2013 Think Tank on Citizen Engagement in Biomedical Research Presentation on Socio-Technical System Design: Design for Motivation

1. Thoughts on Design of Complex Socio-Technical Systems
Think Tank on Citizen Engagement in Biomedical Research
Washington D.C., May 2013
Olga Werby, Ed.D.
Pipsqueak Productions, LLC

2. “This is not an
information age,
itʼs an age of
networked
intelligence, an age
of vast promise.”
—Don Tapscott,
Author and Professor, TedGlobal 2012

3. ICC
Forum.COM
4 Systems

4. Swahili for testimony
“Ushahidi uses a combination of citizen
journalism, social activism, and geospatial
information towards increasing accountability.”
Geo-Temporal Crowd-Sourced Data Platform

5. World-wide Food Anthropology Project

6. Lowell High School Project
San Francisco
World-Wide Food
Anthropology Project
Very successful:
• for a small group of student data
collectors
• and for a large group of first-time
Ushahidi users, learning to use the system
Less successful:
• as a data collection site

7. World-wide Deployments of CrowdMaps

8. World-wide Deployments of CrowdMaps
Unfortunately,Vanuatu
Hazard Map is a dead
map...

9. Unfortunately, Panther Project map is
an empty map...
World-wide Deployments of CrowdMaps

10. Needed components for success:
• team
• training
• trust
• time
• tenacity — Heather Leson, Ushahidi Director of Community Engagement
Geo-Temporal Crowd-Sourced Data Platform

11. The Company Therapist Project

12. The Company Therapist Project

13. Very successful:
• for a small group of writers
• and a large group of readers
The Company Therapist Project

15. Human Rights & International Criminal Law

16. Oversight Archived: 0
Prevention Archived: 0
Darfur Archived: 0Gaza (archived) 11,600
Gaza
72,000
Oversight
34,000
Darfur
62,000
Prevention
66,000
Reparations
47,000
Mass Rape
50,000
Libya 6,000
Lecture Series 19,000
+ 11.5 hours of video
Gaza
September 2010
Darfur
January 2011
Oversight
May 2011
Prevention
October 2011
Libya Mini-Issue
November 2011
Reparations
February 2012
Mass Rape
July 2012
Lecture Series
January 2013
LAUNCH
FUTURE5 months 3 months 5 months 4 months 5 months 8 months
(area and numbers reflect total number of words)
Human Rights & International Criminal Law
Innovating Justice Award 2012 2013 Computerworld Honors Laureate
Very successful:
• for a narrow audience
• & a narrowly-defined purpose
ICC
Forum.COM

17. Medical Memory Project

18. Unsuccessful:
too hard to keep all the
information up to date
even when doing so
results in better
medical outcomes...
(information hoarding and data silos
were big problems)
Medical Memory Project

19. ICC
Forum.COM
Participant/User
Motivation
is the Driving Force of
Socio-Technical System
Success
Lessons Learned

20. "Social bonds and a feeling of
membership augment the meaning
that comes from values-based work."ROSABETH MOSS KANTER
MOTIVATION:
• mastery
• membership
• meaning
• money
Motivational Lessons Learned

21. Make Information Relevant to All Users:
• COMPREHENSION: Information is understood by the people providing it
• GOALS:The reason for collection of data is understood
• PRIDE: People take pride in participating
• INCLUSIVENESS: People feel they are part of the group effort
•VISION: People know what will happen next
Make Information Easy to Provide:
•TARGETED: Use only the level of security that is necessary to
maintain the desired quality of data
• STANDARDIZED: Use standardized input structures
• STRUCTURED: Multiple choice is easier than fill-in the blanks
• SUPPORTED: Create in-line help
•VERIFIED: Provide confirmation that the data has been entered correctly
• RESPECTFUL: Respect the user!
Motivational Lessons Learned

22. What Do Participants/Users
Give to the Socio-Technical
System?

23. Amount of Dedication
Available Time
Level of Expertise
Expertise
Required Expertise
Dedication
Required Dedication
Time
Required Time
Any group project can be
analyzed by how much it
asks of its participants:
• the time it requires,
• the level of expertise,
• and the amount of
dedication.
On Individual Participant Level

24. Successful Group Projects
Expertise
Required Expertise
Dedication
Required Dedication
Time
Required Time
Required Time = User Availability
Required Expertise = User’s Level of Expertise
Required Dedication = User’s Interest & Dedication
On Individual Participant Level

25. Expertise
Required Expertise
Dedication Time
Successful Participants:
• extra time and high
dedication can overcome
the missing expertise
On Individual Participant Level

26. Expertise
Dedication Time
Required Time
Successful Participants:
• extra dedication and high
qualifications can overcome
low time availability
On Individual Participant Level

27. Expertise
Required Expertise
Dedication
Required Dedication
Time
Required Time
Expertise
Required Expertise
Dedication
Required Dedication
Time
Required Time
Expertise
Required Expertise
Dedication
Required Dedication
Time
Required Time
Expertise
Required Expertise
Dedication
Required Dedication
Time
Required Time
Expertise
Required Expertise
Dedication
Required Dedication
Time
Required Time
Participants give
up to the group:
• control
• personal information
• time
On Group Level

28. What Does the Socio-Technical System
Give to its Participants/Users?

29. Expertise
Required Expertise
Dedication
Required Dedication
Time
Required Time
Expertise
Required Expertise
Dedication
Required Dedication
Time
Required Time
Expertise
Required Expertise
Dedication
Required Dedication
Time
Required Time
Expertise
Required Expertise
Dedication
Required Dedication
Time
Required Time
Expertise
Required Expertise
Dedication
Required Dedication
Time
Required Time
Group gives
its participants:
• social connections
• group support & recognition
• a sense of belonging
• trust
• meaning & purpose
• a sense of accomplishment
On Group Level

30. Very successful:
• for a short burst of time &
• a narrowly-defined purpose
CrowdMaps for Elections

31. In 2010, Ushahidi has come full circle since the 2007
elections with its Uchaguzi (Swahili for elections)
initiative to monitor elections.
iHub Research

32. Think Tank on Citizen Engagement in Biomedical Research
Washington D.C., May 2013
Olga Werby, Ed.D.
Pipsqueak Productions, LLC
Design for Motivation
Solve Both Parts of the Equation,
the Tech AND the Social,
of Complex Socio-Technical Systems