Ubicomp: Ubicomp: Smart Homes #2Smart Homes #2Thursday March 22Thursday March 22ndnd 2007 2007

Broken Expectations in the Digital Broken Expectations in the Digital HomeHome

Bly, Rosario, Schilit, Saint-Hilaire, McDonald

overviewoverview

• Researching ease of use of digital home technologies– Trying to understand the overhead or ‘problem-time’

for home network use

• ‘Broken expectations’ are often the cause of problems

• Broken expectations are when a user’s mental model of a device inaccurately depicts the functionality or capabilities of the device

The technology is reliableThe technology is reliable

If it ain’t broke, why doesn’t it work?

“The only problem is that it will never happen the way the industry imagines it. For one thing the digital home is fiendishlycomplex. The teenager in the family would have to become full-time unpaid tech support…” – Andreas Kluth

Contributions of paperContributions of paper

• raise the discussion of digital living ease-of-use and seamless interoperability to the level of everyday human activities with complex technology configurations

• provide a set of illustrative examples of broken expectations

• present implications for further research in user expectations for the digital home.

Methodologies of studyMethodologies of study

• Team member diary studies

• ethnographic-style home interviews

(w/ very tech-savvy participants)

• Online survey

InterviewsInterviews

• Research found people– Using workarounds– Upgrading to accommodate– Unable to integrate some devices– Giving up on tasks

FindingsFindings

• most problems not due to broken or malfunctioning software or hardware

• many problems were unanticipated

better understandings of broken better understandings of broken expectations are neededexpectations are needed

• How are expectations formed?

• how are a multiple interconnected activities a cause of problems?

Should broken expectations be expected?

Innovation, state-of-the-art vs. Innovation, state-of-the-art vs. Comfort, conventionComfort, convention

• How can we avoid ‘breaking’ expectations?

The evolution of buildings and The evolution of buildings and implications for the design of implications for the design of

ubiquitous domestic environmentsubiquitous domestic environments

• Rodden, Bedford

“We call our work "ubiquitous computing". This is different from PDA's, dynabooks, or information at your fingertips. It is invisible, everywhere computing that does not live on a personal device of any sort, but is in the woodwork everywhere.”

- Mark Weiser

instant ubicomp home (just add water)

vs.

the evolution of buildings, environments

The home as a ubiquitous The home as a ubiquitous computing environmentcomputing environment

• new user groups

• impact of broader cultural values

• the need to support activities other than work

Goals of studyGoals of study

• relate the diverse set of activities involved in ubiquitous domestive environments to each other

• place ubiquitous computing for domestic environments in the broader context of how buildings change

• outline some new challenges for research into ubiquitous domestic environments

smart home development smart home development approachesapproaches

• understanding of the domestic

• choosing and designing the right devices

• constructing a ubiquitous environment, infrastructure

understanding of the domesticunderstanding of the domestic

• ethnographic studies

• longitudinal studies

• design based methods

choosing and designing the right choosing and designing the right devicesdevices

• information appliances (internet fridge)

• interactive household objects (digital picture frames, tech)

• augmented furniture (DiamondTouch interactive table)

constructing a ubiquitous constructing a ubiquitous environment, infrastructureenvironment, infrastructure

• new forms of context sensing (EasyLiving)

• embedded interactive technologies (smart floor, embedded displays)

Is the smart home its own unique context?

What happens to contexts in a ubiquitous environment?

digital infrastructuresdigital infrastructures

• Jini, UPnP, Coolbase

vs.

Speakeasy, Context Toolkit

• should we be explicitly aware of our ubiquitous systems?

evolutionary nature of the homeevolutionary nature of the home

• technology will need to find a place within our homes and our homes will need to chage to accommodate this technology

• how buildings change: Brand's 6 S's

Tables from paperTables from paper

• Where’s tech now?

• Where’s ubicomp?

How is change managed and How is change managed and controlledcontrolled

Relating activities to each otherRelating activities to each other

• focus has been on the interior (Stuff, Space Plan, Services)

• understanding the domestic (Stuff, Space Plan)

• developing digital devices (Stuff, Space Plan)

• Domestic Environments and Infrastructures (Services)

ChallengesChallenges

• homes are never static

– how are we effected by the continual change?

• homes exist in the broader context

– TV as focal point

• coordinated activity of many stakeholders

– getting all 6 S's involved

Principles of Smart Home ControlPrinciples of Smart Home Control

Davidoff, Lee, Yiu, Zimmerman, Dey

• End-User Programmers vs. Smart home users

• Control of Devices vs. Control of own lives

– people most value their time, their activities, and their relationships

• how can we control a smart home?

• How can we feel as if we control a smart home?

findings from ethnography of dual-findings from ethnography of dual-income familiesincome families

• enrichment activities frame the day

• even the simple is complex

• activities resist routinization

• responsibilities bleed past fixed boundaries

• breakdowns cause cascade effects

• "busyness' is a moral good

findings from ethnography of dual-findings from ethnography of dual-income families (cont.)income families (cont.)

• flexibility as coping strategy

• detail is acquired when necessary

• improvise

• work and home blend

• lifesyle choices

Suggested design principlesSuggested design principles

• 1. Allow for the organic evolution of routines and plans• 2. Easily construct new behaviors and modify existing

behaviors• 3. Understand periodic changes, exceptions and

improvisation• 4. Design for breakdowns• 5. Account for multiple, overlapping and occasionally

conflicting goals• 6. The home is more than a location• 7. Participate in the construction of family identity

Suggested design principles (cont.)Suggested design principles (cont.)

• 1.-5. adjust for, anticipate, and accommodate people's imperfections and the complexities of their lives– system must be extremely flexible and intelligent

• 6. makes the 'home' system available where and when needed

• 7. the home is a costly purchase, important asset, and vastly interconnected social contruct - how man the current home status be maintained and how can peoples lives be further enriched