Colloquium - Palen

Now that computational tools are within reach of many types of users for use in everyday settings, technologists must wrangle with increasingly difficult issues of design and deployment. The creation of technologies that effectively support the activities of real users requires more than novel innovation. Rather, the path from development to effective use is a complex, socio-technical process that requires an understanding of target users, an appreciation for how even small design choices can significantly affect use, and strategy for dealing with what are often difficult deployment and adoption issues.

In this talk, I will present analyses of user studies that reflect and demonstrate the usefulness of this socio-technical perspective for three technology domains. I will briefly review my research on enterprise calendaring and text chat, and then focus in-depth on wireless telephony. Taking a technology-as-system analytical approach, I offer a framework for extending the scope of wireless "usability" beyond the traditional hardware and software concerns to include the less visible factors of network service and business policy.

Hosted by Clayton Lewis.
Refreshments will be served immediately following the talk in ECOT 831.