Alexander Boden | Fraunhofer - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by Alexander Boden
ABSTRACT Over the last years, entry level 3D printers such as RepRaps or MakerBots have become mo... more ABSTRACT Over the last years, entry level 3D printers such as RepRaps or MakerBots have become more and more common in universities, small businesses as well as in communities of hobbyist makers. Learning how to operate (and fix) 3D printers can be quite challenging, but also empowering for users. By trying to make sense of such complex ‘new’ technologies in the context of existing (and changing) practices, users often discover ways of using technologies that go way beyond the intentions of the designers. In our paper, we will outline an on-going empirical study-based approach for supporting users in appropriating technology in very hardware-related settings. The idea is to provide an appropriation infrastructure at hardware as well as software levels of 3D printers. We have identified three dimensions of appropriation support that can be starting points for the design of supportive appropriation technologies: a (1) device-related, (2) situation-related, and (3) task-related dimension.
Dieser Beitrag untersucht die Nutzung von iPads als leichtgewichtige Public Displays zur Unterstü... more Dieser Beitrag untersucht die Nutzung von iPads als leichtgewichtige Public Displays zur Unterstützung von spezifischen Problemen bei der Zusammenarbeit in verteilten Softwareentwicklungsteams. Das Design basiert auf empirischen Studien in kleinen Softwarefirmen und zielt auf eine integrierte Darstellung von formalen und informellen Aspekten der Teamkoordination in einem gemeinsamen Arbeitskontext. Dazu werden auf einem Display gesammelte Nachrichten über relevante Vorgänge im Team wie auf einem ...
Proceedings of the 32nd annual ACM conference on Human factors in computing systems - CHI '14, 2014
ABSTRACT We present the design and evaluation of a lightweight mobile S.O.S. system that facilita... more ABSTRACT We present the design and evaluation of a lightweight mobile S.O.S. system that facilitates ad-hoc communication between first responders and victims in emergency situations. Our approach leverages established protocols and standards in unforeseen ways to provide a platform supporting the creation of short-lived communication links. The system comprises two mobile applications: one victim application that allows the broadcasting of distress signals by a novel use of Wi-Fi SSIDs; and a responder application that allows first responders to discover and trace the people broadcasting the signals. The main difference of our system with other platforms enabling communication in crisis situations is that our system is independent from existing network infrastructure and runs on off-the-shelf, commercially available smartphones. We describe the results of our evaluation process in the context of both a design evaluation during a real-world emergency response exercise and of two user workshops in preparation for an upcoming large-scale exercise.
Proceedings of the 2014 conference on Designing interactive systems - DIS '14, 2014
ABSTRACT Over the last years, digital fabrication technologies such as 3D printers have become mo... more ABSTRACT Over the last years, digital fabrication technologies such as 3D printers have become more and more common at universities and small businesses as well as in communities of hobbyist makers. The high complexity of such technologies, the rapid technological progress and the close link between hardware and software in this field poses challenges for users and communities learning how to operate these machines, especially in the contexts of existing (and changing) practices. We present an empirical study on the appropriation of 3D printers in two different communities and derive design implications and challenges for building appropriation infrastructures to help users face those challenges and making technologies more sociable.
14. Fachübergreifende Konferenz für Interaktive und Kooperative Medien - Interaktiv unterwegs - Freiräume gestalten, 2014
Cheaper and more prevalent 3D printing technology offers new and emerging opportunities for nonex... more Cheaper and more prevalent 3D printing technology offers new and emerging opportunities for nonexperts to make and produce their very own physical items and products. However, most 3D modeling software is still geared towards experts and not as inclusive as the printing technology itself. At the same time, tools are usually limited in their possibilities for collaboration. Against this backdrop, we are conducting qualitative studies with children in Germany and Palestine on practices of coconstructive 3D modeling in virtual worlds. We aim to understand how children negotiate and cooperate on joint projects and how to lead non-experts playfully into 3D modeling. For this, we utilize the game Minecraft as well as the similar browser-based tool Cubeteam. In this paper, we present first results as well as design implications for co-constructive 3D modeling tools.
