2024
Gray, Colin M; Toombs, Austin L
Themes, Lenses, and Materials: Three Perspectives on HCI Program Development Proceedings Article
In: EduCHI 2024: 6th Annual Symposium on HCI Education, 2024.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Design Education, Design Knowledge, Design Methods, HCI Education, Transdisciplinarity, Transdisciplinary Education, UX Knowledge
@inproceedings{Gray2024-lq,
title = {Themes, Lenses, and Materials: Three Perspectives on HCI Program Development},
author = {Colin M Gray and Austin L Toombs},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/3658619.3658622
https://colingray.me/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/2024_GrayToombs_EduCHI_ThemesLensesMaterials.pdf},
doi = {10.1145/3658619.3658622},
year = {2024},
date = {2024-06-01},
urldate = {2024-06-01},
booktitle = {EduCHI 2024: 6th Annual Symposium on HCI Education},
series = {EduCHI '24},
abstract = {As an inter-discipline or trans-discipline, HCI includes or
references many different sources of knowledge in which students
are expected to be conversant. The education of HCI
practitioners requires exposure to an increasingly large number
of these perspectives. However, how should this exposure be
structured, with what level of depth, and through what
metaphors? In this unsolved challenge, we outline the complex
range of perspectives required and the limitations of typical
curriculum and program design techniques. We then illustrate how
HCI educators might use three different perspectives to consider
and communicate program complexity to students: 1) content
themes; 2) transdisciplinary lenses; and 3) design materials. We
conclude with opportunities for HCI educators to leverage these
insights to build courses, projects, and other program
structures.},
keywords = {Design Education, Design Knowledge, Design Methods, HCI Education, Transdisciplinarity, Transdisciplinary Education, UX Knowledge},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {inproceedings}
}
As an inter-discipline or trans-discipline, HCI includes or
references many different sources of knowledge in which students
are expected to be conversant. The education of HCI
practitioners requires exposure to an increasingly large number
of these perspectives. However, how should this exposure be
structured, with what level of depth, and through what
metaphors? In this unsolved challenge, we outline the complex
range of perspectives required and the limitations of typical
curriculum and program design techniques. We then illustrate how
HCI educators might use three different perspectives to consider
and communicate program complexity to students: 1) content
themes; 2) transdisciplinary lenses; and 3) design materials. We
conclude with opportunities for HCI educators to leverage these
insights to build courses, projects, and other program
structures.
references many different sources of knowledge in which students
are expected to be conversant. The education of HCI
practitioners requires exposure to an increasingly large number
of these perspectives. However, how should this exposure be
structured, with what level of depth, and through what
metaphors? In this unsolved challenge, we outline the complex
range of perspectives required and the limitations of typical
curriculum and program design techniques. We then illustrate how
HCI educators might use three different perspectives to consider
and communicate program complexity to students: 1) content
themes; 2) transdisciplinary lenses; and 3) design materials. We
conclude with opportunities for HCI educators to leverage these
insights to build courses, projects, and other program
structures.
2023
Gray, Colin M; Exter, Marisa E
A Design Sprint Towards a Four-Year Curriculum in Transdisciplinary Studies Journal Article
In: International Journal of Designs for Learning, vol. 14, no. 1, pp. 70–87, 2023.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Design Case, Design Education, Instructional Design, Learning Experience (LX) Design, Transdisciplinarity, UX Knowledge
@article{Gray2023-ns,
title = {A Design Sprint Towards a Four-Year Curriculum in Transdisciplinary Studies},
author = {Colin M Gray and Marisa E Exter},
url = {https://doi.org/10.14434/ijdl.v14i1.35194
https://colingray.me/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/2023_GrayExter_IJDL_DesignSprintTransdisciplinary.pdf},
doi = {10.14434/ijdl.v14i1.35194},
year = {2023},
date = {2023-01-01},
urldate = {2023-01-01},
journal = {International Journal of Designs for Learning},
volume = {14},
number = {1},
pages = {70--87},
abstract = {In this design case, we describe our design process that resulted
in recommendations for a four-year undergraduate curriculum in
transdisciplinary studies. The case is centered on a fast-paced,
two-week design ``sprint'' undertaken by the two authors, which
involved consolidating and synthesizing program evaluation data
and course designs from the three previous years of a novel
undergraduate transdisciplinary degree program, creating design
blueprints that outlined program-level objectives, and
identifying recommendations for future course-level design. In
the process of completing these hand-off materials for the
incoming team of instruc- tors, we had to work through
substantial ambiguity, balanc- ing the needs of identified
learner personas, the capabilities of existing instructional team
members, and the end goal of producing students that had a
flexible, personal transdis- ciplinary identity. This case
describes the design activities we used, the instances of failure
that precipitated our design sprint, the instructional and
institutional constraints we faced, the blueprints for future
instructional design we created on the course and program level,
and the ultimate failure of the degree program we sought to
support.},
keywords = {Design Case, Design Education, Instructional Design, Learning Experience (LX) Design, Transdisciplinarity, UX Knowledge},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
In this design case, we describe our design process that resulted
in recommendations for a four-year undergraduate curriculum in
transdisciplinary studies. The case is centered on a fast-paced,
two-week design ``sprint'' undertaken by the two authors, which
involved consolidating and synthesizing program evaluation data
and course designs from the three previous years of a novel
undergraduate transdisciplinary degree program, creating design
blueprints that outlined program-level objectives, and
identifying recommendations for future course-level design. In
the process of completing these hand-off materials for the
incoming team of instruc- tors, we had to work through
substantial ambiguity, balanc- ing the needs of identified
learner personas, the capabilities of existing instructional team
members, and the end goal of producing students that had a
flexible, personal transdis- ciplinary identity. This case
describes the design activities we used, the instances of failure
that precipitated our design sprint, the instructional and
institutional constraints we faced, the blueprints for future
instructional design we created on the course and program level,
and the ultimate failure of the degree program we sought to
support.
in recommendations for a four-year undergraduate curriculum in
transdisciplinary studies. The case is centered on a fast-paced,
two-week design ``sprint'' undertaken by the two authors, which
involved consolidating and synthesizing program evaluation data
and course designs from the three previous years of a novel
undergraduate transdisciplinary degree program, creating design
blueprints that outlined program-level objectives, and
identifying recommendations for future course-level design. In
the process of completing these hand-off materials for the
incoming team of instruc- tors, we had to work through
substantial ambiguity, balanc- ing the needs of identified
learner personas, the capabilities of existing instructional team
members, and the end goal of producing students that had a
flexible, personal transdis- ciplinary identity. This case
describes the design activities we used, the instances of failure
that precipitated our design sprint, the instructional and
institutional constraints we faced, the blueprints for future
instructional design we created on the course and program level,
and the ultimate failure of the degree program we sought to
support.
2022
Gray, Colin M; Liu, Wei; Xin, Xin; Chin, Daniel; Marks, Jacqueline; Bunting, Sadie; Anglin, Jerry; Hutzel, Becky; Kokate, Samruddhi; Yang, Yushu
Defamiliarization and Intercultural Learning in Cross-Cultural HCI Education Proceedings Article
In: EduCHI'22: 4th Annual Symposium on HCI Education, 2022.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Cross-Cultural Education, Design Education, Design Knowledge, Design Methods, Design Theory, HCI Education, UX Knowledge
@inproceedings{Gray2022-es,
title = {Defamiliarization and Intercultural Learning in Cross-Cultural HCI Education},
author = {Colin M Gray and Wei Liu and Xin Xin and Daniel Chin and Jacqueline Marks and Sadie Bunting and Jerry Anglin and Becky Hutzel and Samruddhi Kokate and Yushu Yang},
url = {https://colingray.me/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/2022_Grayetal_EduCHI_DefamiliarizationInterculturalLearning.pdf},
year = {2022},
date = {2022-04-01},
urldate = {2022-04-01},
booktitle = {EduCHI'22: 4th Annual Symposium on HCI Education},
abstract = {HCI and UX work is increasingly global, and students have the
potential to benefit from building their globalization
competence. However, little research has described the unique
opportunities and challenges of intercultural project work in
the context of HCI education, including the ways in which design
knowledge is leveraged in a cross-cultural setting. In this
research paper, we describe the experiences of a Collaborative
Online International Learning (COIL) project team with
participants from China and the United States as they worked to
identify design opportunities to create ``charmful''
semi-autonomous driving experiences for the Chinese market.
Through our analysis of focus groups, synchronous group
meetings, and artifacts created over one academic semester, we
describe how students engaged design knowledge through the lens
of culture and identify strategies that the teams used to
constructively defamiliarize their understanding of the design
context and potential outcomes. We conclude with opportunities
and challenges in coordinating cross-cultural design work and
describe new ways in which defamiliarization might be a
productive lens to acknowledge and build upon cultural
knowledge.},
keywords = {Cross-Cultural Education, Design Education, Design Knowledge, Design Methods, Design Theory, HCI Education, UX Knowledge},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {inproceedings}
}
HCI and UX work is increasingly global, and students have the
potential to benefit from building their globalization
competence. However, little research has described the unique
opportunities and challenges of intercultural project work in
the context of HCI education, including the ways in which design
knowledge is leveraged in a cross-cultural setting. In this
research paper, we describe the experiences of a Collaborative
Online International Learning (COIL) project team with
participants from China and the United States as they worked to
identify design opportunities to create ``charmful''
semi-autonomous driving experiences for the Chinese market.
