Ontwerpen in een complexe wereld

Abstract in teks

The ethical cycle and judgment in design

This paper starts with the claim that the design analogy, i.e., the analogy between design and ethics, helps to understand and to deal with moral problems, and suggests some useful strategies for addressing moral problems. In applying the basic problem solving cycle of design to ethical decision making, we develop a model for moral problem solving. In this light we discuss two general issues in applied ethics: the role of ethical theories and the place of individual judgment versus collective deliberation. Then we will reverse the analogy, and draw lessons for the area of design

The reflective practice of design teams

The aim of our studies is to develop tools and guidelines to improve team design practice. In order to improve team designing, we have to understand it, in order to understand we must be able to analyze and describe it. To describe the nature of team designing, we developed a new description method, based on Schön's theory of reflective practice. This method was tested by applying it in the description of the activities of two design teams. The description method proves to be very useful, in that it allows a concise description of a design project in which the elements vital to the understanding of the design progress are conserved. Comparing the obtained descriptions of these two teams designing reveals different patterns of behaviour. These patterns of behaviour arouse an interest in a more detailed and in-depth analysis of team design behaviour

Can existing usability techniques prevent tomorrow’s usability problems?

Product usability is a product quality that ensures efficient and effective products which satisfy users. In spite of the many usability techniques that are available many users still experience usability problems when using electronic products. In this paper we present two studies that explore the (mis)match between the types of uncertainty addressed by existing usability techniques and the types of uncertainty in the product development process that can eventually result in usability problems. To explore this (mis)match, two studies are presented. The first study is to discover which usability techniques are used in practice to retrieve usability information to address the different types of uncertainty. The second study is a case study in product development practice which explores the types of uncertainty that causes the usability problems of a specific product. The overall contribution of this paper is that it offers greater insight into how usability techniques (do not) address uncertainty in the product development process