From Pragmatism to Interaction Design

Anders I. Mørch
2009 International Journal of Sociotechnology and Knowledge Development (IJSKD)  
This paper presents a 'translational' approach to theory-based design cast within a socio-technical framework. The starting point is theory-based design in HCI and CSCW and sociotechnical systems (STS). Key works in theory-based design is presented and analyzed to identify strengths and limitations of this approach. STS is interpreted to mean the integration of social and technical components by the application of social science theories to interaction design. The motivation for this and a
more » ... for integration have been found in architecture. The notion of 'externalized design' of buildings is adopted as a model for how to incorporate external (non computational) objects in user interfaces. The framework is applied to the retrospective analysis of an interactive system the author has been involved in designing (Janus). The system was stimulated by the ideas of Pragmatism (reflection-in-action). A three-staged process provides gradual steps for translating reflection-in-action into a concrete interaction design: selection, appropriation, and translation. The paper ends by discussing strengths and limitations of the translational approach, and points out some directions for further work.
doi:10.4018/jskd.2009040102 fatcat:j6zr2hcr6zbt3hips2lzvu4fuy