Through our analysis of focus groups, synchronous group
meetings, and artifacts created over one academic semester, we
describe how students engaged design knowledge through the lens
of culture and identify strategies that the teams used to
constructively defamiliarize their understanding of the design
context and potential outcomes. We conclude with opportunities
and challenges in coordinating cross-cultural design work and
describe new ways in which defamiliarization might be a
productive lens to acknowledge and build upon cultural
knowledge.
potential to benefit from building their globalization
competence. However, little research has described the unique
opportunities and challenges of intercultural project work in
the context of HCI education, including the ways in which design
knowledge is leveraged in a cross-cultural setting. In this
research paper, we describe the experiences of a Collaborative
Online International Learning (COIL) project team with
participants from China and the United States as they worked to
identify design opportunities to create ``charmful''
semi-autonomous driving experiences for the Chinese market.
Through our analysis of focus groups, synchronous group
meetings, and artifacts created over one academic semester, we
describe how students engaged design knowledge through the lens
of culture and identify strategies that the teams used to
constructively defamiliarize their understanding of the design
context and potential outcomes. We conclude with opportunities
and challenges in coordinating cross-cultural design work and
describe new ways in which defamiliarization might be a
productive lens to acknowledge and build upon cultural
knowledge.
Pivonka, Anne; Makary, Laura; Gray, Colin M
Organizing Metaphors for Design Methods in Intermediate HCI Education Proceedings Article
In: EduCHI'22: 4th Annual Symposium on HCI Education, 2022.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Design Education, Design Knowledge, Design Methods, HCI Education, Studio Pedagogy, UX Knowledge
@inproceedings{Pivonka2022-nm,
title = {Organizing Metaphors for Design Methods in Intermediate HCI Education},
author = {Anne Pivonka and Laura Makary and Colin M Gray},
url = {https://colingray.me/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/2022_PivonkaMakaryGray_EduCHI_OrganizingMetaphorsDesignMethods.pdf},
year = {2022},
date = {2022-04-01},
urldate = {2022-04-01},
booktitle = {EduCHI'22: 4th Annual Symposium on HCI Education},
abstract = {Design students must develop competence in a wide range of areas
in order to be successful in their future practice.
Increasingly, knowledge of design methods is used to frame both
a designer's repertoire and their overall facility as a
designer. However, there is little research on how students
build cognitive schema in relation to design methods or how
these schema relate to specific epistemological patterns of
engagement. In this research paper, we report a multiple case
study, capturing the experiences of four advanced undergraduate
UX design students at a large research-intensive institution.
Through an interview study and subsequent analysis, we describe
the wide variety of organizing metaphors that these students
used to frame their understanding and performance of design
methods, including both principles they used to consider methods
as knowledge, and the ways in which these organizing principles
impacted their practice of design. We conclude with
recommendations for further research on the uptake of
methods-focused competence in HCI education and practice.},
keywords = {Design Education, Design Knowledge, Design Methods, HCI Education, Studio Pedagogy, UX Knowledge},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {inproceedings}
}
Design students must develop competence in a wide range of areas
in order to be successful in their future practice.
Increasingly, knowledge of design methods is used to frame both
a designer's repertoire and their overall facility as a
designer. However, there is little research on how students
build cognitive schema in relation to design methods or how
these schema relate to specific epistemological patterns of
engagement. In this research paper, we report a multiple case
study, capturing the experiences of four advanced undergraduate
UX design students at a large research-intensive institution.
Through an interview study and subsequent analysis, we describe
the wide variety of organizing metaphors that these students
used to frame their understanding and performance of design
methods, including both principles they used to consider methods
as knowledge, and the ways in which these organizing principles
impacted their practice of design. We conclude with
recommendations for further research on the uptake of
methods-focused competence in HCI education and practice.
in order to be successful in their future practice.
Increasingly, knowledge of design methods is used to frame both
a designer's repertoire and their overall facility as a
designer. However, there is little research on how students
build cognitive schema in relation to design methods or how
these schema relate to specific epistemological patterns of
engagement. In this research paper, we report a multiple case
study, capturing the experiences of four advanced undergraduate
UX design students at a large research-intensive institution.
Through an interview study and subsequent analysis, we describe
the wide variety of organizing metaphors that these students
used to frame their understanding and performance of design
methods, including both principles they used to consider methods
as knowledge, and the ways in which these organizing principles
impacted their practice of design. We conclude with
recommendations for further research on the uptake of
methods-focused competence in HCI education and practice.
Parsons, Paul C; Gray, Colin M
Separating Grading and Feedback in UX Design Studios Proceedings Article
In: EduCHI'22: 4th Annual Symposium on HCI Education, 2022.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Design Education, Design Theory, HCI Education, Instructional Design, Reflection, Studio Pedagogy, UX Knowledge
@inproceedings{Parsons2022-ow,
title = {Separating Grading and Feedback in UX Design Studios},
author = {Paul C Parsons and Colin M Gray},
url = {https://colingray.me/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/2022_ParsonsGray_EduCHI_SeparatingGradingandFeedback.pdf},
year = {2022},
date = {2022-04-01},
urldate = {2022-04-01},
booktitle = {EduCHI'22: 4th Annual Symposium on HCI Education},
abstract = {Assessment and feedback are central tasks in most instructional
settings, and the reception of feedback by students is generally
regarded as an essential part of the learning process [18, 22].
Despite the centrality and importance of feedback, there is
increasing evidence that traditional feedback practices are not
effective [6, 37]. Among several known challenges to
implementing effective feedback is the entanglement of feedback
with assessment (i.e., grading), which has become so strong in
many instances that they are effectively conjoined [37]. This
integration is routine and often assumed uncritically, and it
can lead to several problems for the student experience. While
both assessment and feedback have important functions, they are
distinct, and their conflation can obscure the important role
that each has for the teacher and student. In this `teachable
moment' paper, we describe some known problems with assessment
and feedback, the value of disentangling them, and several
strategies we have taken to improve the feedback process across
a series of UX design courses at a large research university."},
keywords = {Design Education, Design Theory, HCI Education, Instructional Design, Reflection, Studio Pedagogy, UX Knowledge},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {inproceedings}
}
Assessment and feedback are central tasks in most instructional
settings, and the reception of feedback by students is generally
regarded as an essential part of the learning process [18, 22].
Despite the centrality and importance of feedback, there is
increasing evidence that traditional feedback practices are not
effective [6, 37]. Among several known challenges to
implementing effective feedback is the entanglement of feedback
with assessment (i.e., grading), which has become so strong in
many instances that they are effectively conjoined [37]. This
integration is routine and often assumed uncritically, and it
can lead to several problems for the student experience. While
both assessment and feedback have important functions, they are
distinct, and their conflation can obscure the important role
that each has for the teacher and student. In this `teachable
moment' paper, we describe some known problems with assessment
and feedback, the value of disentangling them, and several
strategies we have taken to improve the feedback process across
a series of UX design courses at a large research university."
settings, and the reception of feedback by students is generally
regarded as an essential part of the learning process [18, 22].
Despite the centrality and importance of feedback, there is
increasing evidence that traditional feedback practices are not
effective [6, 37]. Among several known challenges to
implementing effective feedback is the entanglement of feedback
with assessment (i.e., grading), which has become so strong in
many instances that they are effectively conjoined [37]. This
integration is routine and often assumed uncritically, and it
can lead to several problems for the student experience. While
both assessment and feedback have important functions, they are
distinct, and their conflation can obscure the important role
that each has for the teacher and student. In this `teachable
moment' paper, we describe some known problems with assessment
and feedback, the value of disentangling them, and several
strategies we have taken to improve the feedback process across
a series of UX design courses at a large research university."
2021
Di, Zhu; Gray, Colin M; Toombs, Austin L; Liu, Wei
Building a Cross-Cultural UX Design Dual Degree Proceedings Article
In: IASDR 2021: The Ninth Congress of the International Association of Societies of Design Research, 2021.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Cross-Cultural Education, Design Education, HCI Education, Studio Pedagogy, UX Knowledge
@inproceedings{Di2021-wv,
title = {Building a Cross-Cultural UX Design Dual Degree},
author = {Zhu Di and Colin M Gray and Austin L Toombs and Wei Liu},
url = {https://colingray.me/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/2021_Dietal_IASDR_CrossCulturalUXDesignDualDegree.pdf},
year = {2021},
date = {2021-12-01},
urldate = {2021-12-01},
booktitle = {IASDR 2021: The Ninth Congress of the International
Association of Societies of Design Research},
abstract = {User Experience (UX) design has expanded rapidly across a range of industry and educational contexts in the last decade. While the core knowledge and “center” of UX is still emergent and contested, new educational programs to train the next generation of UX designers have begun to outline pedagogical practices and concepts that have relevance to the present and future of UX as a discipline. In this paper, we take a broad view of UX preparation, building on a case study of a global dual degree partnership between programs in the United States and China. We recount our individual experiences of building new programs in UX at the undergraduate and graduate levels, and the process of mapping our curricula to offer a bidirectional dual degree program that launched in 2019.},
keywords = {Cross-Cultural Education, Design Education, HCI Education, Studio Pedagogy, UX Knowledge},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {inproceedings}
}
User Experience (UX) design has expanded rapidly across a range of industry and educational contexts in the last decade. While the core knowledge and “center” of UX is still emergent and contested, new educational programs to train the next generation of UX designers have begun to outline pedagogical practices and concepts that have relevance to the present and future of UX as a discipline. In this paper, we take a broad view of UX preparation, building on a case study of a global dual degree partnership between programs in the United States and China. We recount our individual experiences of building new programs in UX at the undergraduate and graduate levels, and the process of mapping our curricula to offer a bidirectional dual degree program that launched in 2019.
