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10 Thewrongtrousers?Beyondthedesignfallacy:sociallearningandtheuser

JamesStewartandRobinWilliams

IntroductionThischapterreflectscriticallyuponhowasubstantialbodyofwritingsintechnologystudiesanduser-orientedcomputinghavesoughttoconceptualizedesign–andtheirtacitandexplicitpresumptionsaboutwhatiswrongwithtechnologydesign/developmentprocessesascurrentlypractised.1Manyof theseanalysesshareaparadoxicalviewof design:presentingontheonehandaratherheroicviewofdesignassuccessfullyembeddingarangeofexplicitpurposesandimplicitvalues(aviewwerefertoasthe‘designfallacy’),whileontheotherhanddemonizingdesignpracticesandoutcomes.Thechapterarguesthatthisaccountisinadequateandderivesfromaflawed‘design-centred’perspective–thatfocusesnarrowlyonparticulardesignepisodesandconceivestheseasleadingtofinishedsolutionstosocial/organizationalneeds.

Thechapterpresentsanalternativeviewof theroleof designinthedevelopmentofnewtechnologies,particularlyinrelationtonewinformationandcommunicationtechnologies(ICTs)thathaveemergedinthecourseoftheEuropeanSocialLearninginMultimedia(SLIM)researchproject.2Asociallearningperspectiveisoutlinedthatseesdesignoutcomes/supplierofferingsasinevitablyunfinishedinrelationtocomplexheterogeneousandevolvinguserrequirements.Furtherinnovationtakesplaceasartefactsareimplementedandused.Tobeusedanduseful,ICTartefactsmustbe‘domesticated’andbecomeembeddedinbroadersystemsofcultureandinformationpractices.Inthisprocess,artefactsareoftenreinventedandfurtherelaborated(‘innofusion’).

Thesociallearningperspective(Ripetal.1995)analysesparticulardesignepisodesaslocatedwithinlonger-termprocessesof innovationacrossmultiplecyclesoftechnologydesignandimplementation.Itoffersanevolutionarymodelof howsocietalrequirementsandtechnologicalcapabilitiesmightbecoupledtogether.Althoughconceptsofevolutionandoflearningmayconveyasenseofsmoothandseamlessinteraction,ouranalysispointstothecomplexandoftendifficultinteractionbetweenthem,offeringananalyticalframeworkthatismoreopen(i)tothenecessarily

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incompletenatureof thedesignprocess;(ii)totheunpredictabilityofoutcomes;and(iii)tothemultiplicityofactorsandsitesofinnovation.

The design-centred perspective in technology studies

AproblematicintellectualinheritancefromearlytechnologystudiesTheissueof designwascentraltotheemergenceof technologystudiesasanareaof debateandfieldof study.Startingfromanassessmentofnewlyemergingtechnologiesthatfocusedupontheundesirablesocialandenvironmentalimplications,criticalsocio-economicanalysismovedontoask‘whatwasgivingrisetotechnologiesthatwerehavingtheseeffects?’;critiqueswereadvancedofthedominantformoftechnologiesdeveloped(MacKenzieandWajcman1985).Forexample,the‘socialshapingoftechnology’perspective sought to investigate the choices inherent intechnologicaldesignanddevelopmentandhowthesewereinfluencedbythevariousvaluesandinterestsinvolved.Thearchetypal‘socialshaping’studybyNoble(1979)pointedtotheexplicitintentionsofthedevelopers(ofautomatedmachinetools),andthesuppressionofonetechnology(recordplayback)infavourofanother(numericalcontrol).Asimilarconceptionofthesignificanceofdesignunderpinnedtheespousalbysociallyconcernedengineersofalternativeapproachestotechnologicaldesign(forexample,inideasofhuman-centredtechnologiesandparticipatorydesign;seeEhn1988).Inmuchoftheseearlywritingsweseean‘essentialist’account(Wajcman1991)oftherelationshipbetweentechnologyandsocialvalues,inwhichthedesignoftheartefactisamoreorlesssimplereflectionofthevaluesandprioritiesofdesignersanddevelopers–valueswhichareassumedtobereproduced(oratleastfavoured;seeWinner1980)whentheseartefactsaredeployedandused.Inthisview,consumersareseenaspassiverecipientsofthetechnologyanditsembeddedvalues(Sørensen1994).Althoughcriticalofthesubstanceofdesign,thisviewseestechnologydesign/developmentasastraightforwardvehicleforsocialvaluesandintentions.

Thesubsequentdevelopmentofempiricalresearchandanalysishascalledthisviewintoquestion.Recognitionoffrequentfailuresintechnologicaldevelopment,of unintendedtechnicalandsocialoutcomes,andof thecomplexityof social interactionsaroundthedevelopmentanduseoftechnology(andinparticularoftheinfluenceuponinnovationprocessesofintermediateandfinal‘users’ofanartefact)hascalledfortherevisionofvariouselementsofthissimplisticmodel(SørensenandWilliams2002).However,wesuggestthatprevalentsocialshapingandconstructivistanalysesofdesignstillbeartheimprintoftheirpastintellectualinheritance.Wepointtothecontinuationofaviewofdesignthattacitlyretainssomemodernistpresumptions,intermsofanessentialistandsomewhatmechanisticview

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ofhowvaluesandpreferencesmaybecomeembeddedindesignandmaybereproducedwhenthoseartefactsaresubsequentlyconsumed/used.Suchaviewwouldappeartobeinformedbya‘linear’ratherthan‘interactive’modelof innovation,andconveysmore thanahintof technologicaldeterminism.Inparticular,wearguethatmuchofthisanalysisshareswhatwehavedescribedasa‘heroicview’of design,whichatthesametimedemonizesengineers.Itisheroicinthesensethatdesignsareportrayedasfinishedproductsinscribingparticularviewsoftheuser,useractivitiesandprioritiesintotheartefact.The‘designproblem’isthenconceivedintermsofthefailingsofdesignpractitioners–throughignoranceofusers(theirpurposesandcontexts)ortheircommitmenttodifferentpriorities–embeddingthewrongvalues/specificationofuserrequirementsindesign,withimputedseriousnegativeconsequencefortheusabilityanduseofthoseartefactsforparticularpurposesandbyparticulargroups.Weshallreturntothisargumentaboutthesocio-economicanalysisof design.Butfirst,weshallexamine,undertherubricof‘thedesignfallacy’theimplicationsfordesignpractice.

ThedesignfallacyAnimportantlineof critiqueof designpracticehascentredaroundtheperceivedfailureofICTofferingstomatchthecultureandrequirementsofusersandinparticularofthe‘finalusers’whomustoperatethesystem.Failingsofnewlydevelopedsystemswereattributedtotheshortcomingsofdominant‘technocratic’designapproaches,andthedifficultiesexperiencedbycomputerscientistsandengineersincapturinguserrequirements;totheirnarrow,functionalistunderstandingsof thetasksbeingautomatedandtheirlackofunderstandingoftheintricatecultureandspecificpracticesof thevarioususersof informationsystems;andtotheconsequentgulf betweendesignedsystemsandthecircumstancesandpracticesofthevariousgroupsof potentialandactualusers.Traditionalrequirementscapturetechniques,whichemergedfromthesuccessfulautomationof routinerecord-processingtasksinearlycommercialcomputing,couldnotreadilybeappliedtomorecomplexactivitiesinvolvingtheexerciseofjudgementandinnovelapplicationswhereuserrequirementswerenotreadilyspecified.Requirementscaptureisapotentiallydifficultproblembecausetheneedsofvariouscurrentandpotentialusers,andthemeansbywhichtheymaybefulfilled,arenotfixedentities,butevolve,partlyinthefaceofnewtechnicalcapabilitiesandpractices.Inthefaceoftheseperceivedproblems,arangeof user-centreddesigninitiativeswaslaunchedwhichsoughttodevelopricherunderstandingsofthecontextandpurposesoftheuserandbuildthemintotechnologydesign.Newdesignmethodologiesandmodelswereproposed.Oftenuser-centreddesigninvolvedthedeploymentof social

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scientistsalongsidetechnologydeveloperstostudyusercontextsortobringuserrepresentativesintothedesignprocessdirectly.Someinterestingworkhasbeendone(see,forexample,Ehn1988;BødkerandGreenbaum1992;Greenetal.1993).

