Exploring the Embodied Experience of Walking Meetings through Bodystorming – Implications for Design

Walking meetings are a promising way to reduce unhealthy sedentary behavior at the office. Some aspects of walking meetings are however hard to assess using traditional research approaches that do not account well for the embodied experience of walking meetings. We conducted a series of 16 bodystorming sessions, featuring unusual walking meeting situations to engage participants (N=45) in a reflective experience. After each bodystorming, participants completed three tasks: a body map, an empathy map, and a rating of workload using the NASA-TLX scale. These embodied explorations provide insights on key themes related to walking meetings: material and tools, physical and mental demand, connection with the environment, social dynamics, and privacy. We discuss the role of technology and opportunities for technology-mediated walking meetings. We draw implications for the design of walking meeting technologies or services to account for embodied experiences, and the individual, social, and environmental factors at play

Ivy: Reading a critical design for sedentary behavior in the office context

In this paper, we present and discuss Ivy, a critical artifact offering a novel design perspective on interventions that aim to reduce sedentary behavior in office workers. Ivy is an interactive office chair that represents the amount of sitting time through growing ivy strands. Using the matrix of common argument types by Bardzell et al., we propose a structured "reading" of Ivy, as an example supporting reasoned and accessible conversations about criticality in design. Our reading of Ivy emphasized that its criticality emerges mainly from data physicalization as a new form of interactivity intended to trigger reflectiveness. The insights of this design study contribute towards a critical perspective on designing interventions to reduce sedentary time and spark discussion amongst designers and researchers in the field of Human-Computer Interaction. © 2020 Owner/Author

The Hubs: Design Insights for Walking Meeting Technology

As an active form of meeting, walking meetings can be beneficial for office workers who often have a sedentary work routine. Despite their substantial benefits in terms of health, social interactions, and creativity, walking meetings are not yet widely adopted. Some key barriers limiting their social acceptance and wider adoption, for instance, the difficulty to present files or take notes, might be addressed by technology. Using the Hubs - a network of stand-up meeting stations - as a design exemplar, we conducted a scenario-based survey (N = 186) to provide insights into how technological solutions can support the practice of walking meetings. Focusing on the size of the group and type of meetings, we identify scenarios of use and discuss design implications for the development of future technologies and service design components to support walking meetings. © 2021, IFIP International Federation for Information Processing

Ivy: A qualitative interface to reduce sedentary behavior in the office context

This paper describes Ivy, an office chair that represents sitting time of an office worker through growing ivy strands. The longer one sits, the more strands will grow onto the chair. By means of a qualitative interface called Ivy, we illustrate a design approach that is currently underrepresented in sedentary behavior interventions. With this approach, we counter the current trend of digitalization and quantification of health interventions. Instead of graphs and numbers, Ivy uses data physicalization as a qualitative interface that represents sitting. We describe the design, the process, and future research steps of Ivy as a critical perspective on sedentary behavior interventions. We aim to spark discussion amongst designers and researchers in the field of Human-Computer Interaction to use qualitative interfaces as a promising approach to deepen the user's relationship with the targeted behavior and enrich the ability to construct meaning from the feedback. © 2020 Owner/Author

The hub: Facilitating walking meetings through a network of interactive devices

Walking meetings are a promising means to improve healthy behavior at work. By providing a physically active way of working, walking meetings can reduce our sitting time. Several obstacles that limit the social acceptance and wider adoption of walking meeting practice have been highlighted in previous research. Amongst these, the difficulty to take notes or present files is a recurring concern for office workers. To address these barriers, we designed the Hub, a network of stand-up meeting stations that accommodate different work-related tasks during walking meetings. We report on two pilot user tests investigating users' experiences and ideas for improvement, and present future research steps. We discuss the usefulness and relevance of the Hub concept to overcome the obstacles associated with walking meetings. © 2020 Owner/Author

ROOT: a multidisciplinary approach to urban health challenges with HCI

With the rise of chronic diseases as the number one cause of death and disability among urban populations, it has become increasingly important to design for healthy environments. There is, however, a lack of interdisciplinary approaches and solutions to improve health and well-being through urban planning and design. This case study offers an HCI solution and approach to design for healthy urban structures and dynamics in existing neighborhoods. We discuss the design process and design of ROOT, an interactive lighting system that aims to stimulate walking and running through supportive, collaborative and social interaction

Let's walk and talk: A design case to integrate an active lifestyle in daily office life

Prolonged sitting time in adults has become a major societal issue with far-reaching health, economic, and social consequences. The objective of this study is to reduce sedentary behaviour in office workers by integrating physical activity with work. In this case study, we present Workwalk, a concept to encourage and facilitate office workers to have a walking meeting. This idea arose by merging a traditional health research approach with an iterative design process. With this method, it was possible to integrate behaviour change techniques effectively into an interaction design process