Liu, Wei; Lee, Kun-Pyo; Gray, Colin M; Toombs, Austin L; Chen, Kuo-Hsiang; Leifer, Larry
Transdisciplinary Teaching and Learning in UX Design: A Program Review and AR Case Studies Journal Article
In: Äpplied Sciences, vol. 11, no. 22, pp. 10648, 2021.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Cross-Cultural Education, Design Education, UX Knowledge
@article{Liu2021-szb,
title = {Transdisciplinary Teaching and Learning in UX Design: A Program Review and AR Case Studies},
author = {Wei Liu and Kun-Pyo Lee and Colin M Gray and Austin L Toombs and Kuo-Hsiang Chen and Larry Leifer},
url = {https://www.mdpi.com/journal/applsci},
doi = {10.3390/app112210648},
year = {2021},
date = {2021-11-01},
urldate = {2021-11-01},
journal = {Äpplied Sciences},
volume = {11},
number = {22},
pages = {10648},
abstract = {Today's user experience (UX) educators and designers can no
longer just focus on creat- ing more usable systems, but must
also rise to the level of strategists, using design thinking and
human--computer interaction (HCI) solutions to improve academic
and business outcomes. Both psychological, designer, and
engineering approaches are adopted in this study. An invited
program review committee met to review progress of the UX program
at the Beijing Normal University (BNUX). They considered issues
and challenges facing the program today, and the steps that it
could make to develop further. During a recent augmented reality
(AR) project on designing future life experience on smart home
and wearables, several experiential concepts and prototypes were
generated to demonstrate HCI and UX research directions. The
committee was impressed by BNUX with its energy, enthusiasm, and
a sense of purpose on practicing transdisciplinary teaching and
learning activities. Recommendations on the current organization
of education, the relation between project-based learning and
research, and opportunities for exposure and visibility are
provided.},
keywords = {Cross-Cultural Education, Design Education, UX Knowledge},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Today's user experience (UX) educators and designers can no
longer just focus on creat- ing more usable systems, but must
also rise to the level of strategists, using design thinking and
human--computer interaction (HCI) solutions to improve academic
and business outcomes. Both psychological, designer, and
engineering approaches are adopted in this study. An invited
program review committee met to review progress of the UX program
at the Beijing Normal University (BNUX). They considered issues
and challenges facing the program today, and the steps that it
could make to develop further. During a recent augmented reality
(AR) project on designing future life experience on smart home
and wearables, several experiential concepts and prototypes were
generated to demonstrate HCI and UX research directions. The
committee was impressed by BNUX with its energy, enthusiasm, and
a sense of purpose on practicing transdisciplinary teaching and
learning activities. Recommendations on the current organization
of education, the relation between project-based learning and
research, and opportunities for exposure and visibility are
provided.
longer just focus on creat- ing more usable systems, but must
also rise to the level of strategists, using design thinking and
human--computer interaction (HCI) solutions to improve academic
and business outcomes. Both psychological, designer, and
engineering approaches are adopted in this study. An invited
program review committee met to review progress of the UX program
at the Beijing Normal University (BNUX). They considered issues
and challenges facing the program today, and the steps that it
could make to develop further. During a recent augmented reality
(AR) project on designing future life experience on smart home
and wearables, several experiential concepts and prototypes were
generated to demonstrate HCI and UX research directions. The
committee was impressed by BNUX with its energy, enthusiasm, and
a sense of purpose on practicing transdisciplinary teaching and
learning activities. Recommendations on the current organization
of education, the relation between project-based learning and
research, and opportunities for exposure and visibility are
provided.
Chivukula, Shruthi Sai; Li, Ziqing; Pivonka, Anne C; Chen, Jingning; Gray, Colin M
Surveying the Landscape of Ethics-Focused Design Methods Unpublished Forthcoming
Forthcoming.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Design Methods, Ethics and Values, UX Knowledge
@unpublished{Chivukula2021-xk,
title = {Surveying the Landscape of Ethics-Focused Design Methods},
author = {Shruthi Sai Chivukula and Ziqing Li and Anne C Pivonka and Jingning Chen and Colin M Gray},
url = {http://arxiv.org/abs/2102.08909},
year = {2021},
date = {2021-02-11},
abstract = {Over the past decade, HCI researchers, design researchers, and practitioners have increasingly addressed ethics-focused issues through a range of theoretical, methodological and pragmatic contributions to the field. While many forms of design knowledge have been proposed and described, we focus explicitly on knowledge that has been codified as "methods," which we define as any supports for everyday work practices of designers. In this paper, we identify, analyze, and map a collection of 63 existing ethics-focused methods intentionally designed for ethical impact. We present a content analysis, providing a descriptive record of how they operationalize ethics, their intended audience or context of use, their "core" or "script," and the means by which these methods are formulated, articulated, and languaged. Building on these results, we provide an initial definition of ethics-focused methods, identifying potential opportunities for the development of future methods to support design practice and research.},
keywords = {Design Methods, Ethics and Values, UX Knowledge},
pubstate = {forthcoming},
tppubtype = {unpublished}
}
Over the past decade, HCI researchers, design researchers, and practitioners have increasingly addressed ethics-focused issues through a range of theoretical, methodological and pragmatic contributions to the field. While many forms of design knowledge have been proposed and described, we focus explicitly on knowledge that has been codified as "methods," which we define as any supports for everyday work practices of designers. In this paper, we identify, analyze, and map a collection of 63 existing ethics-focused methods intentionally designed for ethical impact. We present a content analysis, providing a descriptive record of how they operationalize ethics, their intended audience or context of use, their "core" or "script," and the means by which these methods are formulated, articulated, and languaged. Building on these results, we provide an initial definition of ethics-focused methods, identifying potential opportunities for the development of future methods to support design practice and research.
2020
Gray, Colin M
Paradigms of Knowledge Production in Human-Computer Interaction: Towards a Framing for Learner Experience (LX) Design Book Section
In: Learner and User Experience Research: An Introduction for the Field of Learning Design & Technology, EdTech Books, 2020.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Design Knowledge, Instructional Design, Learning Experience (LX) Design, UX Knowledge
@incollection{Gray2020-wf,
title = {Paradigms of Knowledge Production in Human-Computer Interaction: Towards a Framing for Learner Experience (LX) Design},
author = {Colin M Gray},
url = {https://edtechbooks.org/ux/paradigms_in_hci
https://colingray.me/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/2020_Gray_LearnerUserExperienceResearch_ParadigmsofHCILX.pdf},
year = {2020},
date = {2020-10-01},
booktitle = {Learner and User Experience Research: An Introduction for the Field of Learning Design & Technology},
publisher = {EdTech Books},
abstract = {In this chapter, I contextualize the knowledge production of the
human-computer interaction (HCI) community within broader
epistemological, historical, and disciplinary framings of this
scholarship. I describe the historical landscape of HCI as a
discipline, including the significant subcommunities that have
formed over time as the discipline has become more inclusive of
disciplines and forms of knowledge. This description will map
across cognitivist, social constructivist, and humanist/design
threads of the community, all of which are still active
participants in the creation of HCI knowledge. These threads are
contextualized for a learning, design, and technology (LDT)
audience, including historical and theoretical connections to
scientific and humanist modes of instructional design
scholarship. I conclude with a preliminary grounding for learner
experience (LX) design and a conceptual roadmap that draws from
strengths in the LDT and HCI communities.},
keywords = {Design Knowledge, Instructional Design, Learning Experience (LX) Design, UX Knowledge},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {incollection}
}
In this chapter, I contextualize the knowledge production of the
human-computer interaction (HCI) community within broader
epistemological, historical, and disciplinary framings of this
scholarship. I describe the historical landscape of HCI as a
discipline, including the significant subcommunities that have
formed over time as the discipline has become more inclusive of
disciplines and forms of knowledge. This description will map
across cognitivist, social constructivist, and humanist/design
threads of the community, all of which are still active
participants in the creation of HCI knowledge. These threads are
contextualized for a learning, design, and technology (LDT)
audience, including historical and theoretical connections to
scientific and humanist modes of instructional design
scholarship. I conclude with a preliminary grounding for learner
experience (LX) design and a conceptual roadmap that draws from
strengths in the LDT and HCI communities.
human-computer interaction (HCI) community within broader
epistemological, historical, and disciplinary framings of this
scholarship. I describe the historical landscape of HCI as a
discipline, including the significant subcommunities that have
formed over time as the discipline has become more inclusive of
disciplines and forms of knowledge. This description will map
across cognitivist, social constructivist, and humanist/design
threads of the community, all of which are still active
participants in the creation of HCI knowledge. These threads are
contextualized for a learning, design, and technology (LDT)
audience, including historical and theoretical connections to
scientific and humanist modes of instructional design
scholarship. I conclude with a preliminary grounding for learner
experience (LX) design and a conceptual roadmap that draws from
strengths in the LDT and HCI communities.