Howeverwithhindsight,thesekindsofprojectseemtohavehadonlymodestinfluenceoversystemdesignoverall,andsomeseriousquestionscanberaisedabouttheireffectiveness–mostimmediatelyinrelationtotheuptakeandwiderapplicabilityofmodelsthatemergedfromuser-centreddesigninitiatives.Morefundamentally,itcanbenotedthatsuchinitiativesfailedtogeneratedistinctivelydifferentmodelsof artefactfromthoseemergingfromconventionaldesignsettings.3

Whiletheshifttowardsuser-centreddesignrepresentsasignificantandpositivedevelopment,weneedtoavoidthepitfallsofwhatwehavetermedthe‘designfallacy’:thepresumptionthattheprimarysolutiontomeetinguserneedsistobuildevermoreextensiveknowledgeaboutthespecificcontextandpurposesof varioususersintotechnologydesign.Inlargedegree,theshortcomingsof thisviewarisebecausetheemphasisonthecomplexity,diversityandthusspecificityof‘userrequirementsandcontexts’(andtheconsequentimportanceof localknowledgeabouttheuser)istakenupwithinanessentiallylinear,design-centredmodelofinnovationtoemphasizetheneedforartefactstobedesignedaroundthelargelyuniquecultureandpracticesofparticularusers.Byseeingcomputerartefacts,oncedesigned,aslargelyfixedintheirproperties,andthusprivilegingpriordesign(ProcterandWilliams1996),thekeyquestionbecomesoneof buildingevermoreextensiveamountsofknowledgeaboutthecontext,cultureandpurposesofusersintothedesignedsystem.

Followingonfromthis,socio-economicresearch,andinparticularethnographicstudiesof userswereproposedtoidentifytheright valuesandovercomethedesignproblem,bycapturingtheincreasingamountsofknowledgeaboutspecificgroupsofusersandtheirpurposes,practicesandthusrequirementsthatcouldbeincorporatedintothedesignoftheartefact.Ethnographicandinparticularethnomethodologicalapproacheswereadvancedasbeinguniquelysuitedtoaddressingtheintricacyofspecificcontextsandpractices–identifyingthecrucialdifferencesanddistinctionsthatconventionalrequirementscapturetechniqueswouldalltooeasilyoverlook(Anderson1997).Althoughthispointgoessomewhatbeyondthescopeofthecurrentchapter,itcanbeobservedthatthereareobviouslimitationstotheroleofethnographyasamethodforrequirementscapture.4Howeverethnographicapproachescouldbeusedinadditiontoorasanalternativeto ‘userparticipation’indesign–inwhichrepresentativesofvariouscurrentandpotentialuserscouldexpresstheirrequirementsfor

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thenewsystemandcontributedirectlytorequirementsspecificationandtodesignanddevelopmentdecisions.

Rethinkingdesign–beyondthedesignfallacyThedesign-centredmodel,withitsexclusivepreoccupationwithpriortechnologicaldesign(‘thedesignfallacy’),canbecriticizedonanumberofgrounds:

• itisunrealisticandsimplistic;• itmaynotbeeffectiveinenhancingdesign/use;and• itoverlooksimportantopportunitiesforinterventionthatarerevealed,

forexample,if adesign-implementationlife-cyclemodelisadopted.

Inparticularweargueagainstthemodelofdesignasaninductiveprocessofaccumulatingevermoreinformationaboutcurrentuserrequirements.Recognitionof thecomplexityanddiversityof usersettingsdoesnotnecessarilyimplythattechnologicaldesignwillorshouldbeentirelyshapedaroundthedetailedneedsofparticularusers.

The constructivist theorization of design: its conceptualization of the user and use Acentralconcernforsocialshapingandconstructivistanalysesofdesignhasbeentoassesscriticallythewayinwhichcertainprioritiesandoutcomesmaybebuiltintotechnologydevelopmentandthereforemaybeadvantagedwhenthosetechnologiesareused(Winner1980).Inrelationtonewapplicationsof technology,analysishasrevolvedaroundthewayinwhichthefutureuseranduseofanartefacthasbeenconceived.Indeed,indesigninganddevelopinganartefact,somemodelisneededoftheanticipateduser,thewaysinwhichtheartefactwillbeusedandof thesocialandtechnicalcontextinwhichusewilltakeplace.Designersdonotsimplydevelopanartefact–theymustinevitablyalsodevelopsomeconceptoftheusecontextandlifestyle(vanLieshoutetal.2001).Theserepresentations(Vedel1994)oftheuser/usemaybemoreorlessspecific.

But how are these representations developed and implemented indesignedartefacts?If designisshapedbythevaluesandcontextinwhichtechnologiesaredeveloped,howarethesevaluesembedded,andhowcantheybeidentified?

Wearguethatsocialshapingandconstructivistanalyseshavetendedtoveer,implicitlyandperhapsunconsciously,towardsarather‘politicized’viewoftechnologicaldesignasbeingrichlyinformedbyasetof specificvaluesandpresumptionsfromthedevelopmentcontext,andinparticularbyspecificandquestionableconceptionsoftheuseranduse.

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Noble’s(1979)machinetoolcasereferstoahighlypolarizedandvisiblecontext:theexplicitintentionsofthedevelopersofautomatedmachinetoolsaroundthechoiceofanoperatinginterfacethatofferedclear(apparentlyself-evident)implicationsfortheoutcomes–reducingtheroleof craftmachinists.Moresophisticatedmethodologiesandexplanatoryconceptsmaybeneededtograspdesignchoicesinothercontexts.

Importantinsightshaveemergedfromanalystswithrootsinsemioticanalysisanddiscoursetheory.ThusAkrich(1992a)andAkrichandLatour(1992)claimthatwemayinterprettheendeavoursofdesignersaseffortstoinscribecertainpreferredprogrammesofactionbyusers(whichAkrichdescribesas‘scripts’or‘scenarios’)inthedesignof agivenartefactortechnologicalsystem.Designersvisualizeascriptof preferredreactionstotheartefact,andtheytrytoshapethetechnologyinordertomakethesereactionsasmandatoryaspossible(Sørensen1996).Inasimilarvein,Woolgar(1991)describesdesignersasseekingto‘configuretheuser’–intermsofdefiningthecharacteristicsoftheuserandhowtheymayrespond.By‘settingparametersfortheuser’sactions’(ibid.:61),thebehaviouroftheuserisconfiguredbythedesignerandtheuserisdisciplinedbythetechnology.5Inthissense,thetechnology(andthedesigner)constructs‘theuser’.Thisconceptofconfiguringtheuserhasbeenwidelytakenup.

Abodyofworkhasemergedfromthisperspective(forexample,Woolgar1991;Akrich1992a,1992b).Muchof thisconveysaviewthatdesignincorporatesacomprehensiverepresentationof theintendedusers,theirpurposesandthecontextofuse.Theusermayberepresented,forexample,intermsof presumptionsinrelationtotheirskills,theiridentities(forexample,intermsofgender,seeCockburnandFurst-Dilic1994),orothersocialfeaturessuchasraceandclass)andtheactivitiesthatmaybeseenasappropriateandinappropriate.

Wearguethatthiskindof criticalanalysishasparadoxicallyoftenproducedarathersimplified,‘stylized’andoverpoliticizedaccountofhowthesocialcontextshapesthecontentof design(forexample,regardingwhichsocialvaluesandrelationshipsbecomeembeddedindesignandhow)–andcanthusreadilybe‘readoff ’bytheanalyst.Weidentifyatendency,whichwedescribeas‘narrativebias’,towardsaparticularkindofstoryabouttechnology.6Thefirstmoveinsuchananalysisis,typically,to identify the representation of the user underpinning a particulardesign/development.Thesecondmoveisthentoexaminewhethertheseareoften‘thewrongvalues’,basedonaninadequateormisleadingviewofusersandtheirrequirements.Thusresearchershavetendedtolookfortheproblemsthatmayarisewherethatrepresentationisrestrictiveoroutoflinewiththeactualusersthatariseorcanbeanticipatedtoarise.Onecommonexamplehighlightstheproblemsarisingwhereengineershave

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reliedontheirpersonalexperiencesandpresumptionstoarticulatearatherunrepresentativemodeloftheuser(Akrich1995;Nicoll2000)–astrategywhichOudshoornandPinch(2003)havedescribed,followingAkrich(1995)asthe‘I-methodology’.

