Recent research suggests design pre-patterns, structured collections of evidence-based research and design knowledge, provide a useful resource for design activities in emerging application domains. This paper extends previous research by exploring the impact of pre-patterns and tools to support pre-pattern exploration for the domain of ubiquitous computing in the home. We conducted an empirical study of 44 designers engaged in a two hour concentrated brainstorming and design task for the home of the future. Our results show pre-patterns are an easily adopted resource for designers that can impact even the earliest of design activities. We also provide insights for future development of pre-patterns based on designer feedback. Author Keywords Design, Design patterns, Digital Home, Ubicomp, Evaluation ACM Classification Keywords H.5.2 User Interfaces.
T. Scott Saponas, Madhu K. Prabaker, Gregory D. Ab