Designing Tailorable Technologies

This paper provides principles for designing tailorable technologies. Tailorable technologies are technologies that are modified by end users in the context of their use and are around us as desktop operating systems, web portals, and mobile telephones. While tailorable technologies provide end users with limitless ways to modify the technology, as designers and researchers we have little understanding of how tailorable technologies are initially designed to support that end-user modification. In this paper, we argue that tailorable technologies are a unique technology type in the same light as group support systems and emergent knowledge support systems. This unique technology type is becoming common and we are forced to reevaluate existing design theory, methods of analysis, and streams of literature. In this paper we present design principles of Gordon Pask, Christopher Alexander, Greg Gargarian, and Kim Madsen to strengthen inquiry into tailorable technologies. We then apply the principles to designing tailorable technologies in order for their design to become more coherent and tractable. We conclude that designers need to build reflective and active design environments and gradients of interactive capabilities in order for technology to be readily modified in the context of its use

Designing Tailorable Technologies

Tailorable technologies are technologies that are modified by users in the context of their use and are around us as desktop operating systems, web portals, and mobile telephones. While tailorable technologies provide users with limitless ways to modify the technology, as designers and researchers we have little understanding of how this should affect design. In this paper we present principles from four designers to strengthen inquiry into tailorable technologies. We then apply the principles to the case of the design of a web portal. We conclude that designers need to more consciously build reflective and active design environments and gradients of interactive capabilities in order for technology to be readily modified in the context of its use

Theories of ICT Design: Where Social Studies of Technology Meet the Distributed Cognitive Perspective

In this paper we examine the possibility to bridge theory of Distributed Cognition with popular theories of Social Studies of Technology (in particular, Actor-Network Theory and Social Construction of Technology). Responding to a recent call for revisiting the design metaphor, in this paper we aim to obtain more precise terminology for describing the phenomena of ICT design in theoretical terms. We argue that establishing correlations between the two bodies of literature adds new knowledge to a community of scholars caters for betterment of managerial practice in complex design tasks

Infrastructuring: Toward an Integrated Perspective on the Design and Use of Information Technology

In this contribution, we investigate how results from the ongoing discussion about e-Infrastructures can be used to improve the design of IT infrastructures in organizations. We first establish a perspective on organizational IT as work infrastructure that focuses on the infrastructural nature of organizational Information Systems and describe challenges for designing within and for this type of infrastructure. Then we elaborate on possible use of concepts from the e-infrastructure discussion, in particular on the concept of infrastructuring as it was developed by Star and Ruhleder (1996) and Star and Bowker (2002). Using their “salient characteristics of infrastructure” we describe the methodological approach of Infrastructuring to develop methodological and tool support for all stakeholders’ activities that contribute to the successful establishment of an information system usage (equivalent to a work infrastructure improvement). We illustrate our ideas by drawing on a case in which new work infrastructures are introduced into an organizational context and by mapping out existing and possible tool support for infrastructuring

The appropriation of a software ecosystem : a practice take on the usage, maintenance and modification of the eclipse IDE

