In-Situ and Mixed-Design Interventions

Abstract

Sustainability in living and working contexts aims to design innovations that are appropriated by users in their daily life activities. Appropriation is a dynamic process that acknowledges the complexity of practices in the adoption of technologies. It involves adaptation of the technology and its intended use as well as the practices that are affected by it. In Living Lab settings the innovation process is user-centric, meaning that is driven by users, their practices and the process of appropriation. This requires an active involvement of users at all stages of the design process: for gathering insights, ideation, co-designing, experimentation and evaluation. When the focus is on active involvement of users, qualitative methods are central in the design process. Qualitative methods support a wide spectrum of user involvement, from been observed to actively self-report experiences and practices to inform the design process. The more active the involvement of users and the more complex their context, the more effort and skills are needed from them. If no clear incentives for participation, active involvement becomes a burden and does not sustain overtime. In-situ and mixed-designs interventions support user centric, situated and integrated design research practices. In-situ and mixed tools take the form of mixed data probes and in-situ interventions that facilitate user involvement in the activities of data collection and interpretation. In this chapter, the SusLab Toolkit is presented as an implementation of in-situ and mixed-designs interventions in the context of heating practices at home.