Different frameworks in technological design

Different frameworks in technological design

Social computing design is moving from emphasizing a physical interactive and sharing space to a place which activities take place and also consider social understandings within it. Since a place is shaped by social meanings which created by a group of people, the place cannot be designed, but it can only be designed for. (p.91) Therefore, Fitzpartrick's locale framework is developed and it has a root in Strauss's theory of action. I'd like to think of this framework as a set of guidelines used in conducting analysis and system design. In the past, designers developed system based upon user’s needs by using role model and task model analysis. However, it often missed to consider what those action or activity means to them.

Here is a good example. I am working on a reporting system revision and conducting some usability test & interviews for the current version that they have been used for three years. There are some interesting discoveries during the interviews. The most significant one is if the system doesn’t "mean" anything to the users, they are not going to use it. For example, the system shows "problem resolved" on the screen to indicate the problem resolved status. Regardless whether or not the problem has been actually resolved, the status label "problem resolved" means nothing to the problem reporter. From the interviews, the problem reporters explicitly tell me they want to know HOW the problem is resolved. Otherwise, it’s a lot easier to just walk there and ask them for the information they want to know than use the system. How to design a system to support the dynamic process and fit into their working situation is a big challenge. The locale framework provides a different but very useful perspective to look at computer system design.