Designing situations

This paper extends the analytic framework Suchman used in Plans and Situated Actions by using it as a tool in the design of interactive, immersive environments that rely on human movement as input. We describe the historical and methodological background to Suchman’s framework and the impact of her analysis on the development of HCI and related fields. We provide two examples of its use to support prototype evaluation, design reflection and generative and iterative design. Suchman’s recognition that computers act on the basis of resources within their situations, just as people act in accord with the resources of theirs, broadens our focus from the design of interfaces to the design of situations within which interaction between people and computers can occur. The tool, and the methodological and theoretical commitments embedded within it, contribute to the design of emerging technologies and to current discussions about approaches to design within shifting paradigms of HCI. Autho...

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2009
• Where: OZCHI
• Authors: Toni Robertson, Lian Loke
• Keywords: Analytic Framework Suchman, Computer Human Interaction, Design, OZCHI 2009, Suchman’s Framework