Gibson+abel silo busting and island-hopping-4-safety

Michael R. Gibson
Professor
Communication Design 
Graduate Programs Coordinator: 
IXD & Design Research
Producer: Dialectic
Dr. Troy D. Abel
Assistant Professor
User Experience Design 
Program Coordinator
https://unt-ixd.com/
Presentation
Silo-Busting
and Island-
Hopping:
How (and Why) to
Deploy Pedagogic
Approaches that Blend 
Theory and Practice
01/24

Michael R. Gibson
Professor
Producer: Dialectic
Dr. Troy D. Abel
Assistant Professor
Program Coordinator
Presentation
Silo-Busting and Island-Hopping
Gynecologist James Blundell performed the
first successful blood transfusion in 1818,  
but it took over a century for them to be  
used to treat blood loss rather than as a
“treatment for psychiatric ailments.” Failing
to situate and formulate 
a problem effectively 
can result in instances
of “solving the wrong
problem correctly,”
rather than “solving  
the correct problem.”
Helping your 
students learn 
to avoid the 
error of “trying
to solve 
the wrong 
problems”
02/24

Michael R. Gibson
Professor
Producer: Dialectic
Dr. Troy D. Abel
Assistant Professor
Program Coordinator
Presentation
Helping 
students 
“frame & set 
IX design 
problems
”
a
“less-than-
desirable
situation,”or
“problem”
environmental
factors
socio-economic 
conditions
cultural
bias(es)
technological
capacities & 
capabilities
public policy 
statutes
per-user
emotional
issuessocial 
norms
socio-cultural
perceptions
economic 
constraints
03/24

Michael R. Gibson
Professor
Producer: Dialectic
Dr. Troy D. Abel
Assistant Professor
Program Coordinator
Presentation
When we’re 
talkin’ ’bout
“theory,” we’re 
talkin’ ’bout
(Part One):
Learning how and why research that informs 
design decision-making can be formulated 
and operated to yield socially, techno- 
logically, economically, environmentally
and politically relevant, innovative and
resilient outcomes. 
17 years of teaching design informed
by research has taught us that doing
this effectively requires the consistently
thoughtful usage of a broadly-informed
toolkit of theoretical frameworks.
04/24

Michael R. Gibson
Professor
Producer: Dialectic
Dr. Troy D. Abel
Assistant Professor
Program Coordinator
Presentation
“The problems one already knows how to solve may
bear little resemblance to the problems one actually
needs to solve.”
—Ian Mitroff, 2009, Dirty Rotten Strategies, Palo Alto, CA,
USA; Stanford Business Press 
Because our experiences teaching UNT’s IX and UX Design
students have largely evinced Dr. Mitroff’s statement, we… 
1) teach students in these areas to generate LOTS and LOTS
of “problem-statements-that-evolve-into-formulations- 
of-research-questions…” as they
2) engage in the initial aspects of identifying and framing a
“less-than-desirable” interaction situation. To wit:
When we’re 
talkin’ ’bout
“theory,” we’re 
talkin’ ’bout
(Part Two):
05/24

Michael R. Gibson
Professor
Producer: Dialectic
Dr. Troy D. Abel
Assistant Professor
Program Coordinator
Presentation
An initial problem statement: 
Design an app that effectively1
facilitates travel abroad
(i.e., outside the U.S.) for women
Evolves into:
How might a woman traveling alone outside the U.S.
make the most effective use of digitally facilitated
resources to help her plan short- and long-term travel
routes that offer her the best chances for achieving her
personal “travel experience goals” without endangering
her or costing her excessive amounts of money?  
Evolving 
“problem 
statements 
into “research 
questions 
(Part One):
1. Please notice that the
modifiers “effective”and
“effectively” are used 
frequently in both these 
problem statements and 
in these more broadly 
framed, probatively 
structured research
questions.
”
”
Romanesco broccoli (Brassica oleracea) 
is the edible flower of a plant that  
likely originated in Italy. Its natural  
form approximates a fractal.
The visual metaphor we’re hoping you 
glean meaning from here is the need 
to objectively contemplate the nature  
of a situation that a well-designed  
interaction could improve.
06/24

