Exiting the cleanroom: on ecological validity and ubiquitous computing

Over the past decade and a half, considerable time and money has been invested in the realization of ubiquitous computing. Yet iterative design is still difficult and rare, which limits the speed with which the field can move forward. Based on the literature and interviews with 28 developers, we show how issues of sensing and scale cause ubicomp systems to resist iteration, prototype creation, and ecologically valid evaluation. Our work has focused in particular on a tool for enabling qualitative techniques for need finding and early stage design and testing. We present our work on the Momento tool, and discuss a series of studies that was conducted using Momento including a diary study, a field study of an early prototype desktop/mobile application, and a field study of a Wizard-of-Oz mobile prototype.

Speaker Details

Dr. Jennifer Mankoff is an Assistant Professor in the Human Computer Interaction Institute at Carnegie Mellon University. She earned her B.A. at Oberlin College and her Ph.D. in Computer Science at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Her research focuses on tools and techniques for rapid, iterative prototyping of ubiquitous computing applications and accessible technology for people with disabilities. Her research interests also include mediation of ambiguous, recognition-based interfaces. Application areas of her work include web accessibility for the blind, transcription services for the deaf, desktop application accessibility, health and ecology.

Date:
Speakers:
Jen Mankoff
Affiliation:
Carnegie Mellon University