2024
Chivukula, Shruthi Sai; Gray, Colin M
Envisioning Transformation Structures to Support Ethical Mediation Practices Proceedings Article
In: Proceedings of the Design Research Society, Design Research Society, 2024.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Design Methods, Ethics and Values, Practice-Led Research, UX Practice
@inproceedings{Chivukula2024-dd,
title = {Envisioning Transformation Structures to Support Ethical Mediation Practices},
author = {Shruthi Sai Chivukula and Colin M Gray},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.21606/drs.2024.178
https://colingray.me/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/2024_ChivukulaGray_DRS_TransformationStructures.pdf},
doi = {10.21606/drs.2024.178},
year = {2024},
date = {2024-06-01},
urldate = {2024-06-01},
booktitle = {Proceedings of the Design Research Society},
publisher = {Design Research Society},
abstract = {Ethics is complex and situated, involving many stakeholders that
impact the design of technology systems. Numerous methods and
tools have been proposed to enable practitioners to address
ethical issues in the workplace. However, little work has
described how designers themselves understand and seek to
respond to that ethical complexity. In this short paper, we
present five transformation structures that visually and
relationally depict how ethics might be addressed in a workplace
setting. We base these structures on analysis of plans that 39
practitioners and students created in a co-design workshop to
address an ethical concern in their job role. We evaluated the
diagrams of these workshop plans and identified five different
types of structures that could lead to potential transformation
of ethical practices: parallel, linear, top-down, loopy, and
gordian. We identify how these transformation structures
differently inscribe expectations of ethical mediation and
action, leading to opportunities for further support of ethical
practices by practitioners.},
keywords = {Design Methods, Ethics and Values, Practice-Led Research, UX Practice},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {inproceedings}
}
impact the design of technology systems. Numerous methods and
tools have been proposed to enable practitioners to address
ethical issues in the workplace. However, little work has
described how designers themselves understand and seek to
respond to that ethical complexity. In this short paper, we
present five transformation structures that visually and
relationally depict how ethics might be addressed in a workplace
setting. We base these structures on analysis of plans that 39
practitioners and students created in a co-design workshop to
address an ethical concern in their job role. We evaluated the
diagrams of these workshop plans and identified five different
types of structures that could lead to potential transformation
of ethical practices: parallel, linear, top-down, loopy, and
gordian. We identify how these transformation structures
differently inscribe expectations of ethical mediation and
action, leading to opportunities for further support of ethical
practices by practitioners.
Gray, Colin M; Chivukula, Shruthi Sai; Johns, Janna; Will, Matthew; Obi, Ikechukwu; Li, Ziqing
Languaging Ethics in Technology Practice Journal Article
In: Journal of Responsible Computing, 2024.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Design Theory, Ethics and Values, Legal and Policy Perspectives, Practice-Led Research, Regulation, UX Practice
@article{Gray2024-mf,
title = {Languaging Ethics in Technology Practice},
author = {Colin M Gray and Shruthi Sai Chivukula and Janna Johns and Matthew Will and Ikechukwu Obi and Ziqing Li},
url = {https://colingray.me/2024_grayetal_jrc_languagingethics/},
doi = {10.1145/3656468},
year = {2024},
date = {2024-01-01},
urldate = {2024-01-01},
journal = {Journal of Responsible Computing},
abstract = {Ethics as embodied by technology practitioners resists simple
definition, particularly as it relates to the interplay of
identity, organizational, and professional complexity. In this
paper we use the linguistic notion of languaging as an analytic
lens to describe how technology and design practitioners
negotiate their conception of ethics as they reflect upon their
everyday work. We engaged twelve practitioners in individual
co-creation workshops, encouraging them to reflect on their
ethical role in their everyday work through a series of
generative and evaluative activities. We analyzed these data to
identify how each practitioner reasoned about ethics through
language and artifacts, finding that practitioners used a range
of rhetorical tropes to describe their ethical commitments and
beliefs in ways that were complex and sometimes contradictory.
Across three cases, we describe how ethics was negotiated through
language across three key zones of ecological emergence: the
practitioner's ``core'' beliefs about ethics, internal and
external ecological elements that shaped or mediated these core
beliefs, and the ultimate boundaries they reported refusing to
cross. Building on these findings, we describe how the languaging
of ethics reveals opportunities to definitionally and practically
engage with ethics in technology ethics research, practice, and
education.},
keywords = {Design Theory, Ethics and Values, Legal and Policy Perspectives, Practice-Led Research, Regulation, UX Practice},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
definition, particularly as it relates to the interplay of
identity, organizational, and professional complexity. In this
paper we use the linguistic notion of languaging as an analytic
lens to describe how technology and design practitioners
negotiate their conception of ethics as they reflect upon their
everyday work. We engaged twelve practitioners in individual
co-creation workshops, encouraging them to reflect on their
ethical role in their everyday work through a series of
generative and evaluative activities. We analyzed these data to
identify how each practitioner reasoned about ethics through
language and artifacts, finding that practitioners used a range
of rhetorical tropes to describe their ethical commitments and
beliefs in ways that were complex and sometimes contradictory.
Across three cases, we describe how ethics was negotiated through
language across three key zones of ecological emergence: the
practitioner's ``core'' beliefs about ethics, internal and
external ecological elements that shaped or mediated these core
beliefs, and the ultimate boundaries they reported refusing to
cross. Building on these findings, we describe how the languaging
of ethics reveals opportunities to definitionally and practically
engage with ethics in technology ethics research, practice, and
education.