Michael R. Gibson
Professor
Producer: Dialectic
Dr. Troy D. Abel
Assistant Professor
Program Coordinator
Presentation
Design an interactive, online-facilitated means  
for newsroom personnel at a large, metro newspaper 
to effectively streamline their individual workflows
Evolves into:
How might newsroom personnel at a large, metro
newspaper be able to—“at-a-glance”—analyze content
Evolving 
“problem 
statements 
into “research 
questions 
(Part Two):
from social media networks relevant  
to stories they’re covering/will be  
covering, analytics pertinent to the  
particular readers of stories they write  
and/or edit, and other content relevant
to the minute-by-minute news  
operations and developments  
transpiring around them?
Our Lady Undoer 
of Knots, Johann Georg
Schmidtner, oil on poplar,
c. 1700, Augsburg,
Germany 
The complex structure of a
knot must be understood
before it can be untied.
The “big idea to get” here
is the need to untie the
knot rather than cut
through it and thus
destroy the material that
comprises it.
”
”
07/24

Michael R. Gibson
Professor
Producer: Dialectic
Dr. Troy D. Abel
Assistant Professor
Program Coordinator
Presentation
Design an online, single-source information portal that
effectively meets the needs of students attempting  
to transfer into a large, tier-one research university (ours)
Evolves into:
How might information about a. specific educational
programs, b. room-and-board and c. financial support be
most effectively provided to a. in-state, b. out-of-state, 
Evolving 
“problem 
statements 
into “research 
questions 
(Part Three):
”
”
and c. international students, from first-year  
undergraduates to doctoral candidates, who wish  
to transfer some or all of the course credits they’ve
earned from a given institution of higher-learning  
to our tier-one research university?
Understanding that there are different ways to “think
about how to plan, make or think about something”  
can yield positive results similar to those yielded  
by well-considered information architecture.
That’s theory, folks! f
08/24

Michael R. Gibson
Professor
Producer: Dialectic
Dr. Troy D. Abel
Assistant Professor
Program Coordinator
Presentation
Systems-based
Approach(es)
Science & Humanities
Approach(es)
Normative
Approach(es)
Constructivist
Approach(es)
Embrace the complexity, folks!: 
personal “travel experience goals” without endangering
her or costing her excessive amounts of money? 
Which “theoretical umbrella” does this question rest under?
Research 
Question One:
Dr. Troy D. Abel
Assistant Professor
Program Coordinator
09/24

Michael R. Gibson
Professor
Producer: Dialectic
Dr. Troy D. Abel
Assistant Professor
Program Coordinator
Presentation
Approach(es)
Constructivist
Approach(es)
Systems-Based
Approach(es)
Normative
Approach(es)
These strive to link 
knowledge with effect: 
(“X occurs because  
of the observable/ 
measurable effects 
of “Y”); Intentionality…
Knowledge and 
understandings 
are “constructed” 
from one’s lived  
experiences in  
the world.
Facilitate the holistic
examination of systems,
networks and “wicked
problems;” helpful when
dealing with strategic
planning, geography…
The change/ 
design process 
itself becomes 
the subject of 
study. Examines 
“what might be”
10/24

Michael R. Gibson
Professor
Producer: Dialectic
Dr. Troy D. Abel
Assistant Professor
Program Coordinator
Presentation
personal “travel experience goals” without
endangering her or costing her excessive
amounts of money? 
Theoretical 
Approach One:
Approach(es)
(Again), these strive to link knowledge 
with effect; This student examined 
this question from a phenomeno- 
logical perspective, which allowed  
her to root the essential structure 
of the experiences of her “single 
woman users” in intentionality.
11/24

Michael R. Gibson
Professor
Producer: Dialectic
Dr. Troy D. Abel
Assistant Professor
Program Coordinator
Presentation
3
Meet Gypsy.
Approach(es)
Dr. Troy D. Abel
Assistant Professor
Program Coordinator
“Gypsy” was designed 
and developed by 
UNT CVAD MA in IxD 
candidate Taylor Burch. 
©Taylor Burch, 2019. 
All rights reserved.
12/24

