DESIGNING FOR INQUISITIVE USERS A PRAGMATIST PERSPECTIVE ON

This paper presents a perspective on users of experience-oriented interactive systems based on a pragmatist foundation. The perspective is characterized by the interrelated aspects of experience, inquiry, and conflict. The consequences of this perspective

This paper presents a perspective on users of experience-oriented interactive systems based on a pragmatist foundation. The perspective is characterized by the interrelated aspects of experience, inquiry, and conflict. The consequences of this perspective for understanding users in the design of experience-oriented interactive systems are discussed on the basis of case-studies of two Nordic experience-oriented installations. The contribution of this paper is a critical reconceptualization of users as inquisitive co-creators of interactive experiences, and reflections on consequential design implications. INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND The ways in which interaction designers conceptualize the users of their future products have wide-ranging consequences for the design processes they engage in and the systems or installations that result from these processes. These consequences concern how to learn about users and the use domain, how to engage users in the design process, how to establish specifications and requirements, how to structure user interfaces as well as underlying structures, and how to present interactive

systems to users. In this paper I will present a perspective

on users based on a pragmatist foundation inspired by the work of Dewey (Dewey 1969-1991). This perspective

considers users as inquisitive and competent actors,

capable of exploring and experimenting with interactive systems in the course of their experience of them. The primary motivation for bringing forth this perspective

is the emerging interest in experience-oriented dimensions

of interactive systems, which prompts an increased understanding of how users experience, make sense of, and explore interactive installations. In interactive systems

design, methods and techniques based on cognitivist

understandings of users’ capabilities (eg. Miller 1956; Card, Moran & Newell 1983) which initially dominated the field

have been challenged from a number of positions, not

least from Scandinavian approaches to interaction design. One source of inspiration for exploring the pragmatist perspective is Gedenryd’s thorough critique and debunking of the cognitivist perspective underlying these theories (Gedenryd 1998). Gedenryd argues that an understanding of the potential of human actors should not be reduced to “the study of human mental imperfection”– rather, human potential is characterised by the fact that we constantly interact with and exploit our bodies and the BY PETER DALSGAARD

INSTITUTE OF INFORMATION AND MEDIA STUDIES, UNIVERSITY OF AARHUS

AARHUS, DENMARK

TEL: +45 89429285

DALSGAARD@CAVI.DK

DESIGNING FOR INQUISITIVE USERS: A PRAGMATIST PERSPECTIVE ON USERS IN EXPERIENCE-ORIENTED INTERACTION DESIGN. PRELIMINARY VERSION: DO NOT RE-DISTRIBUTE Design Inquiries 2007 Stockholm http://doc.guandang.net 1

This paper presents a perspective on users of experience-oriented interactive systems based on a pragmatist foundation. The perspective is characterized by the interrelated aspects of experience, inquiry, and conflict. The consequences of this perspective

situations we are in to complement and enhance our intramental (ie. mental cognitive) capabilities. Competent actors will “go out of their way to avoid intramental thinking” (Gedenryd 1998) and employ so-called situating strategies in which the full range of the situation – actors’ minds and bodies, co-present actors, physical surroundings etc. - is explored and exploited to meet desired ends. Gedenryd’s work raises many questions for interactive systems design, of which this paper will address one: what does it mean for designers of interactive installations to conceptualize users as inquisitive and capable actors?

It is not the objective of this paper to engage in a discussion of the relevance of the above-mentioned cognitivist approaches, but rather to suggest that in some design cases, especially in experience-oriented design situations, it can be fruitful to reconceptualize users as capable of much more than intramental computation and interested in much more than straightforward and easily recognizable interactive encounters.

The position put forward in the paper is one that encourages conflict, challenges, and risks in experience-oriented installations, prompting users to adopt an inquisitive approach and actively engage the installations. The rationale for designing challenging installations is that users’ inquisitive engagement may bring about more fulfilling experiences. This position somewhat echoes Rogers’ (Rogers 2006) recent proposal to move “from a mindset that wants to make the environment smart and proactive to one that enables people, themselves, to be smarter and proactive in their everyday and working practices” (Rogers 2006 p. 418).

Based on the work of Dewey, I first present a pragmatist perspective on conceptualizing proactive and inquisitive users based on the interrelated aspects of experience, inquiry, and conflict. This perspective is then explored and discussed through two case studies of experience-oriented interactive systems, leading to considerations about future work.

A PRAGMATIST PERSPECTIVE ON USERS

The pragmatist perspective put forward here is primarily inspired by the work of John Dewey. Pragmatism, a movement consisting of related though not fully congruent theories, was established by Charles Sanders Peirce, William James, and Dewey (who incidentally all objected to the label pragmatism) and is so labelled due to the assertion that the meaning and “truth” of ideas is to be determine …… 此处隐藏：24815字，全部文档内容请下载后查看。喜欢就下载吧 ……