Building the Design Observatory: a Core Instrument for Design Research

DS 30: Proceedings of DESIGN 2002, the 7th International Design Conference, Dubrovnik

Year: 2002
Editor: Marjanovic D.
Author: Carrizosa, K.; Eris, Ö.; Milne, A.; Mabogunje, A.
Section: Design research and technology
Page(s): 37-42

Abstract

The "observe-analyse-intervene" method allows a complex system to be perturbed to deepen understanding and reveal hidden assumptions. Historically we have collected analogue audio and video data of design team activity to operationalise this method. The use of this type of data has a number of limitations. We sought to overcome these limitations by creating a facility that would support digital data collection and analysis. The goal of the first phase of this project was to implement a core functionality that was informed by the needs of all involved researchers, was functioning in three months, and cost less than US $10000 to build. In this paper we discuss the design, creation, and performance of this facility, the Design Observatory.

Keywords: design research, observational studies, research methodologies, physical spaces

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