Interactions - March/April 2008

the design process by encouraging team members to understand and agree on the elements of a system and how those elements interact with each other and their environment. Second, by making the elements and their interactions visible, it reduces the likelihood of overlooking differences in point of view, which might otherwise eventually derail a project.

Explicit modeling also helps scale the design process. It enables designers to develop larger and more complex systems and makes the process of working with larger and more complex organizations easier. Discussing the role of modeling in design also invites comparison and interaction with other disciplines that use models. Ideally, practitioners that use models may, over time, be able to see patterns across their models that will advance the practice of design.

Abstract and thematic

Storytelling

and analysis

Brainstorming

and concept generation

Learning and understanding

Making and trying

Design Research

and data gathering

Prototyping

and concept development

Real and concrete

Kaiser/IDEO model

ABOUT THE AUTHORS Hugh Dubberly manages a consultancy focused on making services and software easier to use through interaction design and information design. As vice president he was responsible for design and production of Netscape’s Web services. He was at Apple for 10 years, where he managed graphic design and corporate identity and co-created the Knowledge Navigator series of videos. Dubberly also founded an interactive media department at Art Center and has taught at San Jose State, IIT/ID, and Stanford. Rick Robinson is vice president for practice innovation at Design Continuum in Boston. As chief experience officer (or CXO) at Sapient, Rick oversaw the development of innovative research approaches for understanding human interaction with products, environments, communications, services, and technologies. Before joining Sapient, he founded E-Lab, a user research laboratory. An interdisciplinary social scientist, Robinson received his Ph.D. from the Committee of Human Development at the University of Chicago. Shelley Evenson is an associate professor in the School of Design at Carnegie Mellon University, where teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in interaction design. She is a voting faculty member in the Human-Computer Interaction Institute (HCII). She is the director of graduate studies in design and for the joint master’s program in HCI between Carnegie Mellon and the University of Madeira. Shelley brings more than 20 years of experience in multidisciplinary consulting practices to the school. She is a frequent speaker at design conferences and conducts design strategy workshops with large and small corporations. Shelley also works with graduate students from the school of design to host the international Emergence Conference in service design. Her current interests include design languages and strategy, organizational interfaces, what lies beyond human-centered design, and design for service.