Coherence, Community and Strategy in HCI

1
Coherence, Community and Strategy in HCI

• Ann Blandford, David Benyon, Paul Cairns,
  Alistair Sutcliffe, Harold Thimbleby

2
HCI a healthy discipline?

• Its years since I saw many of the people in
  this room. Great to see you again!
• Yes, we are a community.
• Health having soundness and vigour

3
The origins of this panel

• Workshop in April of 20 senior members of the
  community
• Workshop in June of 30 ECRs LCRs
• Outcomes
• A website http//www.future-uk-hci.org.uk/
• Some good ideas, and points for further
  discussion
• This panel
• but no clear direction

4
Topics for today

• How does HCI relate to its neighbouring
  disciplines (or SIGs or whatever they are)?
• What matters developing theory or informing
  practice?
• How do we make multidisciplinarity work?
• What is the role of science in HCI?
• What are appropriate reviewing practices?
• In other words If we are a community, how do we
  live that out in practice?

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But first

• A view on quality in HCI
• Do you think you / your group / UK HCI
  researchers are conducting and delivering high
  quality research?
• If not, why not?
• If yes, whats the evidence?
• Shouldnt we be demonstrating to this man that we
  are conducting high quality work?

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What does that mean in practice?

• You ? your research group ? UK HCI community ?
  UK CS/Psychology/Design community ? Science
  Technology research community
• Need to be critical, but also positive.
• The Chancellor needs evidence of value.

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Seven Habits of HCI people

• Being distinctive, carving out territory.
• Not valuing or exploring common ground.
• Seeing the light.
• Emotional design, Experience, Ubicomp, Tangibles,
  branding, etc.
• Focusing on the trendy, undervaluing the
  cumulative.
• Method fixation.
• Whats the hypothesis?
• Maintaining that there are limited valid methods
  and methodologies in HCI.

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Habits (cont.)

• Valuing impact over rigour
• Face validity trumps construct validity
• Seeking quick returns
• Valuing applied research over theoretical
• Constructively highlighting areas for improvement
  in proposals
• Undervaluing the strengths
• Claiming expertise in everything
• Each of us actually has experience in certain
  domains, methods, technologies, user groups

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What are the alternatives?

• Indulge in a mass intellectual love-in?
• Go our separate ways?
• Develop clearer boundaries of what is and is not
  HCI?
• Embrace everything as HCI?
• Exploit and value multidisciplinarity?

10
Over to you

• http//www.future-uk-hci.org.uk/