Skip to main content
Log in

Patterns of home life: Informing design for domestic environments

  • Published:
Personal Technologies Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This paper considers how we may provide support for the development of general design principles in domestic environments. In particular, we examine the potential for usingdesign patterns as a means of presenting ethnographic material and outlining design solutions. The paper reports on the development of an initial pattern language based on our studies of a number of domestic, environments and offers a general structure for presenting these patterns. Finally, we briefly reflect on our experiences of developing an on-line set of patterns for this class of environment.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
$34.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or eBook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Hughes JA, Randall D, Shapiro D. From ethnographic record to system design: some experiences from the field. Computer Supported Cooperative Work 1993; 1(3): 123–141

    Google Scholar 

  2. Blythin S, Rouncefield M, Hughes JA. Never mind the ethno stuff- what does all this mean and what do we do now?: ethnography in the commercial world. Interactions 1997; 4(3): 38–47

    Google Scholar 

  3. Rodden TA, King V, Hughes J, Sommerville I. Process modelling and development practice. In: EWSPT'94. Springer, London, 1994; 55–64

    Google Scholar 

  4. Rouncefield M. An ethnography of “everyday admissions work”. Lancaster University, Lancaster, 1998 http:// www.comp.lancs.ac.uk/computing/research/cseg/projects/ Intranet/ADM.htm

  5. Bowers J, O'Brien J, Pycock J. Practically accomplishing immersion: cooperation in and for virtual environments. In: Proceedings of the ACM 1996 Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work — CSCW'96. ACM Press, 1996; 380–389

  6. O'Brien J, Rodden T. Interactive systems in domestic environments. In: Proceedings of the ACM Conference on Designing Interactive Systems — DIS'97. ACM Press, 1997; 247–259

  7. Heath C, Luff P. Documents and professional practice: “bad” organisational reasons for “good” clinical records. In: Proceedings of the ACM 1996 Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work — CSCW'96. ACM Press, 1996; 354–363

  8. Luff P, Heath C. System use and social organisation: observations on human computer interaction in an architectural practice. In Button G. (ed) Technology in working order. Routledge, London, 1993; 72–98

    Google Scholar 

  9. Harper RHR, Lamming MG, Newmann WM. Locating systems at work: implications for the development of active badge applications. Interacting with Computers 1992; 4(3): 343–363

    Google Scholar 

  10. Button G, Sharrock W. The production of prder and the prder of production. In: Proc. ECSCW'97, Kluwer, Amsterdam, 1997, 1–16

    Google Scholar 

  11. Heath C, Luff P. Collaboration and control: crisis management and multimedia technology in London Underground control rooms. Computer Supported Cooperative Work 1992; 1(1): 69–94

    Google Scholar 

  12. Heath C, Jirotka M, Luff P, Hindmarch J. Unpacking collaboration: the interactional organisation of trading in a city dealing room. In: ECSCW'93. Kluwer, Amsterdam, 1993, 155–170

    Google Scholar 

  13. Beyer H. Holtzblatt K. Contextual design: defining customer-centered systems. Morgan Kaufmann, San Francisco, 1998

    Google Scholar 

  14. Viller S, Sommerville I. Coherence: social analysis for software engineers. Lancaster University, Lancaster, 1998. ftp://ftp.comp.lancs.ac.uk/pub/reports/1998/ CSEG.8.98.pdf

    Google Scholar 

  15. Hughes J, O'Brien J, Rodden T, Rouncefield M, Sommerville I. Presenting ethnography in the requirements process. In: Proc. RE'95. IEEE Computer Society Press, 1995; 27–35

  16. Twidale M, Rodden TA, Sommerville I. The designer's notepad: supporting and understanding cooperative design. In: ECSCW'93. Kluwer, 1993; 93–108

  17. Viller, S, Sommerville I. Coherence: an approach to representing ethnographic analyses in systems design. Human-Computer Interaction, 1999; 14 (182): 9–41

    Google Scholar 

  18. Button G, Dourish P. Technomethodology: paradoxes and possibilities. In: ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems — CHI'96. ACM Press, 1996; 19–26

  19. Hughes JA, Randall D, Shapiro D. Faltering from ethnography to design. In: Proceedings of CSCW'92. ACM Press, 1992; 115–122

  20. Hughes JA, King V, Rodden T Andersen H. Moving out from the control room: ethnography in system design. In: Proceedings of CSCW'94., Chapel Hill, NC, 1994; 429–439