This thesis was written in order to gain a deeper understanding of the appropriation of software in groups and organizations. In doing so, it focuses on software created under the modern software engineering trend software ecosystems. Software ecosystems have a major influence on software development, as they rely on massive usage of distributed software development, open source models and modularization. It is unclear if existing models to explain appropriation still hold good. Furthermore, it has to be explored whether current appropriation support is still appropriate and beneficial or if we need new ideas to help users cope with these developments. In order to achieve these objectives, this work is mainly based on an empirical field study, which investigates workgroups at seven German organizations that use the Eclipse IDE, an extremely modularized and adaptable software system, developed by a globally active ecosystem of large corporations, small businesses and even hobbyists. Using the qualitative analysis approach of the grounded theory method and appropriation as a lens for this research endeavor, observations and interviews as well as artifacts were analyzed, uncovering practices that are part of Eclipse usage and appropriation. They are identified and discussed from the backdrop of software ecosystems – viewed from a users perspective. Examples are the sheer amount of appropriation activities at the shop floor, the dilemma of software maintenance, that comes with continuously developed but sometimes unstable technology, practices as learning or tailoring, influences on practices stemming from the software ecosystem, the organization and the group. Grounded in these results, suggestions for the design of appropriation support are given and prototypically implemented, which reflect the embeddedness of individuals and groups in the software ecosystem. They provide a fresh perspective, based on peer-to-peer technology and awareness mechanisms.Diese Arbeit wurde erstellt, um ein tieferes Verständnis über die Aneignung von Software in Gruppen und Organisationen zu erlangen. Dabei fokussiert sie auf eine Software die unter den Bedingungen eines modernen Trends im Software Engineering entstanden ist: Der Software Ökosystem Bewegung. Software Ökosysteme beeinflussen die Entwicklung von moderner Software maßgeblich, da sie verstärkt auf örtlich verteilte Entwicklung, Open Source Modelle und Modularisierung setzen. Bisher ist ungeklärt, ob existierende Ansätze zum Verständnis von Aneignung unter diesen Gegebenheiten ihre Gültigkeit behalten. Weitergehend ist zu untersuchen ob existierende Maßnahmen der Aneignungsunterstützung auch in diesem Kontext angemessen und vorteilhaft wirken, oder ob neue Ansätze entwickelt werden müssen um Nutzer heute sinnvoll zu unterstützen. Um diese Ziele zu erreichen, basiert diese Arbeit hauptsächlich auf einer qualitativ-empirischen Feldstudie in Arbeitsgruppen sieben Deutscher Organisationen, die alle die Eclipse IDE einsetzen – ein extrem modularisiertes und anpassbares Software System das durch ein global agierendes Software Ökosystem aus großen Konzernen, KMU und sogar Hobbyisten hergestellt wird. Mit Hilfe des qualitativen Analyseansatzes in Form der Grounded Theory Method und Aneignung als Linse für dieses Forschungsvorhaben wurden die Daten aus Beobachtungen, Interviews und bei Arbeitsplatzbesuchen gesammelter Artefakte analysiert. Dabei wurden Praktiken die Teil der Eclipse Nutzung und Aneignung sind, erfasst näher definiert und vor dem Hintergrund von Software Ökosystemen und aus Perspektive der Nutzer diskutiert. Die Ergebnisse umfassen unter anderem eine Reihe verschiedener Aneignungsaktivitäten, das Dilemma der Wartung komplexer Software Systeme welche durch die kontinuierliche Entwicklung und teilweise instabile Komponenten entsteht, Praktiken wie Lernen oder Anpassen, sowie Einflüsse auf die Arbeitspraktiken die aus dem Software Ökosystem, der Gruppe oder der Organisation stammen. Begründet auf den Ergebnissen dieser Forschung, werden Vorschläge für das Design von Aneignungsunterstützung gegeben und prototypisch realisiert. Diese spiegeln wider wie Individuen und Gruppen in das Software Ökosystem eingebettet sind und präsentieren durch den Einsatz von Peer-to-Peer Technik und Awareness Mechanismen eine neue Perspektive auf Aneignungsunterstützung

Web-CCAT: a Collaborative Learning Environment for Geographically Distributed Information Technology Students and Working Professionals

This paper describes the underlying concepts, architecture, and design of a Web-enabled CyberCollaboratory (Web-CCAT) for geographically distributed information systems students and working professionals. The primary objectives for Web-CCAT are (1) to provide the opportunity to participate in and enjoy the benefits of cooperative learning without having to coordinate meeting times or come to campus; and (2) to provide a more technologically enriched collaborative environment than is possible in a traditional face-to-face classroom. To meet these objectives, multi-user, collaborative software tools and procedures were designed for use in the asynchronous mode of communication. Web-CCAT is implemented as a tool kit of commercially available applications coupled with software developed at the University of Illinois at Springfield. The system became operational in January 1999

Groupware design : principles, prototypes, and systems

Computers are valuable tools for a wide range of work tasks. A substantial limitation on their value, however, is the predominant focus on enhancing the work of individuals. This fails to account for the issues of collaboration that affect almost all work. Research into computer supported cooperative work (CSCW) aims to eliminate this deficiency, but the promise of computer systems for group work has not been met. This thesis presents four design principles that promote the development of successful groupware. The principles identify the particular problems encountered by groupware, and provide guidelines and strategies to avoid, overcome, or minimise their impact. Derived from several sources, the major influence on the principles development is an investigation into the relationship between factors affecting groupware failure. They are stimulated by observations of groupware use, and by design insights arising from the development of two groupware applications and their prototypes: Mona and TELEFREEK. Mona provides conversation-based email management. Several groupware applications allow similar functionality, but the design principles result in Mona using different mechanisms to achieve its user-support. TELEFREEK provides a platform for accessing computer-supported communication and collaboration facilities. It attends to the problems of initiating interaction, and supports an adaptable and extendible set of "social awareness" assistants. TELEFREEK offers a broader range of facilities than other groupware, and avoids the use of prohibitively high-bandwidth communication networks. TELEFREEK demonstrates that much can be achieved through current and widely accessible technology. Together, Mona and TELEFREEK forcefully demonstrate the use of the design principles, and substantiate the claim of their utility