Michael R. Gibson
Professor
Producer: Dialectic
Dr. Troy D. Abel
Assistant Professor
Program Coordinator
Presentation
18
Approach(es)
Dr. Troy D. Abel
Assistant Professor
Program Coordinator
“Gypsy” was designed 
and developed by 
candidate Taylor Burch. 
©Taylor Burch, 2019. 
13/24

Michael R. Gibson
Professor
Producer: Dialectic
Dr. Troy D. Abel
Assistant Professor
Program Coordinator
Presentation
Research 
Question Two
Dr. Troy D. Abel
Assistant Professor
Program Coordinator
Systems-based
Approach(es)
Approach(es)
Normative
Approach(es)
Constructivist
Approach(es)
Embrace the complexity, folks (again)!: 
How might newsroom personnel at a large, metro newspaper
be able to—“at-a-glance”—analyze content from social media
networks relevant to stories they’re covering/will be covering,
analytics pertinent to the particular readers of stories they
write and/or edit, and other content relevant to the minute-
by-minute news operations and developments transpiring
around them? 
14/24

Michael R. Gibson
Professor
Producer: Dialectic
Dr. Troy D. Abel
Assistant Professor
Program Coordinator
Presentation
Approach(es)
Constructivist
Approach(es)
Systems-Based
Approach(es)
Normative
Approach(es)
Knowledge and 
understandings 
experiences in  
the world.
The change/ 
design process 
itself becomes 
the subject of 
study. Examines 
“what might be”
15/24

Michael R. Gibson
Professor
Producer: Dialectic
Dr. Troy D. Abel
Assistant Professor
Program Coordinator
Presentation
How might newsroom personnel at a large, metro
newspaper be able to—“at-a-glance”—analyze content from
social media networks relevant to stories they’re covering/ 
will be covering, analytics pertinent to the particular
readers of stories they write and/or edit, and other
content relevant to the minute-by-minute
news operations and developments
transpiring around them? 
Theoretical 
Approach Two
Normative
Approach(es)
The change/design process itself becomes  
the subject of study/research. Facilitates  
inquiries that help foster understandings 
of “what ought to be” rather than “what is.”  
Often guided by the idea that the values  
of individuals or groups in a given community 
should affect how particular processes and 
procedures in that community transpire.
16/24

Michael R. Gibson
Professor
Producer: Dialectic
Dr. Troy D. Abel
Assistant Professor
Program Coordinator
Presentation
5
  Designing with journalists in mind
Previous attempts to design newsroom tools at The News have been met
with resistance and ultimately low adoption by the staff because the
journalists have not been involved in the design process.
A series of in-depth interviews were conducted with reporters, editors,
producers and visual journalists to learn which newsroom tools they use
the most, which their editors want them to use more, and which they
forget about.
It is with their feedback in mind that Jill Cowan was identified as a
typical user. It is with her in mind that the prototype was developed.
Meet Jill:
Jill Cowan is a business reporter at The Dallas Morning News. She tracks
Texas’ economy and how it shapes life in the Lone Star State. She also
writes about the region’s shifting demographics.
Previously, she’s covered everything from wildfires to state politics for
The Tennessean, the Los Angeles Times and its community newspapers
and The Bakersfield Californian. She graduated from UC Berkeley.
Professional Goals:
• Produce well-written, deeply reported and interesting stories
• Explain why our communities are the way they are
• Produce stories that are unique not just in our region but in the
country
• Make people think
• Connect with audiences who might not otherwise know their local
newspaper could be valuable to them
• Be recognized and supported in my work
Jill’s pain points to engagement:
Generally, Jill is juggling filing daily stories and working on medium and
long-term enterprise stories. She is expected to respond to reader email,
phone calls, and social media posts.
On top of traditional reporting duties above, Jill is also expected to be
sharing and promoting her own stories. She’s active in discussing her
reporting with subscribers in The News’ subscribers-only Facebook group
and is always looking for ways to make her role more engaging.
Jill Cowan
Role: Business reporter
Age: 27
Years at DMN: 3
Covers: Economy,
U.S. Census, local
business, Toyota, Dallas’
changing worker
Newsroom tools used:
• Serif
• Parse.ly
• Twitter
• Facebook
• DMN Wiki
• Slack
• DMN Budget App
• Email
• Google Drive
• Google Calendar
Normative
Approach(es)
“Prototype for a Dashboard 
to be used in the newsroom 
of the Dallas Morning News” 
was designed and developed 
by UNT CVAD MA in IxD 
student Hannah Wise. 
©Hannah Wise, 2019. 
17/24