2023
Gray, Colin M; Williams, Rua M; Parsons, Paul C; Toombs, Austin L; Westbrook, Abbee
Trajectories of Student Engagement with Social Justice-Informed Design Work Book Section
In: Hokanson, Brad; Exter, Marisa; Schmidt, Matthew M; Tawfik, Andrew A (Ed.): Toward Inclusive Learning Design: Social Justice, Equity, and Community, pp. 289–301, Springer Nature Switzerland, Cham, 2023, ISSN: 2625-0012.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Critical Theory, Design Education, Digital Civics, Ethics and Values, HCI Education, Studio Pedagogy, UX Practice
@incollection{Gray2023-sf,
title = {Trajectories of Student Engagement with Social Justice-Informed Design Work},
author = {Colin M Gray and Rua M Williams and Paul C Parsons and Austin L Toombs and Abbee Westbrook},
editor = {Brad Hokanson and Marisa Exter and Matthew M Schmidt and Andrew A Tawfik},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-37697-9_22},
doi = {10.1007/978-3-031-37697-9_22},
issn = {2625-0012},
year = {2023},
date = {2023-01-01},
urldate = {2023-01-01},
booktitle = {Toward Inclusive Learning Design: Social Justice, Equity, and
Community},
pages = {289–301},
publisher = {Springer Nature Switzerland},
address = {Cham},
abstract = {Designers are increasingly interested in using methodologies
that foreground the politics of design, moving beyond
product-centered notions of work that are common even within
human-centered design traditions. In this paper, we document the
experiences of undergraduate UX design students as they used a
digital civics approach to support local community needs. We
highlight how students sought to frame their design work and
outcomes, describing successful and unsuccessful trajectories of
engagement with social justice principles.},
keywords = {Critical Theory, Design Education, Digital Civics, Ethics and Values, HCI Education, Studio Pedagogy, UX Practice},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {incollection}
}
that foreground the politics of design, moving beyond
product-centered notions of work that are common even within
human-centered design traditions. In this paper, we document the
experiences of undergraduate UX design students as they used a
digital civics approach to support local community needs. We
highlight how students sought to frame their design work and
outcomes, describing successful and unsuccessful trajectories of
engagement with social justice principles.
2020
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}
}
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.
Chivukula, Shruthi Sai; Watkins, Chris; Manocha, Rhea; Chen, Jingle; Gray, Colin M
Dimensions of UX Practice that Shape Ethical Awareness Proceedings Article
In: Proceedings of the 2020 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, ACM Press, New York, NY, 2020.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Dark Patterns, Ethics and Values, Practice-Led Research, UX Practice
@inproceedings{Chivukula2020-bv,
title = {Dimensions of UX Practice that Shape Ethical Awareness},
author = {Shruthi Sai Chivukula and Chris Watkins and Rhea Manocha and Jingle Chen and Colin M Gray},
url = {https://colingray.me/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/2020_Chivukulaetal_CHI_DimensionsThatShapeEthicalAwareness.pdf
http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/3313831.3376459},
doi = {10.1145/3313831.3376459},
year = {2020},
date = {2020-04-01},
booktitle = {Proceedings of the 2020 CHI Conference on Human Factors in
Computing Systems},
publisher = {ACM Press},
address = {New York, NY},
series = {CHI'20},
abstract = {HCI researchers are increasingly interested in describing the
complexity of design practice, including ethical,
organizational, and societal concerns. Recent studies have
identified individual practitioners as key actors in driving the
design process and culture within their respective
organizations, and we build upon these efforts to reveal
practitioner concerns regarding ethics on their own terms. In
this paper, we report on the results of an interview study with
eleven UX practitioners, capturing their experiences that
highlight dimensions of design practice that impact ethical
awareness and action. Using a bottom-up thematic analysis, we
identified five dimensions of design complexity that influence
ethical outcomes and span individual, collaborative, and
methodological framing of UX activity. Based on these findings,
we propose a set of implications for the creation of
ethically-centered design methods that resonate with this
complexity and inform the education of future UX practitioners.},
keywords = {Dark Patterns, Ethics and Values, Practice-Led Research, UX Practice},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {inproceedings}
}
complexity of design practice, including ethical,
organizational, and societal concerns. Recent studies have
identified individual practitioners as key actors in driving the
design process and culture within their respective
organizations, and we build upon these efforts to reveal
practitioner concerns regarding ethics on their own terms. In
this paper, we report on the results of an interview study with
eleven UX practitioners, capturing their experiences that
highlight dimensions of design practice that impact ethical
awareness and action. Using a bottom-up thematic analysis, we
identified five dimensions of design complexity that influence
ethical outcomes and span individual, collaborative, and
methodological framing of UX activity. Based on these findings,
we propose a set of implications for the creation of
ethically-centered design methods that resonate with this
complexity and inform the education of future UX practitioners.
Gray, Colin M; Chivukula, Shruthi Sai
When Does Manipulation Turn a Design 'Dark'? Journal Article
In: Interactions, vol. 27, no. 1, pp. 96–96, 2020.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Dark Patterns, Ethics and Values, UX Practice
@article{Gray2020-il,
title = {When Does Manipulation Turn a Design 'Dark'?},
author = {Colin M Gray and Shruthi Sai Chivukula},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/3173574},
doi = {10.1145/3173574},
year = {2020},
date = {2020-01-01},
journal = {Interactions},
volume = {27},
number = {1},
pages = {96--96},
publisher = {Interactions},
abstract = {Websites such as this one, shared on the ``asshole design''
subreddit, use fake errors or obstructionist language to block
access to content or user choice, drawing on dark pattern
strategies such as obstruction and forced action.},
keywords = {Dark Patterns, Ethics and Values, UX Practice},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
subreddit, use fake errors or obstructionist language to block
access to content or user choice, drawing on dark pattern
strategies such as obstruction and forced action.
2014
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}
}