Living LabsUniversity of OsloInstitute of informatics, INF 2260
Asbjørn Følstad, SINTEF
Asbjørn Følstad, SINTEF | [email protected] 2
Agenda• Limitations of usability testing
• Users as sources of creativity
• Living Labs and the co-creative user
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Asbjørn Følstad, SINTEF | [email protected] 431.10.2011
http://www.infodesign.com.au
Are there limitations to the usefulness of this approach?
Asbjørn Følstad, SINTEF | [email protected] 5
The design right
vs.
The right design
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pp. 381-391
Usability testing
Asbjørn Følstad, SINTEF | [email protected] 631.10.2011
Usability testing harmful?
Early stage design
Radical innovations
Cultural changes
Mute creative ideas
Identify problems due to immature technology rather than the underlying concept
Dismiss concept due to lack of accept in current culture
Asbjørn Følstad, SINTEF | [email protected] 731.10.2011
Creative input appreciated in system development, but usability testing typically give problem lists
Usability problems often known (?)… but helps prioritizing
Redesign suggestions… spark creativity … and provide new ideas to solve known problems.
Asbjørn Følstad, SINTEF | [email protected] 831.10.2011
How to overcome the limitations of usability testing?
Know the limitations of usability testing
and employ it accordingly.
Consider other approaches to get creative input
-> Maybe users can provide creative input?
Asbjørn Følstad, SINTEF | [email protected] 10
Users creative? Really?
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Foto: michelhrv (Flickr, creative commons)
Asbjørn Følstad, SINTEF | [email protected] 11
Users creative? Really?
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Users didn’t create this
… or this
… or this
Asbjørn Følstad, SINTEF | [email protected] 1231.10.2011
In which ways can users contibute
creatively?
Asbjørn Følstad, SINTEF | [email protected] 13
Users as sources of creativity (1): Participatory design
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Participation as a democratic right
Users contribute unique insight and knowledge in design due to domain experience
User involved in creative processes with designers and stakeholders
Assumption: Tight cooperation between designers, users and stakeholders will improve process and outcome.
Asbjørn Følstad, SINTEF | [email protected] 14
Users as sources of creativity (2): Social construction of tech.
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Technology outside a social context is ambiguous, in particular before it has reached wide spread use.
Innovation happens when social groups gives meaning to technological artifacts
Evolving meanings given to artifacts can be used to drive innovation processes
Assumption: Observation of social groups using new technology will give insight in ways to develop the technology.
Pinch, T.J. and Bijker, W.E. (1987) The social construction of facts and artifacts.
Asbjørn Følstad, SINTEF | [email protected] 15
Users as sources of creativity (3): User innovation
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Von Hippel: Users innovate; in particular leading users- excellent in their field- not satisfied with available technology
Examples from a range of fields- Open source software- Printed circut boards- Surgery tools- Extreme sports
Assumption: Incorporating user innovation in the innovation process will lead to more radical innovations
Von Hippel, E. (2005) Democratizing innovation, MIT Press
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Users as source of creativity
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Users and designers in co-creative processes
Novel meanings and uses emerge in social groups over time
Users adapt designs and develop new when current solutions does not fill their needs
Participatory design
Social construction of technology
User innovation
Asbjørn Følstad, SINTEF | [email protected] 19
Living Labs – the idea
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Amazon.com: Fascinations AntWorks Illuminated Blue
20
Living Labs – the idea
31.10.2011 Asbjørn Følstad, SINTEF | [email protected]
What if we do the same with humans?• Identify users in their everyday context• Add new technology / future technology
We could …• Observe what happens (Social
construction)• Identify those who adapt the technology to
better suit their needs (User innovation)• Invite users in co-creative processes to
devlop the technology further (Participatory design)
Asbjørn Følstad, SINTEF | [email protected] 21
Living Labs – the basicsEnvironments for innovation and development- … where users are exposet to new solutions- … in familiar contexts- … as part of medium – or long term studies
New term within the field of ICT- Emerging concept- Limited literature
Innovation supportContext researchDiscoveryCo-creationEvaluationTechnical testing
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Commercially available product
<- Social construction and user innovation
<- Grounded in participatory design
Asbjørn Følstad, SINTEF | [email protected] 22
The origins: Ubiquitous computing Living Labs
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Classroom 2000: an ICT augmented classroom
Vision: Utilize lecture & teacher/student notetaking outside classroom
Purposes:- Discovery- Evaluation
Abowd, G.D. (1999) Classroom 2000: An experiment with the instrumentation of a living educational environment. IBM Systems Journal, 38(4), pp. 508-530.
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The detour: Living Labs as testbeds
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eStadium: Stadium instrumehted with advanced wireless infrastructure
Aim: Research advanced networking and services
Purposes:- Evaluation- Technical testing
Zhong, X., Coyle, E.J. (2006) eStadium: a Wireless "Living Lab" for Safety and Infotainment Applications. First International Conference on Communications and Networking in China, 2006. ChinaCom '06, pp. 1-6, IEEE.
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The current: Living Labs as innovation platforms
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http://www.openlivinglabs.eu/
The European wave of Living Labs
Public-private partnerships- Government- Industry- Academia
User and stakeholders seen as co-creators; that is, creative resources to be utilized in the innovation process
Aim for direct contributions of users and stakeholders throughout the innovation process
Asbjørn Følstad, SINTEF | [email protected] 25
The current: Living Labs as innovation platforms
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Copenhagen Living Lab: IABIS
Aim: Create ICT solutions to improve living for elderly and employed at nursing homes
Involved users: - Employees at two nursing homes- (Family of residents at the same nursing homes)- Also: Observation of residents and employees
Users/stakeholders involved in:- Context research- Discovery- Co-creation- Evaluation
http://www.iabis.dk/
Asbjørn Følstad, SINTEF | [email protected] 26
The current: Living Labs as innovation platforms
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Botnia Living Lab: Apollon
Aim: Gain experience with in-home use of energy saving ICT.
Involved users:-30-40 households installing prototype energy saving ICT and use it for several months.
Users/stakeholders involved in:- Discovery- Co-creation- Evaluation http://saberproject.kyab.se//
Asbjørn Følstad, SINTEF | [email protected] 27
SummaryLimitations of usability testing- Does not help you get the right design
Creative users?- Participatory design- Social construction of technology- User innovation
Living Labs- European Living Labs aiming for co-creation; users and stakeholders to be involved
as creative resources- Evolving approach – still in its early years
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