Itcanbenotedthatthesestudiesof ‘designersconfiguringtheuser’donot ingeneraladdressboththedesignandthe implementationofparticularartefacts.Therearemanyreasons for this–not least thatproductdevelopmentcyclestendtobelongerthanthelifetimeof mostsocialscienceresearchprojects.7Theimpactofdesignchoicesontheuseristhuslargelyimputed.

Wewouldsuggestthat,whendetailedempiricalanalysisof design/developmentsettingsisactuallyundertaken,itturnsouttoberatherhardtodiscernthesetsof objectivesandpresumptionsunderpinningdesign.Design/developmentchoicesaredominatedbythe‘takenforgranted’aspectsoftheinnovation–andbyaseriesofdesignchoicesthatwilltendtobejustifiedintechnicalorpragmaticterms.Indeed,designisrarelyconductedbyasingleactor,butemergesthroughamultiplicityofactorsininteractionwithvariousconcernsandagendasinrelationtoahostoffactors(price,technicalconstraints,interoperabilitystandardsandconceptsoftheusermarket).Designisoftendonebycommittee(orthroughmorecomplexarenas),workingtotightdeadlinesunderconditionsofconflictandaccommodation,yieldingcompromisesthatmaysatisfyno-one.Whatcanbe‘read’abouttheuserandthesettingofuseistypicallyunderspecified,fragmentary and inconsistent. And when the designed artefacts aresubsequentlyimplementedandused,thedesignpresumptionsarebynomeansexpressedinastraightforwardway.

Theimplicationintheideaof‘configuringtheuser’thatusersarerecipients,ofcourse,standsincontrastwithanother,increasinglyinfluential,streamofanalysiswhichemphasizesthe‘interpretiveflexibility’andchoicethatusersandothersareabletoexertregardingthemeaningsanduseofatechnology(PinchandBijker1984).Indeed,Latour,Akrichandotherwriters,fromadiscoursetheoreticbackground,seetechnologyasa‘text’thatiscapableofdifferentreadings(eventhoughtheirwritingsalsoconveyastrongsensethatthetechnologyinscribesapreferredreading).Agrowingbodyofrecentaccounts,influencedbydevelopmentsinculturalandconsumptionstudies,portrayconsumptionasanactiveandcreativeprocess(Sørensen1994).Theseemphasizethat,althoughthedesignermayseektoprefiguretheuser–andthusimplicitlytoconstrainthewaysinwhichtheproductisused–ultimatelyusersstillretainflexibilityregardingthemeaningstheyattributetotechnologies,andoverchoicesabouthowtheartefactwillbeappropriated.Wecapturetheseprocesses–andspecifically,thekeyprocessesofdomesticationandinnovation–withinthemoregeneralheadingofsocial

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learning.Recognitionofsociallearningoffersaverydifferentviewofthecharacterandsignificanceofdesignactivities.

The social learning frameworkThesociallearningframeworkisproposedasanextensiontothesocialshaping of technology perspective that focuses in particular uponopportunitiesforreflexivepracticeinthedevelopmentof technologies.8Itdrawsuponconceptsfromthedevelopingevolutionarytraditionineconomicsandeconomichistorywhichhavelongrecognized‘learningcurves’:thegradualimprovementsthatoftenariseintheperformanceofatechnologyovertime.Arrow(1962)describedas‘learningbydoing’theideathatworkers,individuallyaswellascollectively,developmoreefficientwaysofemployingmachinerythroughtheirexperiencefromusage.Similarly,Rosenberg(1982)characterizesas‘learningbyusing’theprocessthroughwhichausergainsfamiliaritywithagivenpieceoftechnologyanddevelopsskillsinmakinguseofit.Theseconceptspointtothefactthatthepropertiesofatechnology(itsaffordancesandlimitations)maynotbeimmediatelyapparent,butarediscovered,learnedandenhancedthroughexperience,ofteninrelationtoparticularproductiveprocessesandactivities.AsSørensen(1996)putsit:

Sociallearningcanbecharacterisedasacombinedactofdiscoveryandanalysis,of understandingandgivingmeaning,andof tinkeringandthedevelopmentof routines.Inordertomakeanartefactwork,ithastobeplaced,spatially,temporally,andconceptually.Ithastobefittedintotheexisting,heterogeneousnetworksofmachines,systems,routines,andculture.

However, social learning is not limited to the site of technologyapplication(whatFleck1988adescribesasthe‘implementationarena’),importantthoughthisis.Suchlearningbydoingprovidesapotentiallyveryimportantsourceofinformationontheeffectiveuseofatechnology.Bygivingsuppliersaccesstowhatusershavelearnedabouttheirproductsandwhatdeficienciesandpotentialitiestheyhavediscovered,itcouldprovideinvaluableinformationforsubsequentproductinnovation.Ithasbeenfurthernotedthatthisinformationisoftennotsystematicallycollectedandused–perhapsbecauseofthestrengthoftherhetoricsoftechnologysupply(onthegroundsthat,if anewproductalreadyfulfilsuserrequirementsasclaimed,whatneedistheretoexaminetheproblemsthatmayariseinitsimplementationanduse).Thisunderlinestheimportanceofthelinkagesbetweenusersandproducersthatcanactasavehicleforthiskindofknowledgeexchange.Toinnovatesuccessfully,producersmaydependcriticallyoninformationfromusers,andviceversa.Thisisthebasisoftheideaofthelearningeconomy(AndersenandLundvall1988).Thesocial

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learningframeworkdrawsattentiontothewayinwhichtheseknowledgeflowsareachieved(oftenthroughtheeffortsofkeyintermediaries)throughprocessesthatSørensen(1996)describesas‘learningbyinteraction’.

Whenusingtheterm‘sociallearning’wearenotreferringnarrowlytoindividualcognitiveprocessesbutarecruciallyaddressingcollectivelearningprocesses–conceivedinthebroadestsensetoincludenotonlyknowledgeflowsbutalsointeractionsbetweenactorsandprocessesofnegotiationandstruggle.Itthusincludesprocessesof‘learningbyregulation’(ibid.)inwhichthecircumstancesforthe‘proper’operationofatechnologyareachieved.

Wecanfurtherdistinguishtworelatedsocial learningprocessesbywhichuserscontributetotechnologydevelopmentanduse:innofusionanddomestication.

InnofusionThisviewofinnovationdrawsonFleck’s(1988a)conceptof‘innofusion’(=innovation+diffusion) todemonstrate that the innovationof anartefact(roboticsandindustrialautomationinhisoriginalexegesis)wasnotlimitedtotheresearchanddevelopmentlaboratory,butcontinuedastheartefactwasdiffusedinitsimplementationanduse.Innofusionreferstothe‘processesof technologicaldesign,trialandexploration,inwhichuserneedsandrequirementsarediscoveredandincorporatedinthecourseofthestruggletogetthetechnologytoworkinusefulways,atthepointofapplication’(ibid.:3).

Domestication(orappropriation)Silverstone’s studies of the consumption of household technologieshighlightedthechoicesavailabletofamilymembersintermsofwheretheproductislocatedandhowitisincorporatedwithinfamilyroutines(MorleyandSilverstone1990;Silverstoneetal.1992).However,abroaderusageoftheconceptof‘domesticating’technologyhasemerged,inthesenseoftamingthetechnology.Thisofteninvolvesinnovationbytheconsumer:using artefacts in ways not anticipated by the designer (Berg 1994).Domestication(Silverstoneetal.1992;Sørensen1994;LieandSørensen1996)andtherelatedconceptofappropriation(Pacey1983;duGayetal.1997)areusedtohighlighttheeffortsofuserstointegrateICTapplicationswithintheirparticularcontextsandpurposes.Inthecaseofinformationsystemsatwork,domesticationmayinclude,forexample,thedevelopmentandredevelopmentof:workingandinformationpractices;work-aroundstoovercomefaults/limitationsinthedesignedsystem;andsystemsofmeaning(forexample,theclassificationofcases;seeStarandBowker1999).