Watkins, Chris Rhys; Gray, Colin M; Toombs, Austin L; Parsons, Paul
Tensions in Enacting a Design Philosophy in UX Practice Proceedings Article
In: DIS'20: Proceedings of the Designing Interactive Systems Conference 2020, ACM Press, New York, NY, 2020.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Design Education, Ethics and Values, Practice-Led Research, UX Knowledge, UX Practice
@inproceedings{Watkins2020-zr,
title = {Tensions in Enacting a Design Philosophy in UX Practice},
author = {Chris Rhys Watkins and Colin M Gray and Austin L Toombs and Paul Parsons},
url = {https://colingray.me/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/2020_Watkinsetal_DIS_TensionsDesignPhilosophy.pdf
http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/3357236.3395505},
doi = {10.1145/3357236.3395505},
year = {2020},
date = {2020-07-01},
booktitle = {DIS'20: Proceedings of the Designing Interactive Systems
Conference 2020},
publisher = {ACM Press},
address = {New York, NY},
series = {DIS'20},
abstract = {Design culture is increasingly present within organizations,
especially with the rise of UX as a profession. Yet there are
often disconnects between the development of a design philosophy
and its translation in practice. Students preparing for UX
careers are positioned in a liminal space between their
educational experience and future practice, and are actively
working to build a bridge between their developing philosophy of
design and the translation of that philosophy when faced with
the complexity of design practice. In this study, we interviewed
ten students and practitioners educated within design-oriented
HCI programs, focusing on their design philosophy and evaluating
how their philosophical beliefs were shaped in practice.
Building on prior work on flows of competence, we thematically
analyzed these interviews, identifying the philosophical beliefs
of these designers and their trajectories of development,
adoption, or suppression in industry. We identify opportunities
for enhancements to UX educational practices and future research
on design complexity in industry contexts.},
keywords = {Design Education, Ethics and Values, Practice-Led Research, UX Knowledge, UX Practice},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {inproceedings}
}
Design culture is increasingly present within organizations,
especially with the rise of UX as a profession. Yet there are
often disconnects between the development of a design philosophy
and its translation in practice. Students preparing for UX
careers are positioned in a liminal space between their
educational experience and future practice, and are actively
working to build a bridge between their developing philosophy of
design and the translation of that philosophy when faced with
the complexity of design practice. In this study, we interviewed
ten students and practitioners educated within design-oriented
HCI programs, focusing on their design philosophy and evaluating
how their philosophical beliefs were shaped in practice.
Building on prior work on flows of competence, we thematically
analyzed these interviews, identifying the philosophical beliefs
of these designers and their trajectories of development,
adoption, or suppression in industry. We identify opportunities
for enhancements to UX educational practices and future research
on design complexity in industry contexts.
especially with the rise of UX as a profession. Yet there are
often disconnects between the development of a design philosophy
and its translation in practice. Students preparing for UX
careers are positioned in a liminal space between their
educational experience and future practice, and are actively
working to build a bridge between their developing philosophy of
design and the translation of that philosophy when faced with
the complexity of design practice. In this study, we interviewed
ten students and practitioners educated within design-oriented
HCI programs, focusing on their design philosophy and evaluating
how their philosophical beliefs were shaped in practice.
Building on prior work on flows of competence, we thematically
analyzed these interviews, identifying the philosophical beliefs
of these designers and their trajectories of development,
adoption, or suppression in industry. We identify opportunities
for enhancements to UX educational practices and future research
on design complexity in industry contexts.
2019
Kou, Yubo; Gray, Colin M
A Practice-Led Account of the Conceptual Evolution of UX Knowledge Proceedings Article
In: Proceedings of the 2019 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, ACM, New York, NY USA, 2019.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Practice-Led Research, Social Media, Stack Exchange, UX Knowledge
@inproceedings{Kou_undated-wi,
title = {A Practice-Led Account of the Conceptual Evolution of UX Knowledge},
author = {Yubo Kou and Colin M Gray},
doi = {10.1145/3290605.3300279},
year = {2019},
date = {2019-05-01},
booktitle = {Proceedings of the 2019 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems},
publisher = {ACM},
address = {New York, NY USA},
series = {CHI '19},
abstract = {The contours of user experience (UX) design practice have been
shaped by a diverse array of practitioners and disci- plines,
resulting in a difuse and decentralized body of UX- specifc
disciplinary knowledge. The rapidly shifting space that UX
knowledge occupies, in conjunction with a long- existing
research-practice gap, presents unique challenges and
opportunities to UX educators and aspiring UX designers. In this
paper, we analyzed a corpus of question and answer communication
on UX Stack Exchange using a practice-led approach, identifying
and documenting practitioners' con- ceptions of UX knowledge
over a nine year period. Specif- cally, we used natural language
processing techniques and qualitative content analysis to
identify a disciplinary vocab- ulary invoked by UX designers in
this online community, as well as conceptual trajectories
spanning over nine years which could shed light on the evolution
of UX practice. We further describe the implications of our
fndings for HCI research and UX education.},
keywords = {Practice-Led Research, Social Media, Stack Exchange, UX Knowledge},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {inproceedings}
}
The contours of user experience (UX) design practice have been
shaped by a diverse array of practitioners and disci- plines,
resulting in a difuse and decentralized body of UX- specifc
disciplinary knowledge. The rapidly shifting space that UX
knowledge occupies, in conjunction with a long- existing
research-practice gap, presents unique challenges and
opportunities to UX educators and aspiring UX designers. In this
paper, we analyzed a corpus of question and answer communication
on UX Stack Exchange using a practice-led approach, identifying
and documenting practitioners' con- ceptions of UX knowledge
over a nine year period. Specif- cally, we used natural language
processing techniques and qualitative content analysis to
identify a disciplinary vocab- ulary invoked by UX designers in
this online community, as well as conceptual trajectories
spanning over nine years which could shed light on the evolution
of UX practice. We further describe the implications of our
fndings for HCI research and UX education.
shaped by a diverse array of practitioners and disci- plines,
resulting in a difuse and decentralized body of UX- specifc
disciplinary knowledge. The rapidly shifting space that UX
knowledge occupies, in conjunction with a long- existing
research-practice gap, presents unique challenges and
opportunities to UX educators and aspiring UX designers. In this
paper, we analyzed a corpus of question and answer communication
on UX Stack Exchange using a practice-led approach, identifying
and documenting practitioners' con- ceptions of UX knowledge
over a nine year period. Specif- cally, we used natural language
processing techniques and qualitative content analysis to
identify a disciplinary vocab- ulary invoked by UX designers in
this online community, as well as conceptual trajectories
spanning over nine years which could shed light on the evolution
of UX practice. We further describe the implications of our
fndings for HCI research and UX education.
Gray, Colin M; Kou, Yubo
Co-producing, curating, and defining design knowledge in an online practitioner community Journal Article
In: CoDesign, pp. 1–18, 2019, ISSN: 1571-0882.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Design Knowledge, Practice-Led Research, UX Knowledge
@article{Gray2019-ji,
title = {Co-producing, curating, and defining design knowledge in an online practitioner community},
author = {Colin M Gray and Yubo Kou},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1080/15710882.2018.1563193},
doi = {10.1080/15710882.2018.1563193},
issn = {1571-0882},
year = {2019},
date = {2019-01-01},
journal = {CoDesign},
pages = {1--18},
publisher = {Taylor & Francis},
abstract = {ABSTRACTAs co-design and other participatory design practices
increasingly make design outcomes more accessible to everyday
citizens, it is also important to understand how designers
negotiate the value of design knowledge that undergirds design
action and share this knowledge within their own community to
facilitate and evolve their practices. In this study, we analyze
UX practitioners? interactions on Reddit, including patterns of
resource sharing and curation that point towards a collective
construction of UX as a design discipline. We identified how
knowledge from diverse sources was selected and shared with the
subreddit community (co-production); the resources that
community members engaged with and to what extent (curation);
and the collective body of knowledge that characterised the
design community (definition of design knowledge). We found that
boundary work that sought to define the value of UX knowledge
often took place at the periphery of shared resources, either
expanding or rearticulating the boundary of UX knowledge in
relation to trends in employment and nascent
professionalisation. Implications of this work for the
co-creation of knowledge to support design practices are
considered, focusing on how design knowledge concomitantly
shapes and is shaped by client-directed design action.},
keywords = {Design Knowledge, Practice-Led Research, UX Knowledge},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
ABSTRACTAs co-design and other participatory design practices
increasingly make design outcomes more accessible to everyday
citizens, it is also important to understand how designers
negotiate the value of design knowledge that undergirds design
action and share this knowledge within their own community to
facilitate and evolve their practices. In this study, we analyze
UX practitioners? interactions on Reddit, including patterns of
resource sharing and curation that point towards a collective
construction of UX as a design discipline. We identified how
knowledge from diverse sources was selected and shared with the
subreddit community (co-production); the resources that
community members engaged with and to what extent (curation);
and the collective body of knowledge that characterised the
design community (definition of design knowledge). We found that
boundary work that sought to define the value of UX knowledge
often took place at the periphery of shared resources, either
expanding or rearticulating the boundary of UX knowledge in
relation to trends in employment and nascent
professionalisation. Implications of this work for the
co-creation of knowledge to support design practices are
considered, focusing on how design knowledge concomitantly
shapes and is shaped by client-directed design action.
increasingly make design outcomes more accessible to everyday
citizens, it is also important to understand how designers
negotiate the value of design knowledge that undergirds design
action and share this knowledge within their own community to
facilitate and evolve their practices. In this study, we analyze
UX practitioners? interactions on Reddit, including patterns of
resource sharing and curation that point towards a collective
construction of UX as a design discipline. We identified how
knowledge from diverse sources was selected and shared with the
subreddit community (co-production); the resources that
community members engaged with and to what extent (curation);
and the collective body of knowledge that characterised the
design community (definition of design knowledge). We found that
boundary work that sought to define the value of UX knowledge
often took place at the periphery of shared resources, either
expanding or rearticulating the boundary of UX knowledge in
relation to trends in employment and nascent
professionalisation. Implications of this work for the
co-creation of knowledge to support design practices are
considered, focusing on how design knowledge concomitantly
shapes and is shaped by client-directed design action.