  21. Plowman L, Rogers Y, Ramage M. What are workplace studies for? In: Proceedings of ECSCW'95. Kluwer, 1995; 309–324

  22. Alexander C. A timeless way of building. Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1979

    Google Scholar 

  23. Alexander C, Ishikawa S, Silverstein M. A pattern language. Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1977

    Google Scholar 

  24. Gamma E, Helm R, Johnson R, Vlissides J. Design patterns: elements of reusable object-oriented software. Addison-Wesley, Reading, MA, 1995

    Google Scholar 

  25. Sane A. The patterns home page. 1998. http:hillside.net/ patterns/patterns.html.

  26. Erickson T. Towards a pattern language for interaction design. In: Heath C, Hindmarch J, Luff P. (eds) Workspace studies: Recovering work practice and informing systems design. 2000.

  27. Bayle E, Bellamy R, Casaday G, Erickson T. Putting it all together: towards a pattern language for interaction design. SIGCHI Bulletin 1998; 30(1): 17–23

    Google Scholar 

  28. Coplien JO, Schmidt DC. (eds) Pattern languages of program design. Addison-Wesley, Reading, MA, 1998

    Google Scholar 

  29. NCR Corporation “Passionfruit” — an NCR Knowledge Lab Report. NCR Knowledge Lab, London, 1998

    Google Scholar 

  30. Moran R. The electronic home: social and spatial aspects. Report of the EC's European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions. Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, Luxembourg, 1993

    Google Scholar 

  31. Banta M. Taylored lives: narrative productions in the age of Taylor, Veblen, and Ford, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1993

    Google Scholar 

  32. Newman O. Defensible space: people and design in the violent city. Architectural Press, London, 1972

    Google Scholar 

  33. Morley D. The nationwide sudience., BFI, London, 1980

    Google Scholar 

  34. Hobson D. Crossroads: the drama of a soap opera. Methuen, London, 1982

    Google Scholar 

  35. Lull J. Inside family viewing: ethnographic research on television's audiences. Routledge, London, 1981

    Google Scholar 

  36. Silverstone R. Television and everyday life., Routledge, London, 1994

    Google Scholar 

  37. Venkatesh A., A conceptualisation of the household/ technology interaction. In: Lutz R. (ed) Advances in Consumer Research, Vol XII, Association for consumer Research. Ann Arbor, Michigan, 1985: 189–194

    Google Scholar 

  38. Venkatesh A, Vitalari N. A post-adoption analysis of computing in the home. Journal of Economic Psychology, 1986; 8: 161–180

    Google Scholar 

  39. Venkatesh A. Computers and other interactive technologies for the home. Communications of the ACM, 1996; 39(12): 47–54

    Google Scholar 

  40. Hirsch, E. “The Long Term and Short Term of Domestic Consumption” in R. Silverstone and E, Hirsch (eds.)Cosuming technologies: media and information in domestic spaces (London, Routledge) (1992) pp57–71

    Google Scholar 

  41. Sacks H. Lecture 3, Spring 1972. In: Schegloff EA. (ed) Lectures in conversation: volume II. Blackwell, Oxford, 1992; 548

    Google Scholar 

  42. Shapiro D. Ferrets in a sack? Ethnographic studies and task analysis in CSCW. In: Shapiro D, Tauber MJ, Traunmuller R. (eds) The design of computer supported cooperative work and groupware systems. Elsevier. Amsterdam, 1996

    Google Scholar 

  43. see http://wwwit.bton.ac.uk/cil/usability/patterns/

  44. Goffman E. The presentation of self in everyday life. Penguin, Harmondsworth, 1971

    Google Scholar 

  45. Philips..see http://www.design.philips.com/vof/

  46. Bentley R, Sommerville I, Rodden TA, Sawyer P,. Hughes JA, Randall D, Shapiro D. Ethnographically-informed systems design for air traffic control. In: Proceedings of CSCW'92. ACM Press, 1992; 123–129

  47. Sommerville I, Rodden TA, Sawyer P, Bentley R. Sociologists can be surprisingly useful in interactive systems design. In: Proceedings of HCI'92, 1992; 341–354

  48. Usability patterns FAQhttp://wwwit.bton.ac.uk/cil/ usability/patterns/FAQ.html#What-pattern-look-like)

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to John Hughes.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Hughes, J., O'Brien, J., Rodden, T. et al. Patterns of home life: Informing design for domestic environments. Personal Technologies 4, 25–38 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01613596

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01613596

Keywords