Thesetwofacetsof sociallearningovertechnology–innofusionanddomestication–arenotseparate.However,theseconceptswerecoined

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separatelyandfordifferingpurposes.Theydrawattentiontodifferingaspectsoftheinnovationprocess,respectively,theevolutionandbiographyofartefacts(Pollocketal.2003)andtheevolutionandbiographyofuser(anduserorganization)practices/culture.Thesociallearningframeworkcombinesthesetoachieveanintegratedperspective–andonethataddressesinnovationoverdifferentphasesofthecycleofproductdevelopmentanduseandindifferentsites.

A social learning perspective on designThesociallearningperspectiveondesignthuslocatesdesignwithinabroadercontext.Episodesofdesignarenotviewedassnapshotsinisolation–temporallyfromwhatprecedesandfollowedit,orsociallyfromitsbroadercontext–butareseenasmomentsof innovationacrossmultiplecyclesof design,implementation,consumptionandfurtherenhancementanddispersedacrossawiderangeofplayers,sitesorphases.

Wehaveelaboratedandtestedthisframeworkthroughaseriesofcasestudiesofdigitalexperimentsandtrials,conductedundertheSLIMproject–aneight-countrystudyfundedbytheEuropeanCommission.TheSLIMcasestudiesunusuallysoughttoencompassthedesign,implementationandconsumptionofnewmultimediasystemsacrossarangeofcontexts–commercial,education,publicadministration,communityinformationandeverydaylife.Thisworkhashighlightedthepertinenceofthesociallearningframeworktounderstandingtechnologydesign.

AschemahasbeendevelopedforunderstandinginnovationinICTapplications.Asthisportraysaratherdifferentviewfromreceivedmodels,itishelpfultobrieflyoutlinesomeofthesalientpoints.However,itisfirstimportanttoaddressimportantchangesthathavetakenplaceinboththeformofICTapplicationsanditsattendantdesign/developmentprocessescapturedbytheanalysisofICTas‘configurationaltechnology’.

ICTapplicationsasconfigurationaltechnologySocialshapingoftechnologyresearchhasproducedanumberofimportantinsights into the form of technology (particularly in respect of ICTapplications),theprocessofinnovationandtheopportunitiesforinfluencebyvariousplayers.Itrevealsthattoday,ICTdevelopmentvirtuallynevertakestheformofabinitiodesignofcompletesystems(asistacitlypresumedbythedesign-centredaccount).Instead,ICTsaretypically‘configurationaltechnologies’(Fleck1988b),createdfromselectionsof existing(oftenstandard,commodified)componenttechnologiesandtoolsandsomecustomizedelementsconfiguredtogether.9

Theconfigurationandcustomizationof cheap,genericcomponenttechnologieshasprovedaremarkablyeffectivewayofacquiringICTs(and

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onethathashadfarmoreimpactthanuser-centreddesign).Thetrade-offsbetweenpriceandscopeandsoonyieldarangeof technologysupply/acquisitionstrategiesbetween,forexample,customizingalargegenericapplication(involvingasmallnumberof‘largegrain’components)foraparticularcontextandtheknittingtogetherof a‘fine-grained’arrayofsimplerflexiblecomponents(forexample,standardizedcomponentsandtools)selectedandconfiguredaroundtherequirementsofaparticularuser(Finchametal.1994).

Opportunitiesforuserinfluencevarywiththeformoftechnology:user-ledinnovationinconfigurationaltechnologiesThesedifferingcircumstancesoffervaryingopportunitiesforuserinfluence(whichKoch1997hascharacterizedas‘bricksandclay’inthehandsofthelocaluser).Inthelattercasewefindthattheorganizationaluserisabletoexerciseconsiderablechoiceoverthefinalconfiguration/solution.Indeed,itcouldbearguedthatthisconfigurationactivityopensupopportunitiesforakindofuser-leddesign,despitetheuser’svirtuallytotalexclusionfromthepriordesignofthecomponenttechnologies.10

RecognitionthatICTapplicationstaketheformof configurationaltechnologiesalsochangesourviewof thecharacterandsitesof designactivity.Designofconfigurationaltechnologiesismostimmediatelyabouttheappropriateselectionandartfulcombinationofthearrayofstandardcomponentsaswellasthecreationofcustomizedcomponents.Theusercanexertconsiderablechoiceoverthefinalconfiguration.Whatiscriticalintermsofthiscurrentdiscussionisthatthedevelopmentofconfigurationaltechnologyisamodelinwhichtechnologydesignandimplementationarecloselycoupled.

SupplierICTofferingsinevitablyfailtoprovidefinishedsolutionsOneofthereasonsforinnofusion/domesticationandemergenceofuser-ledcreationof configurationaltechnologiesistheimplausibilityof theexpectationthatdesignoutputs/supplierofferingscouldimmediatelyandcompletelymatchuserneeds(notleastsinceuserneedsareinchoate,varied,complexandevolving).ThisisparticularlymarkedwhenwearedealingwithICTapplicationsincomplexorganizationalandculturalcontexts.Inotherwords,supplierofferingsareinevitablyunfinished;workmustbedonetoadaptthemtothetechnicalandsocialcontextsofuse.Thisisaprocessofmutualshapinginwhich,ontheonehand,theartefactmaybereworkedtomeetspecificuserexigencies,whileontheother,theartefact,inbeingincorporatedwithinlocalsystemsofpracticeandmeaning,mayopenupnewwaysofdoingthings.Thesociallearningperspectiveseekstocapturetheseintertwininginnofusionanddomesticationprocessesin

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theimplementationanduseof technologiesaswellasthepossibilityofdrawinglessonsforfuturetechnologicalsupply.

DesignasspecificorgenericForexample,weneedtobearinmindthatartefactualdesignisinevitablygenerictosomedegreeinrelationtospecificusers.Sincenotalluserscanbedirectlyinvolvedindesign,selectedusersmustinevitablytosomeextentstandproxyfortheirpeersandforfuturepotentialusers.Indeed,successfulsystemdesigndependsonanabilitynotjusttocapturethespecificitiesoftheusercontext,butalsototranslatetheseintoaforminwhichtheycanbemorewidelyused.Whilethedesignfallacyconceivestheimprovementofdesignintermsofbuildinginevermoreknowledgeaboutusersintotheartefact,therearealsorisksintryingtoprefiguretoocloselytheusersandtheirpurposes;inseekingtoforecloseuserchoicearoundtheexpressedpreferencesofparticularsetsofusers.Thereareissuesaroundthebuildingofrepresentationsoftheuser.Moreover,designissubjecttoanumberofcontradictoryparadoxes–betweenmakingasolutionspecificandgeneric;betweenaligningwithandmovingbeyondcurrentpracticesandmodels.

Thesefactorsmaymandateinfavourofadoptingmoregenericdesignapproaches. We thus see strategies to build upon successful specificapplications,buttodesignoutfromtheartefactreferencetoitsspecificcontextsoforiginationandusewhichmightlimititsfutureuseandmarket–ormorepreciselyto‘redesign’andre-presenttheartefacttomakeitmoregenericandopenituptobroadermarkets.Designersmayneedtobalancebetweenbuildingsolutionsthatareverytightlyconfiguredaroundparticularlocalrequirements–whichmay,forexample,actasabarriertoutilityanduseinothercontexts–andkeepingthesystemmoreflexible.SchummandKocyba(1997)havedescribedtherelatedprocessesasinvolvingontheonehand‘decontextualization’ofthisknowledge(itsseparationfromparticularcontexts,itscodificationtomakeitmorewidelyapplicable)andof‘recontextualization’(toimplementthisgenericknowledgewithinparticularartefacts).Thisinvolvesashiftinperspectivesfromparticularuserstoagenericrepresentation–of‘theuser’orasetofclassesofuser.Despitetherhetoricsoftheaccountabilityofdesigntotheuser,designersanddevelopersmayhaveonlyalimitedunderstandingof,orconcernaboutactualusers.‘Theuser’isthusaconstruct–aprojectionofpotentialusers–builtaroundvariouskindsofpartialknowledgeofactualuserstogetherwithotheragendas(forexample,suppliercapabilitiesandcommercialstrategies).11Forexample,inthecreationofapackagedICTapplicationforanorganization,wemayfindashiftfromanichesolutiondesignedaroundspecificorganizationaluserstoagenericsolutionbuiltaroundsuppliers’decisionsabouttheirintendedmarketanditscommonfeatures.Inthecase

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ofnovelmass-marketproducts,theremaybenoexistinguserstoreferto.Whilethepreferencesofusersmaybeassessedthroughpanelsandtrialswithselectedproxyusers,theproductwillbedevelopedandpromotedaroundratherdifferentsetsofcategoriesandknowledgefrom,forexample,marketresearch(forexample,demographicinformation,establishedlanguagesandstatisticsforcharacterizinglifestylegroupsandmarketsegments).