Watkins, Chris; Chivukula, Shruthi S; McKay, Lucca; Gray, Colin M
"Nothing Comes Before Profit": Asshole Design in the Wild Proceedings Article
In: CHI EA '19: CHI'19 Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems, pp. LBW1314, 2019.
Links | BibTeX | Tags: Asshole Design, Design Knowledge, Ethics and Values, Practice-Led Research, Reddit, Social Media, UX Knowledge
@inproceedings{Watkins2019-yb,
title = {"Nothing Comes Before Profit": Asshole Design in the Wild},
author = {Chris Watkins and Shruthi S Chivukula and Lucca McKay and Colin M Gray},
url = {https://colingray.me/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/2019_ChivukulaWatkinsMcKayGray_CHI_LBW_AssholeDesignintheWild.pdf
http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/3290607.3312863},
doi = {10.1145/3290607.3312863},
year = {2019},
date = {2019-01-01},
booktitle = {CHI EA '19: CHI'19 Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems},
pages = {LBW1314},
keywords = {Asshole Design, Design Knowledge, Ethics and Values, Practice-Led Research, Reddit, Social Media, UX Knowledge},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {inproceedings}
}
Gray, Colin M; Toombs, Austin L; Owczarzak, Marlo; Watkins, Christopher
Digital civics goes abroad Journal Article
In: Interactions, vol. 26, no. 2, pp. 74-77, 2019, ISSN: 1072-5520.
Links | BibTeX | Tags: Cross-Cultural Education, Design Education, Digital Civics, HCI Education, UX Knowledge
@article{Gray2019-xd,
title = {Digital civics goes abroad},
author = {Colin M Gray and Austin L Toombs and Marlo Owczarzak and Christopher Watkins},
url = {https://colingray.me/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/2019_GrayToombsOwczarzakWatkins_Interactions_DigitalCivics.pdf
https://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?doid=3314846.3301661},
doi = {10.1145/3301661},
issn = {1072-5520},
year = {2019},
date = {2019-01-01},
urldate = {2019-01-01},
journal = {Interactions},
volume = {26},
number = {2},
pages = {74-77},
keywords = {Cross-Cultural Education, Design Education, Digital Civics, HCI Education, UX Knowledge},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
2018
Kou, Yubo; Gray, Colin M; Toombs, Austin L; Adams, Robin S
Understanding Social Roles in an Online Community of Volatile Practice: A Study of User Experience Practitioners on Reddit Journal Article
In: ACM Transactions on Social Computing, vol. 1, no. 4, pp. 17, 2018, ISSN: 2469-7818.
Links | BibTeX | Tags: Design Knowledge, Practice-Led Research, UX Knowledge
@article{Kou2018-dw,
title = {Understanding Social Roles in an Online Community of Volatile Practice: A Study of User Experience Practitioners on Reddit},
author = {Yubo Kou and Colin M Gray and Austin L Toombs and Robin S Adams},
url = {https://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?doid=3301392.3283827},
doi = {10.1145/3283827},
issn = {2469-7818},
year = {2018},
date = {2018-12-01},
journal = {ACM Transactions on Social Computing},
volume = {1},
number = {4},
pages = {17},
publisher = {ACM},
keywords = {Design Knowledge, Practice-Led Research, UX Knowledge},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Kou, Yubo; Gray, Colin M
Exploring the Knowledge Creation Practices of UX Designers on Stack Exchange Proceedings Article
In: Proceedings of the 2018 ACM Conference Companion Publication on Designing Interactive Systems, pp. 69–74, ACM, 2018, ISBN: 9781450356312.
Links | BibTeX | Tags: Social Media, Stack Exchange, UX Knowledge
@inproceedings{Kou2018-al,
title = {Exploring the Knowledge Creation Practices of UX Designers on Stack Exchange},
author = {Yubo Kou and Colin M Gray},
url = {https://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?doid=3197391.3205414},
doi = {10.1145/3197391.3205414},
isbn = {9781450356312},
year = {2018},
date = {2018-05-01},
booktitle = {Proceedings of the 2018 ACM Conference Companion Publication
on Designing Interactive Systems},
pages = {69--74},
publisher = {ACM},
keywords = {Social Media, Stack Exchange, UX Knowledge},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {inproceedings}
}
Fansher, Madison; Chivukula, Shruthi Sai; Gray, Colin M
#darkpatterns: UX Practitioner Conversations About Ethical Design Proceedings Article
In: Extended Abstracts of the 2018 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, pp. LBW082, ACM, Montreal QC, Canada, 2018, ISBN: 9781450356213.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Dark Patterns, Ethics and Values, Practice-Led Research, UX Knowledge
@inproceedings{Fansher2018-au,
title = {#darkpatterns: UX Practitioner Conversations About Ethical Design},
author = {Madison Fansher and Shruthi Sai Chivukula and Colin M Gray},
url = {http://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?doid=3170427.3188553},
doi = {10.1145/3170427.3188553},
isbn = {9781450356213},
year = {2018},
date = {2018-04-01},
booktitle = {Extended Abstracts of the 2018 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems},
pages = {LBW082},
publisher = {ACM},
address = {Montreal QC, Canada},
abstract = {There is increasing interest in the role that ethics plays
in UX practice, however current guidance is largely driven
by formalized frameworks and does not adequately describe
``on the ground'' practitioner conversations regarding
ethics. In this late-breaking work, we identified and
described conversations about a specific ethical
phenomenon on Twitter using the hashtag #darkpatterns. We
then determined the authors of these tweets and analyzed
the types of artifacts or links they shared. We found that
UX practitioners were most likely to share tweets with
this hashtag, and that a majority of tweets either
mentioned an artifact or ``shames'' an organization that
engages in manipulative UX practices. We identify
implications for building an enhanced understanding of
pragmatist ethics from a practitioner perspective.},
keywords = {Dark Patterns, Ethics and Values, Practice-Led Research, UX Knowledge},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {inproceedings}
}
There is increasing interest in the role that ethics plays
in UX practice, however current guidance is largely driven
by formalized frameworks and does not adequately describe
``on the ground'' practitioner conversations regarding
ethics. In this late-breaking work, we identified and
described conversations about a specific ethical
phenomenon on Twitter using the hashtag #darkpatterns. We
then determined the authors of these tweets and analyzed
the types of artifacts or links they shared. We found that
UX practitioners were most likely to share tweets with
this hashtag, and that a majority of tweets either
mentioned an artifact or ``shames'' an organization that
engages in manipulative UX practices. We identify
implications for building an enhanced understanding of
pragmatist ethics from a practitioner perspective.
in UX practice, however current guidance is largely driven
by formalized frameworks and does not adequately describe
``on the ground'' practitioner conversations regarding
ethics. In this late-breaking work, we identified and
described conversations about a specific ethical
phenomenon on Twitter using the hashtag #darkpatterns. We
then determined the authors of these tweets and analyzed
the types of artifacts or links they shared. We found that
UX practitioners were most likely to share tweets with
this hashtag, and that a majority of tweets either
mentioned an artifact or ``shames'' an organization that
engages in manipulative UX practices. We identify
implications for building an enhanced understanding of
pragmatist ethics from a practitioner perspective.
Kou, Yubo; Gray, Colin M; Toombs, Austin L; Adams, Robin S
Knowledge Production and Social Roles in an Online Community of Emerging Occupation: A Study of User Experience Practitioners on Reddit Proceedings Article
In: Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences 2018 (HICSS-51), 2018.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Design Education, Practice-Led Research, UX Knowledge
@inproceedings{Kou2018-cm,
title = {Knowledge Production and Social Roles in an Online Community of Emerging Occupation: A Study of User Experience Practitioners on Reddit},
author = {Yubo Kou and Colin M Gray and Austin L Toombs and Robin S Adams},
url = {https://aisel.aisnet.org/hicss-51/dsm/dsm_and_communities/3/},
year = {2018},
date = {2018-01-01},
booktitle = {Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences 2018
(HICSS-51)},
abstract = {New occupations are emerging that have high job demand in the
market, but lack a coherent body of disciplinary knowledge. For
example, user experience (UX) design is an emerging occupation
that has not been adequately supported by the traditional
educational system. For learners beginning their undergraduate
education, there is no concrete path to follow to become a UX
professional, due to few UX-focused undergraduate academic
programs. Online communities of practices have been recognized
as important learning venues, even while institutions of formal
education often lag behind in structuring knowledge production
and distribution. However, little is known about how knowledge
is generated and diffused in online communities in the context
of emerging occupations with volatile knowledge boundaries. In
this paper, we analyze knowledge production in relation to
social roles in an online UX community. We show that knowledge
production is highly distributed, involving the participation of
community members of varied levels of experience. We discuss how
online communities support the development of the UX occupation.},
keywords = {Design Education, Practice-Led Research, UX Knowledge},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {inproceedings}
}
New occupations are emerging that have high job demand in the
market, but lack a coherent body of disciplinary knowledge. For
example, user experience (UX) design is an emerging occupation
that has not been adequately supported by the traditional
educational system. For learners beginning their undergraduate
education, there is no concrete path to follow to become a UX
professional, due to few UX-focused undergraduate academic
programs. Online communities of practices have been recognized
as important learning venues, even while institutions of formal
education often lag behind in structuring knowledge production
and distribution. However, little is known about how knowledge
is generated and diffused in online communities in the context
of emerging occupations with volatile knowledge boundaries. In
this paper, we analyze knowledge production in relation to
social roles in an online UX community. We show that knowledge
production is highly distributed, involving the participation of
community members of varied levels of experience. We discuss how
online communities support the development of the UX occupation.
market, but lack a coherent body of disciplinary knowledge. For
example, user experience (UX) design is an emerging occupation
that has not been adequately supported by the traditional
educational system. For learners beginning their undergraduate
education, there is no concrete path to follow to become a UX
professional, due to few UX-focused undergraduate academic
programs. Online communities of practices have been recognized
as important learning venues, even while institutions of formal
education often lag behind in structuring knowledge production
and distribution. However, little is known about how knowledge
is generated and diffused in online communities in the context
of emerging occupations with volatile knowledge boundaries. In
this paper, we analyze knowledge production in relation to
social roles in an online UX community. We show that knowledge
production is highly distributed, involving the participation of
community members of varied levels of experience. We discuss how
online communities support the development of the UX occupation.
