Needs of others November 2011

The Needs of Others Al Razi Masri @jumplogic www.jumplogic.co.uk [email_address]

Talk Outline
A bit on terminology
Delivering Technology
Appropriate Instructions
Open Documentation

Terminology
Open Source Appropriate Technology What does this mean?

Terminology
Technology Noun:
The application of scientific knowledge for practical purposes, esp. in industry: "computer technology"; "recycling technologies"
Machinery and equipment developed from such scientific knowledge

Terminology Appropriate Technology
Noun:
A flexible and participatory approach to developing economically viable, regionally applicable and sustainable technology

For our purposes
Define by goals:
Targeted at those in poverty
Free to use and modify
Environmentally, economically, locally sustainable
Sensitive to the needs of the users and local conditions
Leads to increased income or substantially better quality of life
Does NOT harm

Translating to Physical Objects
Features of code:
Embodied knowledge
Copy and pasting
Features of electronics:
Abstracted diagrams
Build sequence and physical form largely irrelevant

Delivering Technology
The technology is a means to an end. Not the end
It takes a lot to get a good invention/idea adopted
For illiterate populations unreached by mass media, flyers, brochures, or radio campaigns do not work
Even then people often like what they are used to
Goal is achieving success as opposed to nominal functionality
http://blog.paulpolak.com/?p=1111

Scalable Documentation
Conveying an invention to a single small group is very different from a large number of large groups
Needs of each group very different
All important parts of the delivery chain
Documents need to meet the needs of each part of the delivery chain, or at the very least a large chunk of it so that only small segments require extra effort

Priorities
Can we make a set of instructions suitable for all?
If not how much can we cover in one step?
...and in how few steps can we cover all of the important stuff?
…............................I'm still figuring this out

Who uses Instructions?
Different from users of the invention, such as:
Teachers
Developers
Implementers (builders & maintainers)
NGO & governmental involvement spans across these three roles

What are their needs? RESOURCES HIGH MEDIUM LOW NONE TEACH Expert Presenter Trained Presenter Novice presenter A VERY FREQUENT OCCURENCE Video Slideshow Posters/OHP Info Pack Take away booklet Single Reference Booklet Example Build Protoype/model build Premade model BUIILD Website Infopack Booklet/printout Borrowed photocopy Expert help (private) Course Second-hand advice Video Slideshow CAD model & Schematics Simple Diagrams Sketches DEVELOP Source material Compiled material CAD Model & Schematics Experience of product Second hand experience Viewed Multiple builds Few builds One Build Tech Data Estimations Guesses Many examples/variants Few Examples/variants One Example

Who makes these instructions?
Right now it's whoever
BUT …..
Many inventors
Lack Graphic Design skills
Lack CAD skills
Are too busy inventing or engaged with other projects
Gave up

Example 1: Warwick University
Called “Technical Release”
Issues:
All in PDFs
Hidden in the depth of their website
No source material
No declaration of license
Internal network
…....BUT
Will mail instruction to people in developing countries on request

Example 2: Made in Kenya
Ikea Style documents
Made by industrial design students
Issues:
No words
Are the diagrams comprehensible?
http://www.notechmagazine.com/2011/11/when-low-tech-goes-ikea.html

Example 3: Appropedia.org
Wiki hosting a range of technologies
Issues:
Many articles incomplete
Crowd sourced content, but are the crowds on their way?
Photos and Hyperlinks
Reliant on other formats

What do the Documentors Need?
EVERYTHING!
All of the source material
Pre-compiled file formats
Compiled files for comparison
Fonts and similar (best avoided but not always possible)
A way to track revisions
TRANSLATORS - Text kept separate from everything

Video
Multiple resolution and aspect Ratio
No overlays
No Presenter (Value of the presenter? Complicates modification)
Narrators (how to make multiple voices feel normal)
Source Material
Padding and filler (different languages take different times to say the same thing)

Video Source Materials
Editing Suite files
Animations (has own source material)
Unedited Footage
Audio
Music
Transcripts & Subtitle Footage
Time Data (unedited video cuts and activities, edited video cut and activities, and transcript)
Still images

Other Issues
All comes down to remembering who are the most important people in the whole picture

The Needs of Others Al Razi Masri @jumplogic www.jumplogic.co.uk [email_address]

Needs of others November 2011

by Razi Masri on Nov 29, 2011

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Needs of others November 2011 — Presentation Transcript