Software Engineering in Developing Communities

This paper reflects on our work in deriving targeted methodologies to develop IT applications and content in a developing world environment. This paper argues that a common thread over more than a decade of experience in building Information and Communication Technology systems has been a community centred approach. We relate this to the African philosophy of ubuntu. These approaches are wrapped into an iterative Action Research paradigm to include the communities of users directly

Computer Science and Global Development

This position paper argues that we should set ourselves the Grand Challenge of creating tools that people in the developing world appropriate for their own purposes. I suggest that one such Grand Challenge is a tool that makes all telcos obsolete. Our allies in this might be the mobile handset manufacturers. I also argue for community based values and methods that em¬brace the egalitarian principles of Action Research. I point out that Monitoring and Evaluation Tools are useful as a metric for development projects but need to be adapted for ICT Design

Design Doctorate in Computing: a defence of "doing cool stuff"

This position paper argues that it is time to extend the notion of worthwhile scholarship in Computer Science to embrace Design and to award doctorates in the field of Design

Codesigning with communities to support rural water management in Uganda

The use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in developing regions has gained momentum due to their increasing affordability, particularly in rural areas where other ICT infrastructures for information management are often non-existent. Giving potential technology users, the opportunity to actively engage and contribute to the design of an artefact increases adoption and sustainable use. In this paper, we illustrate our application of community-based codesign (CBCD) that led to the development of an ICT intervention to support water management in three rural communities in Uganda. The community-based system helps water managers to track water users, payments and expenditures in a bid to improve transparency, accountability and trust. We present research learnings of the method and how engagement with rural communities can be improved through the use of intermediaries and paying more attention to community values as well as exercising ethics of reciprocity in community-based ICT initiatives

A Field Computer for Animal Trackers

The field computer system has been developed to gather complex data on animal behaviour that is observed by expert animal trackers. The system is location aware using the satellite Global Positioning System. The system has been designed to empower semi-literate trackers. User testing showed that trackers were easily able to master the interface. They benefit from greater recognition, while the wider community gains from access to the knowledge of the trackers on animal behaviour

SignSupport: A Mobile Aid for Deaf People Learning Computer Literacy Skills

This paper discusses a prototype of a learning aid on a mobile phone to support Deaf people learning computer literacy skills. The aim is to allow Deaf people to learn at their own pace which in turn reduces the dependence on a teacher to allow weaker learners be assisted. We studied the classroom dynamics and teaching methods to extract how lesson content is delivered. This helped us develop an authoring tool to structure lesson content for the prototype. A prototype has been developed using South African Sign Language videos arranged according to the structure of pre-existing lessons. The technical goal was to implement the prototype on a mobile device and tie the resulting exported lesson content from the authoring tool to a series of signed language videos and images so that a Deaf person can teach him/herself computer literacy skills. Results from the user testing found the prototype successful in allowing Deaf users to learn at their own pace thereby reducing the dependence on the teacher

Mobile Aid for Deaf People Learning Computer Literacy Skills

This paper discusses a prototype of a learning aid on a mobile phone to support Deaf people learning computer literacy skills. The aim is to allow Deaf people to learn at their own pace which in turn reduces the dependence on a teacher to allow the teacher to assist weaker learners. We studied the classroom dynamics and teaching methods to extract how lesson content is delivered. This helped us develop an authoring tool to structure lesson content for the prototype. A prototype has been developed using South African Sign Language videos arranged according to the structure of pre-existing lessons. The technical goal was to implement the prototype on a mobile device and tie the resulting exported lesson content from the authoring tool to a series of signed language videos and images so that a Deaf person can teach him/herself computer literacy skills. Qualitative preliminary results from user testing found the prototype successful in allowing Deaf users to learn at their own pace thereby reducing the dependence on the teacher

Supporting Deaf Adult Learners Training in Computer Literacy Classes

While Deaf learners are fluent in a signed language they need to know a written language when acquiring computer literacy skills. We aim to allow Deaf people learn at their own pace and in turn reduce the need to interpret written text. Classroom dynamics and teaching method were studied to extract how lessons were conducted. We then implemented our solution: an authoring tool to structure lesson content and a mobile prototype. The prototype uses South African Sign Language videos arranged according to pre-existing lessons exported by the authoring tool. Results from the user testing showed a reduction in number of representational states which instructions appear in as well as allowing Deaf learners to learn at their own pace

Community consensus: Design beyond participation

Introduction in lieu of Abstract: "Umuntu Ngumuntu Ngabantu" Zulu proverb, translated "A person is a person through other persons" Dilemmas in Participation The importance of user involvement in design activities has been widely recognized in efforts to design more usable and acceptable systems. Tools and methods used in some approaches, such as user-centered, interaction, and Participatory Design, shifted the focus to the user; nevertheless, "user involvement" remains a vague concept and a highly varied practice. Value-based approaches have heightened awareness of the need to explicitly redefine who is making the design decisions and to explicate what design processes say about users. However, to date, design discourse has merely scratched the surface in unpacking meanings about participation and the ways these meanings affect design outcomes. We rarely discuss the assumptions inherent in concepts related to being human, whether as an individual or a community member (i.e., participating with others within a community), nor do we articulate how participation and design activities together define the identity of the user/community member as "the designer from within" and "the technologist/researcher/designer" as the "designer from outside" not originating from the community in which the design takes place. In this article, we propose that grappling with meanings about participation is critical to design, and in particular, to cross-cultural design. Societies and groups based on other value systems conceptualize "participation" differently, and this understanding directly affects the intercultural design process. Thus, we explore the concept of participation in design from a different viewpoint. We draw on an African philosophy of humanness---"Ubuntu," as lived through African rural community practices---to re-frame Participatory Design paradigms and methods. We reflect on our own Participatory Design interventions in Southern African communities as we explore the theoretical grounds to draw methodological conclusions for design. We then propose guidelines that might enable technologists/researchers to respond more effectively in developing contextually appropriate and consensual methods in design with communities