, and to direct the effort of the design organisation to the development of automated support for those functions that deliver the greatest benefit for the effective operation of the integrated human-machine system.
Operator error has been blamed for many accidents and incidents in safety-critical systems. It is... more Operator error has been blamed for many accidents and incidents in safety-critical systems. It is important that human-machine interface (HMI) designers are aware of the relationships between their design decisions, operator errors, and the hazards associated with a system. In this paper, we demonstrate how information from risk analysis can be combined with formal specification of the HMI, to support designers in exploring these relationships. We use the concept of interactor to model the human-machine interface (HMI); together with a concept of impact, which we define informally as: “the effect that an action or sequence of actions has on the safe and successful operation of a system.” We show how interactors can be used as design representations for the HMI at the earliest stages of design, as well as providing a medium by which risk analysts can inform HMI designers about the impact of human-errors. To demonstrate the feasibility of this approach, we consider a simple, gas-fired, electricity generating plant as a case study. Our proposed approach is intended to complement, rather than compete with, existing design and analysis methods for the HMI. The method achieves this by making risk analysis information available in the early stages of HMI design.
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Papers by Andy Dearden