Thereareimportanttrade-offsbetweenmakingartefactsuniqueandmakingthemstandardized.Forexample,thecostandotherbenefitsofre-usingsoftware ‘code’generatesa trade-off insoftwareacquisitionstrategiesbetweentheincreasedutilitytotheparticularuserandhighercostofsolutionscustombuiltaroundtheirparticularrequirementsandcheapergenericsolutionswhichmaymatchtheirrequirementslessexactly(Bradyetal.1992;Finchametal.1994).Weseeincreasingresorttocommercialoff-the-shelf (COTS)softwaresolutions(Pollocketal.2003).Suppliersmayseektoadaptapplicationsdevelopedinonecontexttosellthemonasnicheorgenericsolutions,securingadditionalreturnsontheirdevelopmenteffort.Usersmaychoosetoadapttotheconstraintsofcheaperpackagedsoftwareforavarietyof reasons.12Thustherapidspreadof packagedsoftwareandtoolsremindsusthatthepossibleprice(perunitfunctionality)advantagesofmass-producedstandardsolutionsmayoutweighthecoststoparticularusersofadaptingsystemsoradaptingtheiractivitiestosystemconstraintsandaffordances.Theattractivenessofstandardizedofferingsisfurtherincreasedbythepossibilityofcombiningthemwithcustomizedelementsintoconfigurationaltechnologysolutions.Thisisfurtherassistedbyconsciousattemptstodesignsuchcomponenttechnologiestobereadilylinkedtogetherandcustomized.

DesignasahypothesisabouttheuserThisperspectiveinvolvesashiftawayfromtheideaofthesuppliedartefactasafinishedsolutionforparticularusers.Instead,wetookthebroadviewthatartefactualdesignembodiessomethingofahypothesisabouttheuser(Lobet-MarisandvanBastelaer1999).Inthissense,digitalexperimentsandtrialscanbeseenasprovidinganopportunitytotestthesehypotheses.However,theSLIMinvestigationshaveshown,acrossarangeofcasestudies,thatinthedesignanddevelopmentprocessformultimediaproductsandservices,thesehypothesesabouttheuseranduseoftenremainimplicitandunderspecified.Thepresumptionsmadeabouttheusertypicallyremainlargelyunstatedandareoftenpoorlyelaborated.Thesepresumptionsarethentested–forexample,undersimulatedoractualconditionsofuse.Wereturntothisinthefollowingsectionwhendiscussinghowaneffectiverepresentationoftheuserisachieved.

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Representation of the user – revisitedOurcritiqueof themaintraditionof analysisof designhighlightedthedifficultiesingeneratinganadequatemodel,or‘representation’(Vedel1994),oftheuseranduserrequirements.Despitethis,itremainsthecasethatdevelopment/designneedstoprefigureanumberofelementsaboutthecontext,purposesandactivitiesoftheuser.Howeveraricherunderstandingoftherepresentationprocessisperhapscalledfor.

Representationrelatestoanumberofdifferentelements.Forexample,Nicoll’s (2000) ‘contextualusability’modelconceives theusabilityoftechnologyasacomplexof interdependentelementswithinaparticularcontext,includingusefulness,(thedevelopmentof)usagepatterns,andtheparticularsocialandcognitiveexigenciesofsituateduse.Followingonfromthiswesuggestthatrepresentationencompasses:thetechnicalconfigurationofthesystem,content,usage,usesand‘rules’(formalandinformal)aboutproperusage/users.

Inprinciple,thehypothesesembodiedinthedesign/representationareattemptstoprefiguretheseverydimensionsof theeventualuseof theartefact.However,itisdifficult,indeedimpossibletoprefigurethesereliably–hencetheimportanceofsociallearning,bothintestingandrefiningthedesignhypotheseswhetherthrough‘synthetic’sociallearningprocessesinthecourseofdevelopment,orbysecuringfeedbackfromactualsociallearningprocessesintheappropriationofartefactsinreal-lifecontextstofuturetechnologydesign/representation(Akrich1995).

Thereare, then,anumberof waysbywhichdesignersmayseekto‘configuretheuser’(intheWoolgariansense–comprisingattemptsbothtoprefigure/incorporatetheuserinthedesignoftheartefactsandtoalignactualuserstothatview).Vedel(1994)identifiesarangeofmechanismsthroughwhichdevelopers seek toconfigure theuser– including, forexample,advertisements,directionsforuseandtechnicalguides–aswellastechnicaldesign.VanLieshout(1999)takesthisfurtherto includerepresentationsof thecontextforoperatingthetechnology.Developingtheseideas,Lobet-MarisandvanBastelaer(1999)identifythedifferentelementsoftheartefactsthroughwhichtheusermaybeconfigured(inthedesignof‘DigitalCities’):

1. theinterface,andinparticular,thewayinformationispresentedintheinterface(forexample,themetaphorsthatareusedwill‘configure’theuserandinduceaspecificusage);

2. thelanguageandterminologyusedintheinterface;3. servicesoffered–thetypesofinformation;4. rulesallowingorforbiddingparticularbehaviours;

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5. accesspossibilities–forexample,whereequipmentisaccessible,openinghoursandsoonimplydifferenttypesofuser;and

6. training.

However,designisnotaone-off act,butispartof aniterativeseriesof activities, informed by earlier design practice and feedback fromtheappropriationanduseof othersystems(earliertechnologiesinthisapplicationdomain;similartechnologiesinrelateddomains).Figure10.1showsschematicallythevariousmomentsinvolvedinaparticularcycleofdevelopment,andtherelationshipsbetweenthem.Itshowstheiterationbetweenthearticulationof representationsof user/useattheoutsetof,theirmaterializationinparticulardesigns/configurationsandfinallytestingtheimplementeddesignhypothesesthroughprocessesofinnofusionanddomesticationinparticularcontextsofusefollowedpotentiallybyfeedbacktofuturetechnologysupply/design.

Source: Williamsetal.(2005).

Figure10.1 Schematicdiagramofuserrepresentationandappropriation

Followingonfromthisweaskwhatintellectualresourcesdodesignersanddevelopershaveforbuildingarepresentationof thepotentialuser?Figure10.2showssomeof thesourcesof ideasandinformationthatdesigners/developersmaydeploy.

Howcroft and Trauth – Fig 10.1

Design/ configurationTechnical configurationContent,Usage,Uses,Rules

RepresentationTechnical configurationContent,Usage,Uses,Rules

RepresentationTechnical configurationContent,Usage,Uses,Rules

Testing:Implementeddesignhypothesis

Materialization:Implementingrepresentation/in design/configuration

Feedback tofuture design/technologysupply

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Source: Williamsetal.(2005).

Figure10.2 Resourcesforbuildingrepresentationsoftheuser

Thefigureillustratesanumberof points.First,inacontextinwhichinformationaboutpotentialusersistypicallyincompleteorofuncertainreliability,playersmaybeobligedto‘knittogether’differentkindsofknowledgefromdiversesourceswithdifferentevidentialstatusandwithdifferentdegreesofgearingto‘actual’users.

