Humanities Infrastructure Shapes User Experience Through Sociotechnical Systems
Category: User-Centred Design · Effect: Moderate effect · Year: 2023
Understanding infrastructure as a complex interplay of social, technical, political, and cultural elements is crucial for designing user experiences that are both functional and reflective of human practices.
Design Takeaway
When designing for a specific domain, consider the existing, often invisible, systems and practices that users already engage with, and design in a way that either integrates with or thoughtfully challenges these infrastructures.
Why It Matters
Designers often focus on the tangible product, but this research highlights that the 'infrastructure' surrounding a product—the systems, policies, and cultural norms—profoundly impacts how users interact with and perceive it. Recognizing these broader contexts allows for more holistic and effective design solutions.
Key Finding
The study reveals that the systems and environments in which users operate (infrastructures) are actively shaped by human actions and societal factors, and these infrastructures then guide and influence user behavior and experiences.
Key Findings
- Infrastructures are not neutral; they are materialized products of quotidian practices and existing power structures.
- Infrastructures act as generative forces, guiding and affecting how users interact with resources and services.
- An 'infrastructuralist perspective' offers a valuable transdisciplinary approach to understanding complex systems.
Research Evidence
Aim: How do sociotechnical, political, and cultural arrangements within humanities infrastructure influence user engagement and the perceived value of resources and services?
Method: Conceptual analysis and case study synthesis
Procedure: The research synthesizes perspectives from various humanities fields to analyze how existing infrastructures (e.g., digital archives, research platforms) are shaped by and, in turn, shape human practices and experiences.
Context: Humanities research and digital humanities initiatives
Design Principle
Design for context: Understand and integrate with the existing sociotechnical, political, and cultural infrastructures that shape user behavior and perception.
How to Apply
Before designing a new digital tool or service, conduct research into the existing workflows, established norms, and underlying systems that users in that domain currently rely on.
Limitations
The research is primarily conceptual and draws from humanities disciplines, which may require adaptation for direct application in engineering or product design contexts.
Student Guide (IB Design Technology)
Simple Explanation: Think about the 'invisible' systems and rules that people already follow when using something, because these systems really affect how they use new things.
Why This Matters: Understanding the 'infrastructure' of a user's environment helps you design solutions that are more relevant, usable, and likely to be adopted because they fit into existing ways of working or living.
Critical Thinking: To what extent can designers truly influence or redesign established infrastructures, versus simply adapting to them?
IA-Ready Paragraph: This research emphasizes that user experience is deeply embedded within broader sociotechnical, political, and cultural infrastructures. When developing design solutions, it is crucial to analyze and understand these existing systems, as they actively shape user practices and perceptions, influencing the adoption and effectiveness of new products and services.
Project Tips
- When researching user needs, investigate not just their direct tasks but also the broader environment and systems they operate within.
- Consider how your design might interact with or change existing practices and policies.
How to Use in IA
- Use this research to justify the importance of contextual analysis in your user research phase, explaining how broader systems influence user needs and behaviors.
Examiner Tips
- Demonstrate an awareness of how the user's environment and existing systems influence their interaction with the designed artifact.
Independent Variable: Sociotechnical, political, and cultural arrangements (infrastructure)
Dependent Variable: User engagement, perceived value of resources/services, user practices
Strengths
- Provides a holistic view of user interaction beyond the immediate product.
- Highlights the importance of context in design.
Critical Questions
- How can designers effectively identify and analyze the 'invisible' infrastructures that impact their users?
- What ethical considerations arise when designing to alter or integrate with existing infrastructures?
Extended Essay Application
- An Extended Essay could explore how the infrastructure of a specific academic discipline (e.g., history, literature) influences the design of digital research tools for that field.
Source
Rethinking Infrastructure Across the Humanities · transcript Verlag eBooks · 2023 · 10.1515/9783839469835