Studying and Designing Technology for Domestic Life: Lessons from Home

Conducting research and technology design for domestic life is by no means easy.  Methods commonly used in the field of Human-Computer Interaction in settings like the workplace may not easily translate to the richness and complexity of domestic life.  This book documents new ways in which researchers are studying domestic life, as well as designing and evaluating technology in the home.  Each chapter is a candid discussion about methods that were successfully used for research studies with a focus on the challenges that the researchers faced and the best practices they learned.

Discover new research methods for exploring family life and evaluating and designing domestic technology.Learn about the challenges in designing for and studying domestic life from experts in the field.Read researchers' candid stories about what works and what does not work in practice.More information available at the companion website: http://lessonsfromhome.org/

1: An Introduction to Studying and Designing Technology for Domestic Life

I. Understanding Domestic Life 2: Interviews with Remote Participants 3: “Rainy Days Work Best For Us”: Lessons from Home-Based Family Interviews 4: Wear Nice Socks: Guidance for Researchers Conducting In-Home Studies with Children 5: The Flexible Realities of using Design Probes: Reflections from a Care Home Context 6: Using the Business Origami Technique to Understand Complex Ecosystems Such As the Internet Usage of Households 7: The Financial Tour: Methods for Studying Sensitive Financial Questions

II. Technology Design and Evaluation 8: Autobiographical Design in the Home 9: In-Home Deployments 10: Field Trials with Multiple Connected Households 11: Techniques for Studying Actual Usage of Personal Communication Prototypes 12: Working with Community Groups to Inform the Design of Domestic Technologies 13: Conflict in Families as an Ethical and Methodological Consideration