Second,theremayberelativelylittleempiricallygroundedinformationaboutexistingusers.Manystudieshavedrawnattentiontothecrudeandlimitedwaysinwhichtechnologysuppliershavesoughttounderstandtherequirementsofpotentialusers(Cawsonetal.1995).Therehave,ofcourse,beenimportantimprovementsoverthelastdecadeinthetechniquesbywhichfirmsgaindirectinformationaboutusers(forexample,throughmarket surveys, consumer testingof prototypesbypanelsof ‘proxy’usersandfeedbackfrom‘real’usersofearlyversionsoftheproduct;seeAkrich1995),althoughthesekindsofexerciseareexpensiveandmaynotbeseenasjustified,particularlyinrelationtosmaller-scaledevelopment.Intheabsenceofdirectknowledgeofusers,theremayberesorttomoreorlesswell-justifiedindirectconstructionsof theuser–forexample,byextrapolatingfromsimilartechnologyapplications.Constructionsoftheuser,createdby‘experts’(forexample,engineersorintermediaries)may,forexample,bederivedfromtheirownpersonalexperienceandculture(Nicoll2000)ormaybemorefirmlyrootedinexperiencesinthisorotherproductmarkets.Expertconstructionsmaybeinformednotonlybyrigorousevidenceandpertinentexperiencebutalsobyvisionsoftechnologyandnarratives(myths?),includinganecdotesorstereotypesabouttheuserwhich

Howcroft and Trauth – Fig 10.2

Directinvolvementof user

Indirectevidenceabout users

Little market informationon existing usersDemand/market forother productsCompetitors

User panelsMarket researchTrialsInnofusion

Constructions of the userVisions of technologyFictions/myths? about the userExpert proxies e.g. experience ofengineers/intermediaries

Representationof user

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mayturnouttobemoreorlessclosetoactualusersandtheirbehaviours.Developersdonotworkinavacuum–butmaybeinfluencedherebypopularopinion,mediaviewsandinparticularbythebehaviourofpeersandcompetitors–whichmaybereflectedinclusteringofsupplierofferingsorthemutualreinforcementofsuppliervisionsandpresumptions.Thesekindsof alignmentof expertviews,andconsequentmission-blindness,havebeenidentifiedastherootofanumberofhigh-profileandexpensivefailuresofICTsystems(Collingridge1992).

Thepotentialweaknessesof thelatterformsof evidenceareclear–informedastheyareby‘implicit’presumptionsandknowledgeofuncertainevidentialstatusratherthanthesystematicapplicationofexplicitverifiabletechniques(Akrich1995).However, itwouldbemisleadingtoseetheapplicationofformaltechniquesasobviatingtheuncertaintiessurroundingusersandtheirrequirements.Wewouldliketocarrythisargumentfurther.Ourthirdpointisthatalltheformsofinformationaboutfutureuserscarrytheirownuncertaintiesanddifficulties.Forexample,themostsystematicempiricalinformationavailableaboutuserchoicesandpreferences(asrevealed,forexample,inaggregateformthroughmarketbehaviour)islikelytoexistonlyinrelationtoestablishedproducts(eventhen,userpreferencesmaychangeovertimeassomeelementsbecomeseenasessentialfeaturesinaparticularproductmarket(forexample,inthewaythateverymobilephonesoldtodayincludestherelativelyrecentSMS(ShortMessagingService)innovation).Incontrast,whereproductsarechanging,expertviewsareliabletoberootedinpriorexperiencesinotherrelatedmarkets.Thequestionarisesastohowfaronecanextrapolatefromsuchinformation.Theproblemperceivedinrelationto‘radicalinnovations’isthatknowledgeabouttheusersandusesofexistingapplicationsmaynotprovideareliableguidetothenovelapplication.Thereisinevitablyametaphoricalleap.

Empiricallygroundedinformationaboutusersof anewproductmaybesoughtthroughavarietyofmethods:thedirectinvolvementofproxyusersinpanels;marketresearchsurveys;andtrials(ibid.).However,variousdifficultiesariseregardingtheinterpretationof suchdirectinformationaboutpotential(andultimateactual)users.Forexample,userpanelsneedtobeintroducedtonewtechnologiesandgivensometrainingintheiruse–however,theirselectionandtrainingmeanthattheyareinsomewaysnolongerindependentandrepresentativeofwiderpublics.Sørensen(1996,section2.3)describesthisas‘simulatedsociallearning’,involvingasitdoes‘peoplethataresupposedtoactasif theywereusers,butunderartificial,laboratory-likecircumstances’.Initiativesfor‘userinvolvement’inthedesign/useofprototypesraisedsimilarproblemsaboutrepresentativeness.Since,inmostorganizationalsettings,notallcurrentuserscanbeinvolved,userinvolvement(directlyindesignorinpanelsandtrials)isinevitably

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basedonanincompletesampleofexistingusers(letalonefuture,asyetunknown,users),whichthrowsupasetoffurtheruncertaintiesandchoices.Howshouldappropriate‘proxyusers’beselected?Istheirbehaviourinthelaboratoryagoodbasisforunderstandingbehaviourineverydaylife?Wouldtheirresponsesprovideasecurefoundationforanticipatingthelargercohortof‘real’usersthatthesupplierwantedtoattract?Forexample,weknowthatmanyinitialusersofatechnologymaybe‘enthusiasts’who,intheirskillsandinterestinatechnicalfield,maydiffersubstantiallyfromlateradoptersintermsoftheirexpectationsandrequirements(Rogers1983;Norman1988).Thismaybeoneofthereasonsleadingtothedevelopmentof baroquetechnologies(forexample,thevideomachineormicrowaveoven)withfeaturesthatmostuserscannotfullyutilize.

Manyoftheseconsiderationstendedtomandateinfavouroflivedigitalexperimentsand trials–whichwouldallowexperimentationaroundtheacceptanceandutilityof aproductinrelativelynaturalisticsettings(Nicoll2000).

TheproliferationofdigitalexperimentsandtrialsoverthelastdecadeunderpinthepotentialimportanceofsociallearningintheinnofusionanddomesticationofICTapplications–inthatitcanproviderichsourcesofmoredirectandreliableinformationabout‘actual’userresponsestosupplierofferings(thoughissuesariseabouthowsuchappropriationexperiencescanbefedbacktogeneratemorerobustuserrepresentationsforfuturedesign).

Itremainsthecasethatitisnotpossibletoproducethroughexperimentsandtrialsafullycomprehensiveandwhollyrepresentativeaccountoftheuser’sreactions(justasweobservedinrelationtorequirementscapture).Theknowledgebaseis,of necessity,incompleteandpotentiallyopentochallenge.Itis,inconsequence,necessarytoexercisejudgementinacontextofuncertainty.

Reconceptualizing the design processThegoalofthischapterisamoreadequateandintricateunderstandingofdesign,itsvarious‘audiences’andhowtheyareincorporatedinthedesignprocessanditsoutcomes.Theanalysiswehavepresentedcallsforsomerethinkingofcertaincommonpresumptionsaboutdesign.Forastart,weargueforabroadunderstandingofdesign,asinvolvingarangeofdecisionsaboutsystemdesign,developmentanddeployment.Inparallelwiththiswemoveawayfromaconceptionofdesignasanindividualcognitiveprocess,embodiedinaparticulardesigner,toseeingitasanegotiationprocess;acollectiveendeavourinvolvingmanyplayers,including,forexample,projectmanagersaswellasjustdesignspecialists.Designis,touseJohnLaw’s(1988)term,‘heterogeneous’.Thirdwestressthatdesignhasanumberof

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audiencesaswellastheprojectedfinalusersandtheorganizationaluserwhomayhavecommissionedthedesign.Thismayinclude,forexample,developers/designersofcomplementaryproductsaswellasmanagerslinkedtotheparticulardevelopmentproject,standardsettersandotherswhomayactasgatekeepersorproxiesforultimatepotentialusers.MacKayetal.(2000)makeasimilarpointwhenarguingthatthedesigneris‘configured’bythecontextofdesign.

