DesignLibs

Abstract

Generating potential design ideas through ideation often benefits from the spontaneity of random ideas. Having potential users participate in this process can be beneficial, but is often difficult to implement. We present a new method for generating design ideas with potential users. The method uses scenarios with missing words, which potential users fill in to generate ideas for features and attributes of new technology designs, similar to the children's game of Mad Libs. We developed three different formats of DesignLibs, including 1) "Mad Libs-style:" blanks presented before seeing the scenario, 2) "Fill-in-the-Blanks:" blanks presented within the context of the scenario, and 3) "Q&A:" blanks presented as questions and answers. We found that Design-Libs generated a number of new ideas, with the Fill-in-the-Blanks method providing the highest ratings for usefulness, feasibility, and diversity of answers. All three formats provided equal ratings for creativity.

A Guide to Using Asynchronous Remote Communities (ARC) for Researching Distributed Populations

“…Cooper [13] argues that "merely being the victim of a particular problem doesn't automatically bestow on one the power to see its solution." These can be developed with participants to discover these use cases or personas [4], or can allow existing findings to be reframed in a way useful to design [41]. In our ARC method, we use personas as a way of getting feedback towards the end of the study about our understanding of participants' contributions.…”

“…Inspired by Bauer et al's [4] use of "DesignLibs" (mad libs for design), we wanted to work with participants to construct scenarios (as in [11]) that described their experiences. We came across [39], which contained an amusing mad lib for people with diabetes that is "Written by People You've Met Who Don't Understand Diabetes".…”