Designing to maintain human agency in context-aware systems

Abstract

This paper describes a series of design games, specifically aimed at exploring shifts in human agency, how they are managed, and the impact this will have on the design of future context-aware applications. The games focused on understanding information handling issues in dental practice with participants from the University of Queensland Dental School playing an active role in the activities. Participatory design activities reveal how technology solutions impact on dental practice. By finding methods of representing technological possibilities in ways which can be easily understood we enhance the contribution that dentists can make to the design process.