2025
Gairola, Ritika; Gray, Colin M
How is "Public Policy" Used in HCI Scholarship? Proceedings Article
In: Extended Abstracts of the CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI EA '25), ACM Press, 2025.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Legal and Policy Perspectives, Translational Science
@inproceedings{Gairola2025-iy,
title = {How is "Public Policy" Used in HCI Scholarship?},
author = {Ritika Gairola and Colin M Gray},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/3706599.3719997},
doi = {10.1145/3706599.3719997},
year = {2025},
date = {2025-01-01},
urldate = {2025-01-01},
booktitle = {Extended Abstracts of the CHI Conference on Human Factors in
Computing Systems (CHI EA '25)},
publisher = {ACM Press},
abstract = {Over the past decade, there has been a growing interest in inte-
grating public policy into HCI scholarship. Despite this
increased attention, HCI researchers and policy professionals
have not fully explored the potential of this collaboration and
public policy re- mains an underrepresented stakeholder in HCI
discussions. In this study, we report on a systematic literature
review describing the use of “public policy” in HCI literature
from 2014-2024 at CHI, DIS, and CSCW. Using inductive coding and
reflexive thematic analysis, we highlight how public policy is
employed as a concept, revealing that the term public policy is
used in numerous ways that range from being a strong voice at the
forefront of the discussion to a background concept that lacks
strong articulation of future scope or direction. We identify
ways to strengthen connections between HCI and Policy, laying the
groundwork for stronger policy discussions and outcomes.},
keywords = {Legal and Policy Perspectives, Translational Science},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {inproceedings}
}
Over the past decade, there has been a growing interest in inte-
grating public policy into HCI scholarship. Despite this
increased attention, HCI researchers and policy professionals
have not fully explored the potential of this collaboration and
public policy re- mains an underrepresented stakeholder in HCI
discussions. In this study, we report on a systematic literature
review describing the use of “public policy” in HCI literature
from 2014-2024 at CHI, DIS, and CSCW. Using inductive coding and
reflexive thematic analysis, we highlight how public policy is
employed as a concept, revealing that the term public policy is
used in numerous ways that range from being a strong voice at the
forefront of the discussion to a background concept that lacks
strong articulation of future scope or direction. We identify
ways to strengthen connections between HCI and Policy, laying the
groundwork for stronger policy discussions and outcomes.
grating public policy into HCI scholarship. Despite this
increased attention, HCI researchers and policy professionals
have not fully explored the potential of this collaboration and
public policy re- mains an underrepresented stakeholder in HCI
discussions. In this study, we report on a systematic literature
review describing the use of “public policy” in HCI literature
from 2014-2024 at CHI, DIS, and CSCW. Using inductive coding and
reflexive thematic analysis, we highlight how public policy is
employed as a concept, revealing that the term public policy is
used in numerous ways that range from being a strong voice at the
forefront of the discussion to a background concept that lacks
strong articulation of future scope or direction. We identify
ways to strengthen connections between HCI and Policy, laying the
groundwork for stronger policy discussions and outcomes.
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.
2016
Gray, Colin M
What is the Nature and Intended Use of Design Methods? Proceedings Article
In: Proceedings of the Design Research Society, pp. 14 pp., Design Research Society, Brighton, United Kingdom, 2016.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Design Methods, Design Theory, Translational Science
@inproceedings{Gray2016-yv,
title = {What is the Nature and Intended Use of Design Methods?},
author = {Colin M Gray},
url = {https://colingray.me/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/2016_Gray_DRS_NatureUseofDesignMethods.pdf},
year = {2016},
date = {2016-01-01},
booktitle = {Proceedings of the Design Research Society},
pages = {14 pp.},
publisher = {Design Research Society},
address = {Brighton, United Kingdom},
abstract = {Interest in the codification and application of design methods is rapidly growing as businesses increasingly utilize “design thinking” approaches. However, in this uptake of design methods that encourage designerly action, the ontological status of design methods is often diffuse, with contradictory messages from practitioners and academics about the purpose and desired use of methods within a designer’s process. In this paper, I explore the paradoxical nature of design methods, arguing for a nuanced view that includes the (often) conflicting qualities of prescription and performance. A prescriptive view of methods is drawn from the specification of methods and their “proper” use in the academic literature, while a performative view focuses on in situ use in practice, describing how practitioners use methods to support their everyday work. The ontological characteristics and practical outcomes of each view of design methods are considered, concluding with productive tensions that juxtapose academia and practice.},
keywords = {Design Methods, Design Theory, Translational Science},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {inproceedings}
}
Interest in the codification and application of design methods is rapidly growing as businesses increasingly utilize “design thinking” approaches. However, in this uptake of design methods that encourage designerly action, the ontological status of design methods is often diffuse, with contradictory messages from practitioners and academics about the purpose and desired use of methods within a designer’s process. In this paper, I explore the paradoxical nature of design methods, arguing for a nuanced view that includes the (often) conflicting qualities of prescription and performance. A prescriptive view of methods is drawn from the specification of methods and their “proper” use in the academic literature, while a performative view focuses on in situ use in practice, describing how practitioners use methods to support their everyday work. The ontological characteristics and practical outcomes of each view of design methods are considered, concluding with productive tensions that juxtapose academia and practice.
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; 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.