Amanda Rotondo's presentation from the 2011 miniUPA conference.

1. VALUES IN DESIGN:
A “HANDS-ON” WORKSHOP
Amanda Rotondo, PhD
Boston UPA Conference
May 25, 2011
Where a simple man will ask “is it good?”, technology asks “will it work?”
-Joseph Weizenbaum, 1972

2. Agenda
• What is Value Centered Design?
• Values Inherent in all Artifacts
• Example of Values in UX Design
• Values in Conflict
• Common conflicts in UX Design
• Methodology
• Iterative Tripartite Methodology
• Envisioning Cards
• Workshop
• Conclusion

3. What is Value Centered Design?
• Several methodologies, including Values in Design and
Value Sensitive Design
• Critical, expansive, proactive
• Focuses on values central to human well being, human
dignity, justice, welfare, and human rights
• Requires that we broaden the goals and
criteria for judging technological systems
to include those that advance human value
Images from Corbis

4. What organizations (often) want from UX
Broader Values
Improvements like:
Increase Task Efficiency
Minimize Errors
Boost Product Sales
Serve Up Most Useful Info
Encourage Product Ratings

5. …but these exist in a larger context
Broader Values
Cooperation
Autonomy Creativity
Fulfilling work
Considering Children Accountability
Improvements Like: Anonymity
Increase Task Efficiency
Minimize Errors
Boost Product Sales Community
Serve Up Most Useful Info
Encourage Product Ratings Freedom from bias
Right to Information
Security Creativity

6. Obligatory fatty food metaphor
Broader Values
Cooperation
Autonomy Creativity
Fulfilling work
Considering Children Accountability
Improvements like: Anonymity
Increase Task Efficiency
Minimize Errors
Boost Product Sales Community
Serve Up Most Useful Info
Encourage Product Ratings Freedom from bias
Right to Information
Security Creativity
Images from Corbis

7. Values Inherent in All Artifacts
• Dictionary.com says…
val!ue noun, verb: Sociology. the ideals,
customs, institutions, etc., of a society
toward which the people of the group
have an affective regard.
(NOT the politicized meaning of “values!”)
• Examples
• Census
• Toys
• Government Budgets
• The “value neutrality of
technology” fallacy
Images from 1790 Census,http://afww.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/boy-playing-with-toy-gun.jpg

8. Examples of Values in UX Design
• Microsoft CodeCOOP
• Prior systems were unsuccessful
• Value Conflicts:
• Anonymity vs. Accountability
• Community vs. Self Preservation
• Resolving conflicts boosted adoption
• Privileging value resolution AND
organizational change led to adoption
• User-centric design alone couldn’t expose
problems in the organizational structure.
The jelly was fine but couldn’t have exposed problems in the donut itself.
Images from Corbis

9. Examples of Values in UX Design
• Medical Records System in Hospital
• Design goal #1: Patient Privacy
• Secure but slow login/out procedure
• Login/out circumvented to save time
• Providing Care vs. Security
• Patient care self-perceived value of nurses’
work
• Result: Privacy minimized
System, stakeholder, and user values need to be recognized and aligned.
Images from Corbis

10. Examples of Values in UX Design
• Interior Offices – Shedding Light
• Goal: improve emotional well being in offices
• Calming effects of outdoor exposure
• Create Plasma Display solution
• Found reduced psychological stress effects
• Low-level stress recuperation time improved
• Emotional well-being increased (along with other
metrics important to business!)
Proactive value-based investigations can expose both issues & solutions.
Image from Corbis

11. Examples of Values in UX Design
• Josie True & RAPUNSEL
• Researchers concerned with skew in
demographics of kids getting into Math/
Science/Computer fields
• Created games to counter popular notion of
what type of people enter those fields
• Josie True targets female, non-
white 4th graders
• RAPUNSEL targets preteen girls
• Used VID methodology to
understand and address gaps
Understanding values exposes organic ways to achieve desired behavior.

12. Values in Conflict
• Stakeholders’ values may conflict with users’ values
• Identifying value conflicts is 1st step toward resolving them
• Good designs may not be adopted due to unresolved value conflicts
• If two values in conflict can’t be both addressed, one must often be
privileged over the other
Image from Corbis

13. Common Conflicts in UX
• Privacy vs. Security
• Automation vs. Autonomy
• Anonymity vs. Accountability

14. Iterative Tripartite VSD Methodology
• Stages
• Conceptual
• Empirical
• Technical
• (and around again…)
• Can be incorporated into
existing methodology of
Research/design/test
• Tools
• Envisioning Cards
• Stakeholders | Time |
Values | Pervasiveness
• Grow-a-Game Cards
• Get un-stuck, find new approaches,
find your motivation, define your
audience

15. Activity Time!
Image from Corbis

16. Let’s “e-Value-ate” Scrabble
• 1) What values does Scrabble already encapsulate?
• 2) What do these mean?
• 3) Do we see any inherent value conflicts?
• Key pieces of game:
• 2-4 individual players
• Draw letters from bag
• Keep tiles secret
• Go in turns around table
• Spell words, building off existing words on board
• Get points for values of letters plus bonuses
• Can “challenge” spelling or existence of a word
• Game ends 1st turn after first player goes out
• Most points wins

17. Let’s “re-Value-ate” Scrabble
• How can we change it to also/instead advocate:
• Community
• Physical well-being
Key pieces of game:
• 2-4 individual players
• Draw letters from bag
• Keep tiles secret
• Go in turns around table
• Spell words, building off existing words on board
• Get points for values of letters plus bonuses
• Can “challenge” spelling or existence of a word
• Game ends 1st turn after first player goes out
• Most points wins

18. Now you try…
• Grab a partner or a few partners (extroverts, this is all you)
• Remember:
• 1) Identify existing values in system or system type
• 2) Consider what new values mean
• 3) Identify (& resolve) any value conflicts
• 4) Think up creative ways to integrate new values

19. Now you try…
• Grab a partner or a few partners (extroverts, this is all you)
• Remember:
• 1) Identify existing values in system or system type
• 2) Consider what new values mean
• 3) Identify (& resolve) any value conflicts
• 4) Think up creative ways to integrate new values
How can we design components of: A mobile banking app

20. Now you try…
• Grab a partner or a few partners (extroverts, this is all you)
• Remember:
• 1) Identify existing values in system or system type
• 2) Consider what new values mean
• 3) Identify (& resolve) any value conflicts
• 4) Think up creative ways to integrate new values
How can we design components of: A mobile banking app
To consider: Democracy and Sustainability
…this is a time-bound exercise

21. The Bottom Line: Values Matter
For Business:
• Values are a brand/product differentiator
• People consider their own values when making decisions (whether
consciously or not)
• E.g. – green movement, organic movement, Made in USA
• Provides a clear path for your product strategy
• Helps avoid making decisions that will derail product focus and lose
user base
• If values of product reconciled with values of employees, they are
more invested in a successful outcome

22. The Bottom Line: Values Matter
For Designers:
• Understanding audiences on a deeper level
• Creates invested product champions
• Lowers barriers to adoption
• VSD can integrate into an existing process
• Provides a structured and strategic path for your design
• Helps avoid making decisions that will derail product focus
• Pushing to consider high-level values encourages creativity
• Break out of creative ruts, find new angles
• Think bigger -> Steward of humanity

23. Resources:
http://www.envisioningcards.com/
http://www.tiltfactor.org/
http://www.vsdesign.org/
http://depts.washington.edu/vsdesign/
http://www.valuesatplay.org/
http://www.nyu.edu/projects/valuesindesign/index.html
Amanda Rotondo, PhD
amanda@madpow.net