Studies of Work in Human Computer Interaction

1
Chapter 13

• Studies of Work in Human Computer Interaction
• -Graham Button Xerox research Center Europe,
  Grenoble, France

2
Individual
Developments in HCI
Social Context
3

• Importance on social and cultural world rather
  than cognitive aspects (Suchmans critique)
• Emphasis on CSCW
• all action takes place within a swarm of
  sociocultural contingencies that cannot be
  covered in full, and in advance, by a plan..

4
Developments in HCI

• Collaboration in CSCW not covered by the
  cognitive approach in HCI

5
Developments in HCI

• Scandinivian Participatory Design movement
• Work-Centric approach
• Issues addressed
• The flexibility of work activities
• Idea of work as an accomplished rather than
  mechanical matter
• Workers voice heard

6
Scientific Foundations

• Theorizing work Theory (Human Behavior or
  Social Theory) that accounts for work
• Statistical approach (Positivistic rendition)
  Analyzing personal attributes (gender, age,
  class, race, religion, education etc.)
• Did not consider the context elements of work.
  What someone's days work looks like?

7
Scientific Foundations

• Ethnography
• Interactionist approach
• Using fieldwork techniques
• Situated Action
• Human actions take place in a swarm of
  contingencies
• Oriented to the context of its production
• Plans can't determine an action

8
Scientific Foundation

• Ethnomethodology (Harold Garfinkel in the 1960s)
• Ethnomethodology simply means the study of the
  ways in which people make sense of their social
  world, display this understanding to others, and
  produce the mutually shared social order in which
  they live.
• Concerns with 'social order' seen as a societal
  matter having structural properties and
  conditions
• Order is to be found at all points not just a
  societal matter
• Order is a member's accomplishment.

9
Ethnomethodology

• Studies work using two broad domains of interest
• Conversation Analysis
• Study of turn taking in conversation
• Has little to do with the idea of studying work
  as part of a methodology in HCI.
• Ethnomethodological studies of work
• Interactional whatness of work - Examines
  domains of work to understand the constitutive
  features of courses of work and how, in their
  interactions with one another, people are
  recognizably engaged in doing their work
• Work of scientists

10
Studies of work in HCI

• Critiques by Studies of Work
• Used to critique existing design methodology, the
  approach behind the design.
• Designs based on abstract and formal
  understandings of work doesn't help
• Work is a much more flexible phenomena involving
  ad hoc character of the organization of work is
  required
• Two major issues for HCI
• Systems constraining users
• People working effectively

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• Studies of Work for evaluation
• Systems are studied in context of the work
  environment
• Could be used in iterative design of systems
• Studies of work to generate system requirements
• Would help ground design requirements and
  decisions in real world of work
• Also, would stand in for actual users in the
  early stages of systems design

12
Foundational Reconceptualizations

• Technomethodology hybrid discipline coined by
  Button and Dourish (1996)
• rather than have systems design and
  ethnomethodology reach towards each other and
  meet at a design, we instead look to forge more
  foundational relationships, and then approach
  design from a new position.
• Drawing from abstraction in design and
  accountable action in ethnomethodology

13
Concerns?

• Studies of work in HCI has addressed CSCW
  adequately but does that divert the usability
  issues of single user-systems?
• Acceptability of the system- How would a system
  be made acceptable in an existing work space who
  are used to working differently?