Summer 2010 Research with Janet Davis:
Participatory Design of Persuasive Technology

This document provides an overview of my projects with students in summer 2010 and my expectations of those students.

Research areas

My main research area is human-computer interaction. My recent work is concerned with the application of participatory design methods to the area of persuasive technology. 

Persuasive technology systems are intended to change behaviors and attitudes. For example, the Google PowerMeter service is intended to provide households with feedback on their electricity consumption, so they can take steps to reduce it.  As another example, the Nintendo WiiFit Plus game not only provides feedback on the user's weight, balance, and mental acuity, but also encourages the user to set fitness goals, teaches users how to do exercises, makes it easy to do a set routine, and praises the user for playing regularly and for performing well. Although the examples I've given are commercial systems, persuasive technology is an active research area with roots in both interaction design and behavioral psychology. 

The novelty of my work is in the adaptation of participatory design methods to designing persuasive technology. Participatory design is different from other interaction design methods in that it casts end users and other stakeholders in the role of full partners in the design process. Such participation may take the form of workshops, games, storytelling, roleplaying, discussions, building low-tech mock-ups, and revising prototype systems. Because it involves users in key decisions throughout the design process, I believe that participatory design will be a valuable approach for ensuring that new persuasive technology respects the user's welfare and autonomy: that is, that the technology will help users change their behavior in ways that are good for them and that they want for themselves.

Before applying, you should read the following abstracts, which discuss my prior work in this area. 

You must have be a rising junior or senior and have taken CSC 161 to apply. Desirable but not required are experience with object-oriented design (CSC 1207), software design (CSC 323/325), visual design (e.g., art), or work with human subjects (e.g., psychology or anthropology). Other desirable experience is noted in the project descriptions below.

The projects

I am considering three projects for this summer. I intend to work with a total of four MAP students, who will work in pairs on two of these three projects.

  1. The Firefly Stairway, an interactive sculpture intended to encourage people to take the stairs rather than the elevator, was designed by students Tim Miller and Pat Rich as part of their MAP project on participatory design of ambient persuasive technology in summer 2008. Though they built and installed a prototype system, it was too fragile to implement many of the proposed features or to conduct a conclusive evaluation study.  In this project, you would re-envision and re-construct the Firefly Stairway.  You will design and implement
    a robust system architecture, allowing the system to remain running for several weeks at a time.  The system architecture should also be flexible enough to let you implement several different patterns of human interaction with the sculpture.  The system should be designed to collect data on its own use, and you may also help to design an evaluation study to be carried out during the fall semester.

    You will help to choose a sensor/actuator platform, such as Phidgets or Arduino, and become proficient in its use. In addition to the coursework listed above, this project will benefit from experience with concurrent programming (CSC 213), embedded computing (CSC 211), and/or electronics.

  2. My current work with EcoHouse has led to the idea of a social networking web site just for college and university eco-houses and eco-dorms. This site would motivate users and help them to learn from each other and collaborate on projects. You will interact with participants to identify and experiment with potential persuasive features, design and implement promising features, and help plan for more formal evaluation.Because users will come from all over, and even Grinnell EcoHousers may be away for the summer, participation will be through email or through the web site itself. You will conduct background research on distributed participatory design and persuasive social networks---both exciting new subareas for me---and reflect on the relationship between these areas.

    Implementation of the web site will most likely be in Drupal, a content management system which has been used for many social network sites and also for Grinnell College's new web site. Ideally, you will have taken CSC 325 or have other significant experience with web site design.

  3. The final project idea is to extend the participatory design work to a new audience or behavior that we choose together. For example, the design process might continue to focus on Grinnell College students as audience and participants, but target stress relief rather than environmental sustainability. Or we might continue working on environmental sustainability, but shift the audience to local families. Building on my experience with applying participatory design methods to persuasive technology, you will plan the design process, write an IRB proposal, recruit participants, facilitate participatory design activities, develop prototype or proof-of-concept systems, and reflect on the overall process.