Kou, Yubo; Gray, Colin M
What do you recommend a complete beginner like me to practice?: Professional Self-Disclosure in an Online Community Journal Article
In: Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction, vol. 2, no. CSCW, pp. 94, 2018.
Links | BibTeX | Tags: Design Knowledge, Practice-Led Research, UX Knowledge
@article{Kou2018-vh,
title = {What do you recommend a complete beginner like me to practice?: Professional Self-Disclosure in an Online Community},
author = {Yubo Kou and Colin M Gray},
url = {https://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?doid=3290265.3274363},
doi = {10.1145/3274363},
year = {2018},
date = {2018-01-01},
journal = {Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction},
volume = {2},
number = {CSCW},
pages = {94},
publisher = {ACM},
keywords = {Design Knowledge, Practice-Led Research, UX Knowledge},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Kou, Yubo; Gray, Colin M
Towards Professionalization in an Online Community of Emerging Occupation: Discourses among UX Practitioners Proceedings Article
In: Proceedings of the 2018 ACM Conference on Supporting Groupwork, pp. 322–334, ACM, New York, New York, USA, 2018, ISBN: 9781450355629.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Design Knowledge, Practice-Led Research, UX Knowledge
@inproceedings{Kou2018-kc,
title = {Towards Professionalization in an Online Community of Emerging Occupation: Discourses among UX Practitioners},
author = {Yubo Kou and Colin M Gray},
url = {https://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?doid=3148330.3148352},
doi = {10.1145/3148330.3148352},
isbn = {9781450355629},
year = {2018},
date = {2018-01-01},
booktitle = {Proceedings of the 2018 ACM Conference on Supporting Groupwork},
pages = {322--334},
publisher = {ACM},
address = {New York, New York, USA},
abstract = {The occupational landscape of the digital economy is rapidly
changing, resulting in the emergence of multidisciplinary
occupations. Emerging occupations such as user experience (UX)
design are in high demand, but these occupations lack clear
boundaries and have yet to develop into a profession with a
specified, coherent body of knowledge. While traditional
occupations such as medicine and law successfully claimed their
professional jurisdiction and high social power and status long
before the Internet, how do these emerging occupations work
towards professionalization, particularly as they are
increasingly supported by and through online communities? In
this paper, we investigate an online UX community to understand
how UX practitioners specify their occupational knowledge and
professional boundaries. Using this case as an example and
provocation, we discuss how online communities support the
emergence of new occupations and may play an indispensable role
in modern day patterns of professionalization.},
keywords = {Design Knowledge, Practice-Led Research, UX Knowledge},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {inproceedings}
}
The occupational landscape of the digital economy is rapidly
changing, resulting in the emergence of multidisciplinary
occupations. Emerging occupations such as user experience (UX)
design are in high demand, but these occupations lack clear
boundaries and have yet to develop into a profession with a
specified, coherent body of knowledge. While traditional
occupations such as medicine and law successfully claimed their
professional jurisdiction and high social power and status long
before the Internet, how do these emerging occupations work
towards professionalization, particularly as they are
increasingly supported by and through online communities? In
this paper, we investigate an online UX community to understand
how UX practitioners specify their occupational knowledge and
professional boundaries. Using this case as an example and
provocation, we discuss how online communities support the
emergence of new occupations and may play an indispensable role
in modern day patterns of professionalization.
changing, resulting in the emergence of multidisciplinary
occupations. Emerging occupations such as user experience (UX)
design are in high demand, but these occupations lack clear
boundaries and have yet to develop into a profession with a
specified, coherent body of knowledge. While traditional
occupations such as medicine and law successfully claimed their
professional jurisdiction and high social power and status long
before the Internet, how do these emerging occupations work
towards professionalization, particularly as they are
increasingly supported by and through online communities? In
this paper, we investigate an online UX community to understand
how UX practitioners specify their occupational knowledge and
professional boundaries. Using this case as an example and
provocation, we discuss how online communities support the
emergence of new occupations and may play an indispensable role
in modern day patterns of professionalization.
Gray, Colin M; Kou, Yubo; Battles, Bryan; Hoggatt, Joseph; Toombs, Austin L
The Dark (Patterns) Side of UX Design Proceedings Article
In: Proceedings of the 2018 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, pp. 534:1–534:14, ACM, Montreal QC, Canada, 2018, ISBN: 9781450356206.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Dark Patterns, Design Knowledge, Ethics and Values, Practice-Led Research, UX Knowledge
@inproceedings{Gray2018-or,
title = {The Dark (Patterns) Side of UX Design},
author = {Colin M Gray and Yubo Kou and Bryan Battles and Joseph Hoggatt and Austin L Toombs},
url = {http://doi.acm.org/10.1145/3173574.3174108},
doi = {10.1145/3173574.3174108},
isbn = {9781450356206},
year = {2018},
date = {2018-01-01},
booktitle = {Proceedings of the 2018 CHI Conference on Human Factors in
Computing Systems},
pages = {534:1--534:14},
publisher = {ACM},
address = {Montreal QC, Canada},
institution = {ACM},
series = {CHI '18},
abstract = {Interest in critical scholarship that engages with the
complexity of user experience (UX) practice is rapidly
expanding, yet the vocabulary for describing and assessing
criticality in practice is currently lacking. In this paper,
we outline and explore the limits of a specific ethical
phenomenon known as ``dark patterns,'' where user value is
supplanted in favor of shareholder value. We assembled a
corpus of examples of practitioner-identified dark patterns
and performed a content analysis to determine the ethical
concerns contained in these examples. This analysis revealed a
wide range of ethical issues raised by practitioners that were
frequently conflated under the umbrella term of dark patterns,
while also underscoring a shared concern that UX designers
could easily become complicit in manipulative or unreasonably
persuasive practices. We conclude with implications for the
education and practice of UX designers, and a proposal for
broadening research on the ethics of user experience.},
keywords = {Dark Patterns, Design Knowledge, Ethics and Values, Practice-Led Research, UX Knowledge},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {inproceedings}
}
Interest in critical scholarship that engages with the
complexity of user experience (UX) practice is rapidly
expanding, yet the vocabulary for describing and assessing
criticality in practice is currently lacking. In this paper,
we outline and explore the limits of a specific ethical
phenomenon known as ``dark patterns,'' where user value is
supplanted in favor of shareholder value. We assembled a
corpus of examples of practitioner-identified dark patterns
and performed a content analysis to determine the ethical
concerns contained in these examples. This analysis revealed a
wide range of ethical issues raised by practitioners that were
frequently conflated under the umbrella term of dark patterns,
while also underscoring a shared concern that UX designers
could easily become complicit in manipulative or unreasonably
persuasive practices. We conclude with implications for the
education and practice of UX designers, and a proposal for
broadening research on the ethics of user experience.
complexity of user experience (UX) practice is rapidly
expanding, yet the vocabulary for describing and assessing
criticality in practice is currently lacking. In this paper,
we outline and explore the limits of a specific ethical
phenomenon known as ``dark patterns,'' where user value is
supplanted in favor of shareholder value. We assembled a
corpus of examples of practitioner-identified dark patterns
and performed a content analysis to determine the ethical
concerns contained in these examples. This analysis revealed a
wide range of ethical issues raised by practitioners that were
frequently conflated under the umbrella term of dark patterns,
while also underscoring a shared concern that UX designers
could easily become complicit in manipulative or unreasonably
persuasive practices. We conclude with implications for the
education and practice of UX designers, and a proposal for
broadening research on the ethics of user experience.
