Design ethnography 2015 – how things will work

Design Ethnography 2015 How things will work in the course, schedule, readings h<p://designresearch.aalto.fi/courses/efd2015 Ethnography and design •  Ethnography is a crucial tool for be<er design, helping designers deeply connect with their audience and create more compelling soluDons. •  It asks the researcher to share first-­‐hand the environment, problems, language, rituals and social relaDons of a parDcular group or community of people. •  It requires an immersion into peoples’ lives, seeking to not only understand but also feel/
experience the world as they do. The course •  This course provides students with a basic, pracDcal introducDon to ethnography – you will learn by doing, closely observing people in natural seKngs and engaged in ordinary acDviDes. •  The main task for students is to develop a detailed understanding of the seKng, its people, and their problems, and then create a design concept that addresses those problems, involving the people as much as possible in this work. •  The outcome will be a report and presentaDon describing the research and design concept. ObjecDves •  AppreciaDng the central place of ethnography in user-­‐centred and empathic design, and in design research more generally •  Immersing yourself in a social world and learning how to get people to open up their lives to you (gaining entrée to a seKng/organisaDon, building trust, managing relaDons in the field, ethical consideraDons) •  Understanding how ethnography can support parDcipatory design •  PracDcing different observa=onal orienta=ons in ethnographic fieldwork •  Becoming skilled at ethnographic data collec=on techniques, with special emphasis on taking fieldnotes, the use of ‘informants’ (local experts, experienced pracDDoners), and field interviewing •  Gaining knowledge of data analysis techniques, focusing on remaining faithful to the natural organisaDon of the social world •  Recognising the issues involved with represen=ng ethnographic research to different kinds of audiences How things will work •  Students work in teams of 3-­‐4 persons* •  ≈40h/week with the project (including Dme in class, of course) •  Contact teaching on Tuesdays and Fridays (significant Dme on many Fridays will be devoted to tutoring, as well as on some Tuesdays) *We will present informa1on on who the teams are later today How things will work: Team work (ethnography for concept design) •  You will need to communicate ü  your ethnographic work and its relaDonship to the design process ü  Key phenomena, findings and insights ü  the concept, scenario(s) 60% of your grade How things will work: Team work (ethnography for concept design) •  You will need to communicate your ethnographic work and its relaDonship to Finalise team research plan: 24.4 the design process Preliminary r
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2.5 Key phenomena, findings and insights the concept, scenario(s) 60% of your grade How things will work: Fieldnotes •  StarDng with week 2 and conDnuing through week 7: Weekly sharing of copy of your individual raw fieldnotes (due by midnight each Saturday; expectaDon is ≈10 pages) •  StarDng with week 3 and conDnuing through week 7: Weekly sharing of your field memos (due by midnight each Saturday) •  Delivered by email to Jack Whalen (jack.whalen@aalto.fi) with cc to Yiying Wu (yiying.wu@aalto.fi) •  Please include [DE15] in your email subject line along with the date and week number 30% of your grade How things will work: Individual assignment on the readings •  Should review/reflect/criDque selecDons from the essenDal readings and consider their relaDonship to the experiences/phenomena from your the team’s project •  A minimum of 3 readings should be discussed, and at least 1 must be a book (the two essenDal books for the course are Doing design ethnography and Wri1ng ethnographic fieldnotes) 10% of your grade The field projects •  Aalto University ProperDes: Otaniemi mini-­‐mall –  There will be a ‘mini-­‐mall’ adjacent/connected to the new Aalto ARTS building and metro staDon in Otaniemi –  The problem: IdenDfy the key services/places/
funcDons within a small shopping centre like this that are likely to have a high posiDve (or high negaDve) value for the user –  Provide recommendaDons/design concepts for the mini-­‐mall based on this analysis We meet with Satu Kankaala from AUP tomorrow (Wednesday), to learn more, ask quesDons – basically, to obtain enough background informaDon to plan fieldwork. The field projects •  Validia VocaDonal College (Validia AmmaKopisto) –  EducaDonal and social services for the well-­‐being of Validia’s students –  The student populaDon at Validia includes those with physical disabiliDes and mental disabiliDes, a<enDon deficit-­‐type disorders, and learning difficulDes – each of these groups has their own disDnct needs and concerns –  The project will focus on giving voice to these aspiraDons, making the students’ own perspecDve visible h<p://www.validia-­‐ammaKopisto.fi/english/ Those students working on this project travel to Järvenpää on Thursday, to meet with school officials and obtain enough background informaDon to plan and start the fieldwork. The field projects •  Validia VocaDonal College (Validia AmmaKopisto) –  EducaDonal and social services for the well-­‐being of Validia’s students –  The student populaDon at Validia ncludes with All team members should be fliuent in tFhose innish! physical disabiliDes and mental disabiliDes, a<enDon deficit-­‐type disorders, and learning difficulDes – each of these groups has their own disDnct needs and concerns –  The project will focus on giving voice to these aspiraDons, making the students own perspecDve visible h<p://www.validia-­‐ammaKopisto.fi/english/ Schedule Schedule (cont’d) Readings Essen=al •  Crabtree, A., Rouncefield, M., & Tolmie, P.(2012). Doing design ethnography. •  Emerson, R. M., Fretz, R. I., & Shaw, L. L. (2011). Wri1ng ethnographic fieldnotes. •  Duneier, Mitchell (2000). Appendix: A statement on method. Sidewalk. •  Bu<on, G. (2000). The ethnographic tradiDon in design. Design Studies 21, 319–332. •  Dourish, P. (2006). ImplicaDons for design. Proceedings of the 2006 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Compu1ng Systems (pp. 541–550). •  Whalen, J., & Whalen, M. (2011). Integrated Customer Service: Re-­‐
invenDng a workscape. Making Work Visible: Ethnographically grounded case studies of work prac1ce. •  Wasson, C. (2000). Ethnography in the field of design. Human organiza1on, 59, 377-­‐388. Readings Op=onal •  Diggins, T., & Tolmie, P. (2003). The ‘adequate’ design of ethnographic outputs for pracDce: Some exploraDons of the characterisDcs of design resources. Personal and Ubiquitous Compu1ng, 7, 147–158. •  MarDn, D., & Sommerville, I. (2004). Pa<erns of cooperaDve interacDon: Linking ethnomethodology and design. ACM Trans. Comput.-­‐Hum. Interact., 11(1), 59-­‐89 •  Mitchell Duneier, Hakim Hasan and Ovie Carter (2000), Sidewalk. •  Pink, S. (2007). Doing visual ethnography. (Second EdiDon, Chapters 3, 4, 5) Readings Topical •  Lynch, K. (1960). The image of the city •  Shawoe, H. (2008). Convivial urban spaces: Crea1ng effec1ve public places. •  Ginsburg, F., & Rapp, R. (2013). Entangled ethnography: Imagining a future for young adults with learning disabiliDes. Social Science & Medicine, 99, 187-­‐193.