    This project is closest to the heart of my research, but probably the furthest from the formal computer science curriculum. However, note that the direction is very similar to where I started my work with Tim Miller and Pat Rich in 2008, and that project was quite successful. Your interests and activities outside computer science may help us to choose a direction and establish relationships with participants and domain experts.

Approximate schedule

Much of this schedule follows the official divisional schedule for summer research. I will certainly understand if a student accepts a position with me and later chooses to take a more attractive position elsewhere. In that case, I will notify students on my waiting list.  

Expectations

I have high expectations of my summer research students. I will expect my summer students to begin their work in the spring and continue it into the fall (and perhaps beyond). By applying for summer research you are agreeing to meet these expectations. You are unlikely to receive explicit credit or compensation for work in the spring and fall (with one exception discussed below).

Students will work in teams of two. We will meet most days during the summer and several times before the summer begins.

Spring

Topic preparation
You will be expected to begin your background research during the spring.  In particular, you must review papers I have cited and identify at least four additional papers on related projects. Sources to consider include the ACM Digial Library (particularly proceedings of the ACM SIGCHI conference), proceedings of the Pervasive Computing conference, and proceedings of the Participatory Design Conference. You are also encouraged to use the Web and, once you've identified potentially useful resources, to consult with the librarians about using Science Citations.
Skill preparation
If your project will require a programming language, data language, toolkit, or application that you do not yet know, you are expected to begin studying it. You need not master it, but should begin to develop some familiarity.

Summer

During the summer, you are expected to work full time on the project: 40-50 hours per week for ten weeks. This work will include scheduled daily group meetings and collaborative work time (e.g., pair programming or team design sessions). Working with stakeholders may require occasional evening or weekend work, depending on their availability. In short, your schedule will be flexible, but not arbitrarily so.
Topic preparation
For the first week or so of summer research, you will continue your preparation from the spring, developing a survey of "the state of the art" in whatever project you've decided to undertake. You should prepare a short survey paper. On the first day of the second week, you'll give a public presentation of your work.
Core research
For the next eight weeks of the summer, you will work on your project, using what you've learned during preparation for guidance. Some of this time may be spent continuing to develop skills and investigating further literature as needed.
Writing
For the last week of the summer (and, preferably, as you do your work), you will write a five-to-ten page paper describing your work and placing it in the context of related work. Your paper should meet the highest standards of writing at Grinnell. Students working as part of a group need prepare only one paper. You may be required to submit a version of this paper to a conference or journal. (I may provide significant assistance in developing the submitted version, in which case I will be listed as a co-author.)

Fall and Beyond

Poster presentation
You will create a poster describing your work and present it at the Grinnell Science Poster Seminar (typically during Parents' Weekend).
Internal public presentation
You will give a 25- to 50-minute presentation on your work as part of the Thursday Extras colloquium series.
External student presentation
You must submit your work to the Midstates Science and Mathematics Consortium Fall Symposium on Undergraduate Research in the Physical and Mathematical Sciences. You must attend the symposium (including non-cs talks) and present your work (in poster or talk form) if your work is accepted. I will join you if I am able.
External conference presentation
If your work is submitted to and accepted by another conference, and there is funding available for you to attend, you will be expected to attend and present your work.
Evaluation studies
If your project involves evaluation of a system designed and implemented during the summer, and this evaluation cannot take place during the summer (e.g., because it will require students' presence on campus), then I may encourage you to register for an additional 2 credit MAP for the fall semester. You will be expected to help plan the study during the summer, carry out data collection in the fall, contribute to data analysis, and report on the study method and findings.
Janet Davis (davisjan@cs.grinnell.edu)

Created February 3, 2010
Last modified February 5, 2010
With thanks to Sam Rebelsky: http://www.cs.grinnell.edu/~rebelsky/Department/samr-summer-2007.html