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Ethnographic video as design specs

Published: 22 November 2010 Publication History

Abstract

Ethnographic video is used extensively in some industrial corporations to document field studies and to convey an understanding of what is 'out there' to HCI designers and developers of new technologies. The basic assumption is that ethnography through questioning the prevailing conceptions of 'users' and their practices can encourage development engineers to solve the right problems with socially sustainable solutions. However, engineering is solution-driven, with the currency of negotiation being requirement specifications and solution principles. While providing ethnographic insight and recommendations is surely ideal and appropriate in many cases, there are situations, in which a bolder engagement is called for to ensure an impact on the development process. In this paper we explore how video can function to initiate 'requirement specs' discussions rather than just as inspiration or field data. We investigate how video specs can support an engineering development process, and help set clear limitations for which solutions might work, and which might not, while retaining some of the richness of the field studies.

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  • (2022)Engaging with Under-Resourced Communities for User Research through Self-Authored VideosProceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction10.1145/35556266:CSCW2(1-26)Online publication date: 11-Nov-2022
  • (2019)Development of web platform for dissemination of design with social impact methodologySouth East European Journal of Architecture and Design10.3889/seejad.2018.100402019(111)Online publication date: 27-Oct-2019
  • (2018)On Visual GranularityProceedings of the 2018 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems10.1145/3173574.3173721(1-13)Online publication date: 21-Apr-2018
  • Show More Cited By

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cover image ACM Other conferences
OZCHI '10: Proceedings of the 22nd Conference of the Computer-Human Interaction Special Interest Group of Australia on Computer-Human Interaction
November 2010
462 pages
ISBN:9781450305020
DOI:10.1145/1952222
Permission to make digital or hard copies of all or part of this work for personal or classroom use is granted without fee provided that copies are not made or distributed for profit or commercial advantage and that copies bear this notice and the full citation on the first page. Copyrights for components of this work owned by others than ACM must be honored. Abstracting with credit is permitted. To copy otherwise, or republish, to post on servers or to redistribute to lists, requires prior specific permission and/or a fee. Request permissions from [email protected]

Sponsors

  • Queensland University of Technology
  • Adobe
  • Coopers and Lybrand Deloitte
  • CSIRO
  • Symplicit: Symplicit
  • Microsoft: Microsoft
  • Smart Services CRC: Smart Services CRC
  • NICTA: National Information and Communications Technology Australia
  • PTG Global: The Performance Technologies Group

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Association for Computing Machinery

New York, NY, United States

Publication History

Published: 22 November 2010

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Author Tags

  1. collaborative design
  2. design material
  3. ethnographic video
  4. requirement specs
  5. user studies

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  • Research-article

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OZCHI '10
Sponsor:
  • Symplicit
  • Microsoft
  • Smart Services CRC
  • NICTA
  • PTG Global

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Overall Acceptance Rate 362 of 729 submissions, 50%

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Cited By

View all
  • (2022)Engaging with Under-Resourced Communities for User Research through Self-Authored VideosProceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction10.1145/35556266:CSCW2(1-26)Online publication date: 11-Nov-2022
  • (2019)Development of web platform for dissemination of design with social impact methodologySouth East European Journal of Architecture and Design10.3889/seejad.2018.100402019(111)Online publication date: 27-Oct-2019
  • (2018)On Visual GranularityProceedings of the 2018 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems10.1145/3173574.3173721(1-13)Online publication date: 21-Apr-2018
  • (2017)Reworking the Gaps between Design and EthnographyProceedings of the 2017 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems10.1145/3025453.3026051(5373-5385)Online publication date: 2-May-2017
  • (2013)Toward a Theoretical Foundation for Experience Design in TourismJournal of Travel Research10.1177/004728751351317253:5(543-564)Online publication date: 18-Dec-2013

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