2017
Brier, Jason A; Gray, Colin M; Kou, Yubo
In Search of UX Translators: Analyzing Researcher-Practitioner Interactions on Twitter Proceedings Article
In: Proceedings of the 2017 ACM Conference Companion Publication on Designing Interactive Systems, pp. 111–115, ACM, New York, New York, USA, 2017, ISBN: 9781450349918.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Design Knowledge, Practice-Led Research, Translational Science, UX Knowledge
@inproceedings{Brier2017-nl,
title = {In Search of UX Translators: Analyzing Researcher-Practitioner Interactions on Twitter},
author = {Jason A Brier and Colin M Gray and Yubo Kou},
url = {http://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?doid=3064857.3079129},
doi = {10.1145/3064857.3079129},
isbn = {9781450349918},
year = {2017},
date = {2017-06-01},
booktitle = {Proceedings of the 2017 ACM Conference Companion Publication
on Designing Interactive Systems},
pages = {111--115},
publisher = {ACM},
address = {New York, New York, USA},
abstract = {Interest in the nature of HCI practice has increased in the past
decade, particularly in relation to the role and existence of
``translators'' that may bridge the gap between research and UX
practice. At present, there is insufficient research to
appropriately define and identify the activities of translators,
and we hope to provoke additional interest in this area by
documenting the UX - focused interactions on Twitter. In this
work-in-progress, we identified and visualized interactions
among a stratified set of UX practitioners and
practitioner-academic hybrids on Twitter, analyzing their
interactions to understand what relationships and roles may
exist. We found few potential translators, and none from a
primarily academic perspective. We identify implications and
provocations from this visualization and Twitter analysis
approach for future practice-led research.},
keywords = {Design Knowledge, Practice-Led Research, Translational Science, UX Knowledge},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {inproceedings}
}
Interest in the nature of HCI practice has increased in the past
decade, particularly in relation to the role and existence of
``translators'' that may bridge the gap between research and UX
practice. At present, there is insufficient research to
appropriately define and identify the activities of translators,
and we hope to provoke additional interest in this area by
documenting the UX - focused interactions on Twitter. In this
work-in-progress, we identified and visualized interactions
among a stratified set of UX practitioners and
practitioner-academic hybrids on Twitter, analyzing their
interactions to understand what relationships and roles may
exist. We found few potential translators, and none from a
primarily academic perspective. We identify implications and
provocations from this visualization and Twitter analysis
approach for future practice-led research.
decade, particularly in relation to the role and existence of
``translators'' that may bridge the gap between research and UX
practice. At present, there is insufficient research to
appropriately define and identify the activities of translators,
and we hope to provoke additional interest in this area by
documenting the UX - focused interactions on Twitter. In this
work-in-progress, we identified and visualized interactions
among a stratified set of UX practitioners and
practitioner-academic hybrids on Twitter, analyzing their
interactions to understand what relationships and roles may
exist. We found few potential translators, and none from a
primarily academic perspective. We identify implications and
provocations from this visualization and Twitter analysis
approach for future practice-led research.
Gray, Colin M; Kou, Yubo
UX Practitioners' Engagement with Intermediate-Level Knowledge Proceedings Article
In: Proceedings of the 2017 ACM Conference Companion Publication on Designing Interactive Systems, pp. 13–17, ACM, New York, New York, USA, 2017, ISBN: 9781450349918.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Design Knowledge, Design Theory, Practice-Led Research, UX Knowledge
@inproceedings{Gray2017-rk,
title = {UX Practitioners' Engagement with Intermediate-Level Knowledge},
author = {Colin M Gray and Yubo Kou},
url = {http://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?doid=3064857.3079110},
doi = {10.1145/3064857.3079110},
isbn = {9781450349918},
year = {2017},
date = {2017-06-01},
booktitle = {Proceedings of the 2017 ACM Conference Companion Publication on Designing Interactive Systems},
pages = {13--17},
publisher = {ACM},
address = {New York, New York, USA},
abstract = {Scholars have repeatedly called for the knowledge production efforts of the HCI research community to have resonance with the needs of practitioners. These efforts, reified in approaches such as “implications for design,” annotated portfolios, and other forms of intermediate-level knowledge have begun to take hold within the research community, yet it is unclear if and how these forms of knowledge are used to actually support user experience (UX) practice. In this study, we analyzed resources shared via URLs that pointed to articles on external websites within a practitioner- focused Reddit community. Using Löwgren’s taxonomy of intermediate-level knowledge, we identified the forms of knowledge these resources represent, and use this analysis as a provocation for future exploration into the types of knowledge practitioners desire and use to support their practice.},
keywords = {Design Knowledge, Design Theory, Practice-Led Research, UX Knowledge},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {inproceedings}
}
Scholars have repeatedly called for the knowledge production efforts of the HCI research community to have resonance with the needs of practitioners. These efforts, reified in approaches such as “implications for design,” annotated portfolios, and other forms of intermediate-level knowledge have begun to take hold within the research community, yet it is unclear if and how these forms of knowledge are used to actually support user experience (UX) practice. In this study, we analyzed resources shared via URLs that pointed to articles on external websites within a practitioner- focused Reddit community. Using Löwgren’s taxonomy of intermediate-level knowledge, we identified the forms of knowledge these resources represent, and use this analysis as a provocation for future exploration into the types of knowledge practitioners desire and use to support their practice.
Kou, Yubo; Gray, Colin M
Supporting Distributed Critique through Interpretation and Sense-Making in an Online Creative Community Journal Article
In: Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction, vol. 1, no. CSCW, pp. 60, 2017, ISSN: 2573-0142.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Critique, Design Knowledge, Practice-Led Research, UX Knowledge
@article{Kou2017-iq,
title = {Supporting Distributed Critique through Interpretation and Sense-Making in an Online Creative Community},
author = {Yubo Kou and Colin M Gray},
url = {https://colingray.me/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/2017_KouGray_CSCW_PACMHCI_DistributedCritique.pdf
http://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?doid=3171581.3134695},
doi = {10.1145/3134695},
issn = {2573-0142},
year = {2017},
date = {2017-01-01},
journal = {Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction},
volume = {1},
number = {CSCW},
pages = {60},
publisher = {ACM},
abstract = {Critique is an important component of creative work in design education and practice, through which individuals can solicit advice and obtain feedback on their work. Face-to-face critique in offline settings such as design studios has been well-documented and theorized. However, little is known about unstructured distributed critique in online creative communities where people share and critique each other’s work, and how these practices might resemble or differ from studio critique. In this paper, we use mixed-methods to examine distributed critique practices in a UX-focused online creative community on Reddit. We found that distributed critique resembles studio critique categorically, but differs qualitatively. While studio critique often focuses on depth, distributed critique often revolved around collective sensemaking, through which creative workers engaged in iteratively interpreting, defining, and refining the artifact and their process. We discuss the relationship between distributed critique and socio-technical systems and identify implications for future research.},
keywords = {Critique, Design Knowledge, Practice-Led Research, UX Knowledge},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Critique is an important component of creative work in design education and practice, through which individuals can solicit advice and obtain feedback on their work. Face-to-face critique in offline settings such as design studios has been well-documented and theorized. However, little is known about unstructured distributed critique in online creative communities where people share and critique each other’s work, and how these practices might resemble or differ from studio critique. In this paper, we use mixed-methods to examine distributed critique practices in a UX-focused online creative community on Reddit. We found that distributed critique resembles studio critique categorically, but differs qualitatively. While studio critique often focuses on depth, distributed critique often revolved around collective sensemaking, through which creative workers engaged in iteratively interpreting, defining, and refining the artifact and their process. We discuss the relationship between distributed critique and socio-technical systems and identify implications for future research.
2016
Gray, Colin M
It's More of a Mindset Than a Method: UX Practitioners' Conception of Design Methods Proceedings Article
In: Proceedings of the 2016 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, pp. 4044–4055, ACM, Santa Clara, California, USA, 2016, ISBN: 9781450333627.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Design Knowledge, Design Methods, Practice-Led Research, UX Knowledge
@inproceedings{Gray2016-pa,
title = {It's More of a Mindset Than a Method: UX Practitioners' Conception of Design Methods},
author = {Colin M Gray},
url = {http://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?doid=2858036.2858410},
doi = {10.1145/2858036.2858410},
isbn = {9781450333627},
year = {2016},
date = {2016-05-01},
booktitle = {Proceedings of the 2016 CHI Conference on Human Factors
in Computing Systems},
pages = {4044--4055},
publisher = {ACM},
address = {Santa Clara, California, USA},
abstract = {There has been increasing interest in the work practices
of user experience (UX) designers, particularly in
relation to approaches that support adoption of
human-centered principles in corporate environments. This
paper addresses the ways in which UX designers conceive of
methods that support their practice, and the methods they
consider necessary as a baseline competency for beginning
user experience designers. Interviews were conducted with
practitioners in a range of companies, with differing
levels of expertise and educational backgrounds
represented. Interviewees were asked about their use of
design methods in practice, and the methods they
considered to be core of their practice; in addition, they
were asked what set of methods would be vital for
beginning designers joining their company. Based on these
interviews, I evaluate practitioner conceptions of design
methods, proposing an appropriation-oriented mindset that
drives the use of tool knowledge, supporting designers'
practice in a variety of corporate contexts. Opportunities
are considered for future research in the study of UX
practice and training of students in human-computer
interaction programs.},
keywords = {Design Knowledge, Design Methods, Practice-Led Research, UX Knowledge},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {inproceedings}
}
There has been increasing interest in the work practices
of user experience (UX) designers, particularly in
relation to approaches that support adoption of
human-centered principles in corporate environments. This
paper addresses the ways in which UX designers conceive of
methods that support their practice, and the methods they
consider necessary as a baseline competency for beginning
user experience designers. Interviews were conducted with
practitioners in a range of companies, with differing
levels of expertise and educational backgrounds
represented. Interviewees were asked about their use of
design methods in practice, and the methods they
considered to be core of their practice; in addition, they
were asked what set of methods would be vital for
beginning designers joining their company. Based on these
interviews, I evaluate practitioner conceptions of design
methods, proposing an appropriation-oriented mindset that
drives the use of tool knowledge, supporting designers'
practice in a variety of corporate contexts. Opportunities
are considered for future research in the study of UX
practice and training of students in human-computer
interaction programs.
of user experience (UX) designers, particularly in
relation to approaches that support adoption of
human-centered principles in corporate environments. This
paper addresses the ways in which UX designers conceive of
methods that support their practice, and the methods they
consider necessary as a baseline competency for beginning
user experience designers. Interviews were conducted with
practitioners in a range of companies, with differing
levels of expertise and educational backgrounds
represented. Interviewees were asked about their use of
design methods in practice, and the methods they
considered to be core of their practice; in addition, they
were asked what set of methods would be vital for
beginning designers joining their company. Based on these
interviews, I evaluate practitioner conceptions of design
methods, proposing an appropriation-oriented mindset that
drives the use of tool knowledge, supporting designers'
practice in a variety of corporate contexts. Opportunities
are considered for future research in the study of UX
practice and training of students in human-computer
interaction programs.
