Artful systems in the home

Abstract

In this paper we introduce the idea of organizing systems. Through a number of examples from an ongoing ethnographic study of family life, we suggest that organizing systems come about through the artful design and use of informational artifacts in the home, such as calendars, paper notes, to-do lists, etc. These systems are not only seen to organize household routines and schedules, but also, crucially, to shape the social relations between family members. Drawing attention to the material properties of informational artifacts and how assemblies of these artifacts come to make up organizing systems, we discuss some general implications for designing information technology for the home. Most importantly, we suggest that technologies must be designed to accommodate the rich and diverse ways in which people organize their homes, providing them with the resources to artfully construct their own systems rather than enforcing ones that are removed from their own experiences.

Probing user values in the home environment within a technology driven Smart Home project

“…For example, a note left on the stairs to ensure that it is seen as someone walks in the front door or a note left by the kettle so that it is seen in the morning. This finding confirms those of Crabtree and Rodden [14] and Taylor and Swan [26] and supports the need for ubiquitous Smart Home solutions that support the customisable display of information around the home rather than attempting to impose centralised information displays upon the existing household routines of users. Sharing information Figure 7 shows a selection of images in response to the sharing information mission.…”

“…Mobile and landline phones are a popular way of sharing information and featured in much of the returned material for this mission. Images of household calendars and diaries and notes left in different locations around the house again reflected other research findings [18,26]. The images for displaying and sharing information generated from Missions 4 and 5 showed a number of consistencies (e.g.…”

Time, Ownership and Awareness: The Value of Contextual Locations in the Home

“…Taylor and Swan investigated organizational systems in the home, and saw that the locations of informational artifacts could act as a trigger for conversation or serve as a physical point of reference for planning. We expand those ideas, looking at what these different locations can mean to household members, along with how they are established [16] [17].…”

Presence, Routines, and Technology Discrepancy – Information Exchange between Parents and Preschool Teachers

“…Paper calendars displayed in the kitchen or other central places in the home are common tools to help families [1,7]. Taylor & Swan have also described how this is done using paper lists [11] and other home made organizing systems such as charts or notebooks [10] to achieve the flexibility needed in combination with the beauty, personalization, and functionality desired. The above approaches have in common that they have focused on the family and how they manage incoming information and keep track of it.…”

“…Various studies have shed light on families organize their lives using various tools such as paper lists [11], home made organizing systems [10], and paper calendars [1], how they communicate and coordinate their information [3], and how this work could be supported by smart home systems [2]. This research has focused on the family as a unit and explored how family members communicate with each other, organize incoming information, and negotiate their everyday tasks.…”