DesignasaconfigurationprocessWewouldalsomakeaslightlydifferentpoint,derivingfromouranalysisof configurationaltechnology(seeabove),thatdesignisaconstrainedconfigurationprocess.Thiscontrastswiththeheroicaccountofdesignbyseeingtheprocessofdesignnotasanopensearch,13butasconstrained,enabledandchannelledbyitsinsertioninabroadersettingandhistoryofpriordesignchoices.Animportantfeatureofmanysystemdesignprocessesisthusthecreativeselectionandconfigurationtogetherofaselectionofalreadyexistingbundlesofknowledge,practices,artefacts,aswellasnovelelements.Designinthiscontextisrevealedasaprocessofconfiguration:inthesenseof anartfulselectionandcombinationof diversefixedandmalleableelementsbutoperatinglargelywithinexistingrepertoires(whichWhipp1985describedasstructuralrepertoiresof establishedproblemdiagnosesanddesignedsolutions).

Ouruseoftheterm‘configuration’drawsattentiontotheapplicationof relativelyrestrictedsetsof rulesforreconfiguring(thatis,selecting,reworking,adaptingandcombining)existingknowledgeandpractices.14Designmay‘configure’theuser(Woolgar1991)butitisalsoconditionedbyitscontextandhistory.

‘Designasaccountability’Thedesignfallacyandideasofparticipatoryandethnographicallyinformeddesigncanbeseenaslinkedtothemoregeneralidea,whichwecanfindacrossarangeofsociallyorientedcomputercontributions,that‘good’computersystemdesignwouldbeadesignprocessthatissubjecttotherequirementsofthesediverseusergroups.Indeedarathersimilarconceptionunderpinsmoreformalizedstructuredsystemsdesignmethodologies.Wehavedescribedthisasamodelof‘designasaccountability’,inwhichtherequirementsofallstakeholdersaretoberepresentedandseentoberepresentedintheeventualdesign.Thedesigner’sroleisthustoreceivethisspecificationandtoembeditauthenticallyandreliablyintheeventualdesignedsystem.However,thisrepresentsaratherrestricted,bureaucraticanduncreativeviewoftheroleofthedesignerandthecharacterofdesignwork.

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‘Designascreativity’Althoughdesignersmayseeadvantageinpresentingtheirroleinthisneutraltechnicalmanner,designisof necessitymorethansimplytheinductionfromarticulateduserrequirements.Forexample,designersinevitablyplayanactiveroleinestablishingwhichrequirementsareprioritizedinacontextofpotentiallyconflictingrequirementsofcompetingdemandsonlimitedresources.Ourcritiqueoftheconceptualizationofcomputer-systemsdesignintermsoftheaccountabilitymodelsuggestsanalternativemodelofdesignasacreativeprocess,andonethatvalorizesauthorship.Inthismodethedesignerisgivenleavetoconstructnewconceptsofuse–toreconstructtheuserandtransformexistinggenresofuse(albeitwithintheboundsofwhatparticularuserscanbeconvincedisacceptable/attractive,basedonwhateverevidencemaybedeployedregardinguserpreferences).Thisisparticularlyevidentwhenweconsiderthedesignofnovelapplications(especiallyformass-marketproducts)wheretherearenoexistingusers.

Whenactualdesignsettingsarestudied(forexample, intheSLIMcasestudies),theprimarydesigngoalsandpurposesof aprojectwerenottypicallyinducedfromuserresponses,butwereinsteadinvokedintheoriginalconceptionof theproject.Thecasesvariedintheemphasisgiventouserobjectivesanduses;insome,therewererelativelyclearsetsofparametersemergingfromconsiderationofuserrequirements,whileinothers,thetechnicalpotential(anditsimputedself-evidentadvantages)weremorecentral.

WecanexplorethisbyexaminingtheanalysesthathavebeenadvancedofthedevelopmentofaclassofcommunityinformationsystemsknownasDigitalCities.AmsterdamDigitalCity(DDS),theforerunnerofmanyEuropeaninitiatives,wasstudiedbothbyLobet-MarisandvanBastelaer(1999),fortheSLIMstudyandsubsequentlybyOudshoornetal.(2004)foranotherEuropeanCommissionproject–SIGIS.15Lobet-MarisandvanBastelaerarguethatfailureinsomeDigitalCityprojectstofocusuponspecificusergroupsresultedintechnicalcriteriaprevailingoverdesigndecisions.16Rommes(2002)andOudshoornetal.takethispointfurther,arguinginDDSthatwhereinterfacesaredesignedfor‘everybody’,insteadofwithaspecificusergroupinmind,thetacitdefaultuserwillcontinuetobethe‘typicalInternet-user’(thehighlyeducated,whiteyoungmalewithextensivecomputerexperience).

Incontrast,itseemsthatthosedesigncasesinwhichaclearanddeterminedattemptwasmadetotransformexistinggenderedpresumptions,designersfoundithelpfultoconjureupstereotypicalrepresentationsofusers–notwithanyimplicationthatthesewereactualrepresentationsofparticulargroupsofactors,butasself-consciouslystylizedarchetypes–astoolsforrethinkingdesignpresumptions.

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ConclusionThisbrief reviewhassoughttolayoutamorecomprehensiveandmorerealistic17viewoftheprocessofdesignbuildingoninsightsfromresearchintothesocialshapingoftechnology(particularlyinrelationtoICTs)andtheemergingsociallearningperspective.

Wehavecriticizedthe‘designfallacy’andthecommonpresumptionsof user-centreddesignandmajorcurrentswithin social shapingandconstructivistanalysesofcurrentdesign,whichseeasolutiontoshortcomingsincurrentdesignpracticesintermsof‘buildingin’toartefactualdesignan increasing body of knowledge about the requirements of diversespecificusers.

Thedesign-centredmodeliscriticizedonthegroundsof theoryandpractice:ontheonehanditprovidesasimplisticandunrealisticstereotypicalaccount of the design process; on the other, it overlooks importantopportunitiesforinterventionandimprovementindesignprocessesif adesign-implementationlife-cyclemodelisadopted.Inparticularweargueagainstthemodelofdesignasaninductiveprocessofaccumulatingevermoreinformationaboutcurrentuserrequirements.Recognitionofthecomplexityanddiversityof usersettingsdoesnotnecessarilyimplythattechnologicaldesignwillorshouldbeentirelyshapedaroundtheaccumulateddetailedneedsofparticularusers.Whendesignisviewedinitsbroadercontextofmultipleoverlappingcyclesofdesign–implementation–use,weseemanyroutesformatchingevolvingtechnicalaffordancesagainstemergingusages/userrequirementsinadditiontomerelycontributingtopriortechnologicaldesign.Thewayinwhichtechnologicaldevelopmentmaycaterfordifferentsocialpurposesandplayersisequallycomplex.Thus,inadditiontodesigningspecificrequirementsintoartefacts,theremaybeaneedto‘designout’referencestospecificusers/contextsof useinthecreationofgenericsolutions.Thisprocessofmakingaproductgenericmaywellbeattheexpenseofmeetingthespecificrequirementsandrelevancesof particularusers–indeed,thecreationof standardizedmass-marketsolutionsmayexcludemanyinfavourofthemajority(Pollocketal.2003).Insomecircumstancesthismaynotbeproblematic.Wemustbearinmindthatmanyof themostsuccessfulICTapplicationsinrecentyearshavebeenmediaandcommunicationstechnologies(e-mail,mobiletelephony,SMS,theinternetandtheworld-wide-web)whichmakefewpresumptionsaboutthekindsofactivitybeingsupported.Thisisoneofanumberofparadoxessurroundingdesignthatneedtoberesolvedinparticulardesignepisodes–betweenmakingdesignsspecificorgeneric;standardizingandprovidinguniquesolutions;prefiguringuserrequirementsandkeepingartefactdesignandusageopen;betweenmatchingcurrentpracticesandconsideringfutureextensions.

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Increasinglysophisticatedmethodsarebeingadoptedtoobtainmorerobustevidenceaboutusers’requirements–throughdirectknowledgeofspecificproxy‘users’;andthroughformsofsociallearninginmoreorlessnaturalcontextsofuse.TheimportanceofthesemorenaturalisticsitesofsociallearningisdemonstratedbytheexplosioninsocialexperimentsandtechnicaltrialsinnewICTapplications.However,designmustconfronttheinevitablemetaphoricalleapincreatingarepresentationof‘theuser’inacontextof incomplete informationaboutcurrentusersandtheirrequirements(letalonefutureuserswhodonotyetexist).

