Introduction to Human-Computer Interaction

Learning goal: Raise students’ awareness of ethical considerations in design discovery and the process of needfinding.

Topic: Ethical issues in design discovery

Description: The lecture covers topics associated with power relations, the use of language, standpoint and inclusion as they arise in the context of design discovery.

Readings:

• Costanza-Chock, S. (2020). Design justice: Community-led practices to build the worlds we need.

Learning goal: Introduce students to the “values in design” framework and provide conceptual tools to identify values encoded in design decisions.

Topic: Values in design

Description: The lecture presents the concept of values in design. It introduced the distinction between intended and collateral values; discusses the importance of assumptions in the value encoding process; and presents three strategies to address value conflicts that arise as a result of design decisions.

Readings:

• Flanagan, M., & Nissenbaum, H. F. (2014). Values at play in digital games.

Learning goal: With this assignment, students will reflect on the group of users their project is intended to serve; their reasons for selecting these users; the notion of an “extreme user;” and the reason why their perspectives are valuable for the design process. I also asks them to reflect on what accommodations they make for their interviewees.

Content covered by p-set: The broader assignment requires students to conduct a needfinding task, by interviewing potential users for their product.

Ethics question:

• Who will you interview, why did you choose them, where and when will the interview take place, and did you offer any incentive/payment?
• What questions will you ask? Try to outline areas of inquiry you intend to probe. Make sure to plan some questions and focus on “why” and “feelings.”
• Pick at least one extreme user and be deliberate about your choice. Why is this user extreme? Why is their perspective important? Should their identity/behavior/situation affect the way the interview is conducted?
• In considering extreme users, plan for any additional preparation you may need to do, such as reading about the community they come from, preparing translators, or accounting for more time given other limitations.

Learning goal: With this assignment, students are prompted to reflect on how proposed solutions to the problems they identify may exclude members of certain communities.

Content covered by p-set: The assignment requires students to develop POVs and select three potential solutions to the problems and needs they identified through their interviews.

Ethics question:

• Which of these solutions or a combination of solutions would be best to solve the problem? Why?
• What communities that might be interested in your solution does it leave out?

Learning goal: This assignment asks students to consider what values are encoded in their product and the decisions they make in the design process; whether there are conflicting values; and how they address existing value conflicts.

Content covered by p-set: The assignment asks students to create a Concept Video of their product and a series of slides explaining various aspects of the project including market research, value proposition, product core tasks, among others.

Ethics question: Include a statement about the values embedded in the project and how you intend to encode these values.

• Are there conflicting values?
• If so, how are you addressing such conflicts?

Learning goal: This assignment asks students to consider what values are encoded in their product and the decisions they make in the design process; whether there are conflicting values; and how they address existing value conflicts.

Content covered by p-set: Students are asked to create a mid-fi prototype of the product and a series of slides with in-depth information about the product.

Ethics question:

• What values do you intend to encode in your product? (make your definition as precise as possible).
• What design features of your product (or combination thereof) express these values?
• Do you foresee any conflicts between values (either explicit or collateral) arising as a consequence of your design decisions?

Learning goal: This assignment asks students to evaluate their peers’ projects through a series of heuristics and to respond to others’ evaluations of their projects. By incorporating ethics questions to this evaluation, we prompt them to consider ethical aspects as part of a product’s design features which should be evaluated alongside other design aspects.

Content covered by p-set: This assignment asks students to evaluate their peers’ projects through a series of heuristics.

Ethics question: Two ethics-related heuristics ask students to consider how other projects may include/exclude potential users; and how their design is aligned with their values.