Michael R. Gibson
Professor
Producer: Dialectic
Dr. Troy D. Abel
Assistant Professor
Program Coordinator
Presentation
10
Structure
EXPLORE THE PROTOTYPE DIGITALLY: HTTP://BIT.LY/ENGAGEMENTDASH
The proposed dashboard prototype would be designed as a Google
Chrome integration. This makes the most sense as a platform because
The News’ content management system (CMS) Serif is optimized for the
Chrome browser.
Journalists are asked to log in to the system using their email and
password. This is a common use across the organization for web-based
applications. There will be little to no resistance to integrating this
system into the newsroom’s larger web ecosystem.  
Normative
Approach(es)
“Prototype for a Dashboard 
to be used in the newsroom 
of the Dallas Morning News” 
was designed and developed 
by UNT CVAD MA in IxD 
student Hannah Wise. 
©Hannah Wise, 2019. 
18/24

Michael R. Gibson
Professor
Producer: Dialectic
Dr. Troy D. Abel
Assistant Professor
Program Coordinator
Presentation
Embrace the complexity, folks (one more time)!: 
How might information about a. specific educational programs,
b. room-and-board and c. financial support be most effectively
provided to a. in-state, b. out-of-state, and c. international
students, from first-year undergraduates to doctoral
candidates, who wish to transfer some or all of the course
credits they’ve earned from a given institution of higher-
learning to our tier-one research university? 
Research 
Question Three
Dr. Troy D. Abel
Assistant Professor
Program Coordinator
Systems-based
Approach(es)
Approach(es)
Normative
Approach(es)
Constructivist
Approach(es)
19/24

Michael R. Gibson
Professor
Producer: Dialectic
Dr. Troy D. Abel
Assistant Professor
Program Coordinator
Presentation
Approach(es)
Constructivist
Approach(es)
Systems-Based
Approach(es)
Normative
Approach(es)
Knowledge and 
understandings 
experiences in  
the world.
The change/ 
design process 
itself becomes 
the subject of 
study. Examines 
“what might be”
20/24

Michael R. Gibson
Professor
Producer: Dialectic
Dr. Troy D. Abel
Assistant Professor
Program Coordinator
Presentation
How might information about a. specific educational
programs, b. room-and-board and c. financial support be
most effectively provided to a. in-state, b. out-of-state, and
c. international students, from first-year undergraduates
to doctoral candidates, who wish to transfer some
or all of the course credits they’ve earned
from a given institution of higher- 
learning to our tier-one  
research university? 
Theoretical 
Approach Three
Systems-Based
Approach(es)
These facilitate the holistic examination 
of organizations, networks and the “wicked 
problems” that tend to operate within and  
across them. These kinds of inquiries are 
helpful when a project team needs to better 
understand situations that require strategic 
planning, satisfying many users, transforming 
organizations or protecting natural resources.
21/24

Michael R. Gibson
Professor
Producer: Dialectic
Dr. Troy D. Abel
Assistant Professor
Program Coordinator
Presentation
Systems-Based
Approach(es)
“Redesigning the College 
Transfer Process” was 
designed and developed by 
candidates Michele Hindman, 
Max Parola, William Cawley 
and Hannah Wise. 
©Michele Hindman, et al 2019. 
22/24

Michael R. Gibson
Professor
Producer: Dialectic
Dr. Troy D. Abel
Assistant Professor
Program Coordinator
Presentation
Systems-Based
Approach(es)
“Redesigning the College 
Transfer Process” was 
designed and developed by 
candidates Michele Hindman, 
Max Parola, William Cawley 
and Hannah Wise. 
©Michele Hindman, et al 2019. 
23/24

Michael R. Gibson
Professor
Producer: Dialectic
Dr. Troy D. Abel
Assistant Professor
Program Coordinator
Presentation
Questions? 
Snide remarks?
That’s It! 
We’re Done!
24/24

Gibson+abel silo busting and island-hopping-4-safety

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