1. Prototyping Things: Reflecting on Unreported Objects of Design Research for IoT
- Author
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Peter Thomas, Michelle Thorne, Babitha George, Romit Raj, Jayne Wallace, Nick Taylor, Martin Skelly, Mike Shorter, Loraine Clarke, Jon Rogers, Ju, Wendy, Oehlberg, Lora, Follmer, Sean, Fox, Sarah, and Kuznets, Stacey
- Subjects
Research design ,business.industry ,Computer science ,05 social sciences ,020207 software engineering ,Context (language use) ,02 engineering and technology ,Research process ,Data science ,Stepping stone ,0202 electrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineering ,0501 psychology and cognitive sciences ,The Internet ,Narrative ,Internet of Things ,business ,Everyday life ,W200 ,050107 human factors - Abstract
Prototypes and other ‘things’ have had many uses in HCI research—to help understand a problem, as a stepping stone towards a solution, or as a final outcome of a research process. However, within the messy context of a research through design project, many of these roles do not form part of the final research narratives, restricting the ability of other researchers to learn from this practice. In this paper we revisit prototypes used in three different design research projects, conducted over a period when the Internet of Things emerged into everyday life, exploring complex hidden relationships between the internet, people and physical objects. We aim to explore the unreported roles that prototypes played in these projects, including brokering relationships with participants and deconstructing opaque technologies. We reflect on how these roles align with existing understandings of prototypes in HCI, with particular attention to how these roles can contribute to design around IoT.
- Published
- 2021