The social learning perspective being developed opens up ourunderstandingoftheinnovationprocess.Itofferssomecautiousgroundsforoptimism,inplaceof thepessimismof thedesign-centredaccount,forarangeofavenuesforimprovementinpracticeratherthanmerelyoneratherprescriptiveroute.Itdrawsattentiontothemultiplicityofsitesandspacesforintervention:

• involvingdifferentavenuesandkindsofactivity;• involving(directlyandindirectly)awiderandmorediverserangeof

actorsincludingnon-specialists;• affordingvaryingopportunitiesforinfluence,dependingonthecontext

andformoftechnology;and• requiringvariouskindsoftoolsandsupport.

This exploration has offered some important insights. However, thechallengemaybeforamoresystematicstudyof technologydesignanddevelopment(initsbroadsetting,encompassingmultiplecyclesofdesignandimplementation),whichhaspotentiallyimportantlessonsfordesignanddevelopment.

Notes 1. ThischapterisbaseduponatalkinitiallypresentedatTheEuropeanAssociationforthe

StudyofScienceandTechnology(EASST)2002(York,1August2002).AnearlierversionappearsinHaraldRohracher(ed.)(2005),UserInvolvementinInnovationProcesses:StrategiesandLimitationsfromaSocio-technicalPerspective,Munich:Profil-Verlag.

2. TheSLIMprojectwasfundedundertheTargetedSocio-EconomicResearchprogrammeoftheEuropeanCommissionFourthFrameworkProgramme(Contract4141PL951003).Somefindingsappearedearlier,notablyinvanLieshoutetal.(2001).ThemainfindingsarepublishedinWilliamsetal.(2005).WearegratefultoourEuropeancollaboratorsfortheircontributiontotheideasandmaterialonwhichthisanalysisisbased.

3. ThiswastruealsoofsomeofthemultimediasocialexperimentsexploredintheSLIMstudy,reportedhere,whichhadbroaderambitionstobeexemplarsandfulfilcertainsocialambitions.

4. Thereareobviouslimitationstotheroleofethnographyasamethodforrequirementscapture;itisanexpensiveandslowmethodfordatacapture.Effectiverequirementscaptureanddesignismuchmorethantheaccumulationofknowledgeofdiverseuserrequirements;youcouldnevercarryoutenoughethnographytocreateanall-inclusive

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accountof,forexample,alargeorganization;norcouldyousimplyinduceadesignsolutionfromsuchaknowledgebase.Effectivedesignalsorequiresgeneralization,basedonsomekindof accommodation,satisficingandprioritizationbetweenthespecificrequirementsandpreferencesofmultipleindividualsandgroups.Theundoubtedstrengthofethnographicmethodsisinpickingupandprovidinginsightsintotheintricacyofworkcontextsandpracticesatalevelofdetailwhichdoesspeaktodesign.However,inmostcircumstancesitsrolecanonlybeasaresourcetodeepenothermethodsofrequirementsanalysisratherthanasaprimaryrequirementscapturemethodology.

5. Mackayetal(2000:737–57note18)drawattentiontothediverseformulationsthatWoolgarhasdeployedforconfiguringwhichincludedefiningtheidentityoffutureusersandsettingconstraintsupontheirlikelyfutureactions(Woolgar1991:59note17).

6. Weusetheconceptof‘narrativebias’torefertotheshortcomingsthathavecharacterizedmuchwritinginthisdomaininwhichcertainelementsandissuesarepulledintotheforeground,andothersdownplayed,toproduceastylizedandsimplifiedstorywhichseemstoholdacertainnarrativecompulsiontothatgroup.Particular(sub)disciplinesseemtofavourparticulartypesofnarrative(forexample,thedemonizationofdesigners).Oftenthisservestoaugmenttheperceivedsocialsignificanceandcentralityofthelocalesandactorsunderstudy.

7. Inmassconsumerproducts, consumption is far removed in timeandspace fromdevelopment.ThesmallnumberofcasestudieswheredesignandimplementationarebothaddressedarealmostalwaysthoseofthedevelopmentofspecificITapplications–inwhichdesignerandorganizationalusersarepartofalinkedinstitutionalnexus(aswellasourownwork,Williamsetal.2000,2005,see,forexample,McLaughlinetal.1999;Mackayetal.2000).Followingonfromthis,manystudiesof designhavebeensnapshots,focusingupontheactivitiesofdesignersandunderplayingtheextenttowhichdesignoperatesaspartofabroaderprocessinvolvingcommercialization,implementationandapplicationandfeedbackintofuturedesign/development.

8. Weareinfluencedherebyworkfromorganizationalstudies(forexample,on‘organizationallearning’,Schon1983)andelsewherewhichhasemphasizedtheadaptiveandreflexivecapabilitiesofactors.

9. Indeed,thedevelopmentofconfigurationaltechnologiesisnowsopronouncedthatitisdifficulttofindexamplesthatcorrespondtoFleck’s(1988b)counterexampleofsystemtechnologies.

10. Thisis,ofcourse,averydifferentmodelofuserinputtodesignanddevelopmentthantheconventionalconceptofuserscontributingtothespecificationanddesignchoicesaroundspecifictechnologies(componentorwholeapplications).Itis,however,amodelinwhichtheuserisabletoexerciseconsiderableinfluenceoverthefinaldesignedsystem.

11. Whiledesignersthinkoftheuserthroughthe‘lens’ofatechnicalartefact,othersmayhavedifferentunderstandingsofthesepeople–ascustomers,clients,patients,citizens,ratepayers–notrevolvingaroundtechnologysystems.

12. Usersmayfindadditionalbenefitsfromadaptingtostandardofferings–notablyvariousnetworkexternalitybenefitsfromtheinteroperabilityof standardizedtechnologies–including,forexample,thegreateravailabilityofskillstomaintainanduseapackage.

13. AsmightbeinferredbyLatour’s(1988)portrayalof technicalspecialistsasModernPrinces(‘Sartreanengineers’)actingwithahighdegreeofautonomy.

14. DanShapiroandco-workershavedeployedLeviStrauss’sconceptofbricolagetodescribethisprocess(Büscheretal.2001).

15. ThelatterstudywasundertakenforanotherECprojectonStrategiesforInclusion,GenderandtheInformationSociety(IST200026329fundedundertheInformationSocietyTechnologiesProgramme).SIGISseekstounderstandhowdesignanddevelopmentchoicesmayexcludecertainactors(focusinginparticularonthegenderdimension)andinparticularwhatstrategiesmightpromotesocialinclusion.

16. Thisdoesnotmean,ofcourse,thattherewasnoscopeforsociallearningandexperimentationinthemoretechnicallyfocusedprojects.Forexample,theSLIMportfolioofcasesincludedanumberofprojectsthatwereprimarilyconcernedtodevelopandtestanewtechnicalinfrastructure.However,thereisasensethattechnologicalobjectiveshavetakenfirst

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place,andonlyaftertheyhavebeenrealisedhasspaceemergedforexperimentationaboutusages(forexample,intheabovecases,abouteducationalobjectives).Thepresumptionthatthetechnologywouldprovideasolutionperse,meantthatusershavehadtograpplewiththeconstraintsandaffordancesofnewtechnologiesundercircumstancesofuseandaccordingtotheparametersconfiguredindesign.However,thistestinghasrequiredtheimplementationofparticularapplicationstorunontheinfrastructureandpresumptions.Someformofuserexperimentationhasneededtotakeplaceeventhoughthishad,tosomeextent,tobe‘smuggledin’(Jaegeretal.2000).

17. Weseekarealisticunderstandinginthesenseofamoreintricateaccountandonethatpresentsamoreadequateaccountofdesign/developmentpracticethatmight,forexample,berecognizedbypractitioners.Wehavesoughttoavoidthepitfallsof‘narrativebias’

describedearlier.

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