2015
Gray, Colin M; Toombs, Austin L; Gross, Shad
Flow of Competence in UX Design Practice Honorable Mention Proceedings Article
In: Proceedings of the 33rd Annual ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, pp. 3285–3294, ACM, Seoul, Republic of Korea, 2015, ISBN: 9781450331456, (Awarded Best of CHI Honorable Mention, top 5%).
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Design Knowledge, Practice-Led Research, Translational Science, UX Knowledge
@inproceedings{Gray2015-ma,
title = {Flow of Competence in UX Design Practice},
author = {Colin M Gray and Austin L Toombs and Shad Gross},
url = {https://colingray.me/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/2015_GrayToombsGross_CHI_FlowofCompetence.pdf
http://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?doid=2702123.2702579},
doi = {10.1145/2702123.2702579},
isbn = {9781450331456},
year = {2015},
date = {2015-04-01},
urldate = {2015-04-01},
booktitle = {Proceedings of the 33rd Annual ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems},
pages = {3285--3294},
publisher = {ACM},
address = {Seoul, Republic of Korea},
series = {CHI '15},
abstract = {UX and design culture are beginning to dominate corporate priorities, but despite the current hype there is often a dis- connect between the organizational efficiencies desired by executives and the knowledge of how UX can or should address these issues. This exploratory study addresses this space by reframing the concept of competence in UX to include the flow of competence between individual design- ers and the companies in which they work. Our reframing resulted in a preliminary schema based on interviews con- ducted with six design practitioners, which allows this flow to be traced in a performative way on the part of individuals and groups over time. We then trace this flow of individual and organizational competence through three case studies of UX adoption. Opportunities for use of this preliminary schema as a generative, rhetorical tool for HCI researchers to further interrogate UX adoption are considered, including accounting for factors that affect adoption.},
note = {Awarded Best of CHI Honorable Mention, top 5%},
keywords = {Design Knowledge, Practice-Led Research, Translational Science, UX Knowledge},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {inproceedings}
}
UX and design culture are beginning to dominate corporate priorities, but despite the current hype there is often a dis- connect between the organizational efficiencies desired by executives and the knowledge of how UX can or should address these issues. This exploratory study addresses this space by reframing the concept of competence in UX to include the flow of competence between individual design- ers and the companies in which they work. Our reframing resulted in a preliminary schema based on interviews con- ducted with six design practitioners, which allows this flow to be traced in a performative way on the part of individuals and groups over time. We then trace this flow of individual and organizational competence through three case studies of UX adoption. Opportunities for use of this preliminary schema as a generative, rhetorical tool for HCI researchers to further interrogate UX adoption are considered, including accounting for factors that affect adoption.
2014
Gray, Colin M; Siegel, Martin A
Sketching Design Thinking: Representations of Design in Education and Practice Journal Article
In: International Journal of Technology and Design Education, vol. 19, no. 1, pp. 48–61, 2014.
Links | BibTeX | Tags: Design Education, HCI Education, Reflection, UX Knowledge
@article{Gray_undated-ih,
title = {Sketching Design Thinking: Representations of Design in Education and Practice},
author = {Colin M Gray and Martin A Siegel},
url = {https://ojs.lboro.ac.uk/DATE/article/view/1925},
year = {2014},
date = {2014-01-01},
urldate = {2014-01-01},
journal = {International Journal of Technology and Design Education},
volume = {19},
number = {1},
pages = {48--61},
keywords = {Design Education, HCI Education, Reflection, UX Knowledge},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Gray, Colin M; Stolterman, Erik; Siegel, Martin A
Reprioritizing the relationship between HCI research and practice: bubble-up and trickle-down effects Best Paper Proceedings Article
In: Proceedings of the 2014 Conference on Designing Interactive Systems, pp. 725-734, ACM, Vancouver, BC, Canada, 2014, ISBN: 9781450329026, (Awarded Best Paper, Top 1%).
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Design Knowledge, Design Methods, Translational Science, UX Knowledge
@inproceedings{Gray2014-fk,
title = {Reprioritizing the relationship between HCI research and practice: bubble-up and trickle-down effects},
author = {Colin M Gray and Erik Stolterman and Martin A Siegel},
url = {https://colingray.me/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/2014_GrayStoltermanSiegel_DIS_ReprioritizingRelationshipHCI.pdf
http://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?doid=2598510.2598595},
doi = {10.1145/2598510.2598595},
isbn = {9781450329026},
year = {2014},
date = {2014-01-01},
urldate = {2014-01-01},
booktitle = {Proceedings of the 2014 Conference on Designing Interactive Systems},
pages = {725-734},
publisher = {ACM},
address = {Vancouver, BC, Canada},
series = {DIS '14},
abstract = {There has been an ongoing conversation about the role and relationship of theory and practice in the HCI community. This paper explores this relationship privileging a practice perspective through a tentative model, which describes a “bubble-up” of ideas from practice to inform research and theory development, and an accompanying “trickle-down” of theory into practice. Interviews were conducted with interaction designers, which included a description of their use of design methods in practice, and their knowledge and use of two common design methods—affinity diagramming and the concept of affordance. Based on these interviews, potential relationships between theory and practice are ex- plored through this model. Disseminating agents already common in HCI practice are addressed as possible mecha- nisms for the research community to understand practice more completely. Opportunities for future research, based on the use of the tentative model in a generative way, are considered.},
note = {Awarded Best Paper, Top 1%},
keywords = {Design Knowledge, Design Methods, Translational Science, UX Knowledge},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {inproceedings}
}
There has been an ongoing conversation about the role and relationship of theory and practice in the HCI community. This paper explores this relationship privileging a practice perspective through a tentative model, which describes a “bubble-up” of ideas from practice to inform research and theory development, and an accompanying “trickle-down” of theory into practice. Interviews were conducted with interaction designers, which included a description of their use of design methods in practice, and their knowledge and use of two common design methods—affinity diagramming and the concept of affordance. Based on these interviews, potential relationships between theory and practice are ex- plored through this model. Disseminating agents already common in HCI practice are addressed as possible mecha- nisms for the research community to understand practice more completely. Opportunities for future research, based on the use of the tentative model in a generative way, are considered.
Gray, Colin M
Evolution of design competence in UX practice Proceedings Article
In: Proceedings of the 32nd annual ACM conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems - CHI '14, pp. 1645-1654, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, 2014, ISBN: 9781450324731.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Design Education, Design Knowledge, Expertise, HCI Education, Identity, Practice-Led Research, UX Knowledge, UX Practice
@inproceedings{Gray2014-dl,
title = {Evolution of design competence in UX practice},
author = {Colin M Gray},
url = {https://colingray.me/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/2014_Gray_CHI_EvolutionofDesignCompetence.pdf
http://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?doid=2556288.2557264},
doi = {10.1145/2556288.2557264},
isbn = {9781450324731},
year = {2014},
date = {2014-01-01},
urldate = {2014-01-01},
booktitle = {Proceedings of the 32nd annual ACM conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems - CHI '14},
pages = {1645-1654},
address = {Toronto, Ontario, Canada},
series = {CHI '14},
abstract = {There has been increasing interest in the adoption of UX within corporate environments, and what competencies translate into effective UX design. This paper addresses the space between pedagogy and UX practice through the lens of competence, with the goal of understanding how students are initiated into the practice community, how their perception of competence shifts over time, and what factors influence this shift. A 12-week longitudinal data collection, including surveys and interviews, documents this shift, with participants beginning internships and full-time positions in UX. Students and early professionals were asked to assess their level of competence and factors that influenced competence. A co-construction of identity between the designer and their environment is proposed, with a variety of factors relating to tool and representational knowledge, complexity, and corporate culture influencing perceptions of competence in UX over time. Opportunities for future research, particularly in building an understanding of competency in UX based on this preliminary framing of early UX practice are addressed.},
keywords = {Design Education, Design Knowledge, Expertise, HCI Education, Identity, Practice-Led Research, UX Knowledge, UX Practice},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {inproceedings}
}
There has been increasing interest in the adoption of UX within corporate environments, and what competencies translate into effective UX design. This paper addresses the space between pedagogy and UX practice through the lens of competence, with the goal of understanding how students are initiated into the practice community, how their perception of competence shifts over time, and what factors influence this shift. A 12-week longitudinal data collection, including surveys and interviews, documents this shift, with participants beginning internships and full-time positions in UX. Students and early professionals were asked to assess their level of competence and factors that influenced competence. A co-construction of identity between the designer and their environment is proposed, with a variety of factors relating to tool and representational knowledge, complexity, and corporate culture influencing perceptions of competence in UX over time. Opportunities for future research, particularly in building an understanding of competency in UX based on this preliminary framing of early UX practice are addressed.