Proceedings of the 17th ACM conference on Computer supported cooperative work & social computing - CSCW '14, 2014
ABSTRACT The high complexity of knowledge-intensive work such as software development makes it be... more ABSTRACT The high complexity of knowledge-intensive work such as software development makes it beneficial to have spaces for formal and informal articulation work. Existing information systems (IS) tend to treat these different aspects of coordination separately, resulting in problems of awareness and coordination. To bridge this gap, we present the concept of Articulation Spaces which combines aspects of Coordination Mechanisms and Common Information Spaces (CIS) in order to provide a room for mediating between the formal and informal aspects of coordination. Based on a design study in the form of a lightweight public display that has been tested in a medium-sized German software company, we show how Articulation Spaces provide information for meta-coordination, encourage ad-hoc coordination and support decision-making processes. Our findings provide insights into the design of support systems for flexible and coordination-intensive contexts such as software development work.
Proceedings of the 17th ACM conference on Computer supported cooperative work & social computing - CSCW '14, 2014
ABSTRACT Based on a field study in Guangdong Province, this paper describes the social media use ... more ABSTRACT Based on a field study in Guangdong Province, this paper describes the social media use of Chinese migrant workers in the manufacturing sector. It was found that social media plays a significant role in the lives of young workers who have left their rural hometowns in early adulthood and struggle to survive in the urban centers. They buy expensive IT devices to gain a social reputation, as social media provides opportunities for self-expression; strengthens their self-consciousness; and to a certain extent, influences their world view. For most of the workers in our study, social media has become a very important part of leisure time and entertainment. Moreover, the life in virtual worlds provides them a psychological compensation mechanism to temporarily avoid the pressure of their daily lives.
Lecture Notes in Computer Science, 2013
Proceedings of the 25th Australian Computer-Human Interaction Conference on Augmentation, Application, Innovation, Collaboration - OzCHI '13, 2013
ABSTRACT In this paper, we examine challenges people face in situations of disrupted network infr... more ABSTRACT In this paper, we examine challenges people face in situations of disrupted network infrastructures and how people use surviving portions of technology to cope with these challenges. We show how an important aspect in crises is the disturbance of services caused by disruptions in underlying technological structures. In such situations, people resort to all possible means to “reconstruct normality” in the sense of restoring their ability to communicate. For doing so, people often make creative use of the remains of the technological landscape. Building on the analysis of interviews with crises witnesses and first responders, external reports and scientific literature, we propose and describe three categories of mechanisms involving the creative use of surviving technology in crisis situations. We argue that studying these mechanisms can provide a key source of inspiration to define qualities of resilient architectures, and use these mechanisms as creative input to propose architectural qualities that can potentially make communication systems more resilient in the face of crises.
Proceeding of the 4th international workshop on Cooperative and human aspects of software engineering - CHASE '11, 2011
Since the 1990s, the forms of production, distribution, configuration and appropriation of softwa... more Since the 1990s, the forms of production, distribution, configuration and appropriation of software have changed fundamentally. Nowadays, software is often embedded in software ecosystems, i.e. in complex interrelations between different stakeholders who are connected by a shared technological platform. In our paper, we investigate how small software teams deal with the challenges of appropriating and configuring software in the Eclipse ecosystem for their daily work. We empirically identify three different approaches for dealing with appropriation in software ecosystems which are represented by the "ideal types" lone warrior, centralized organization, and collegial collaboration. Based on a discussion of these strategies and the underlying appropriation practices we found in the field, we suggest theoretical and practical implications for supporting appropriation in software ecosystems.
Proceedings of the companion publication of the 17th ACM conference on Computer supported cooperative work & social computing - CSCW Companion '14, 2014
ABSTRACT Global software development (GSD) has been an im-portant research topic in the CSCW comm... more ABSTRACT Global software development (GSD) has been an im-portant research topic in the CSCW community for more than two decades. CSCW has helped identify a significant number of challenges and solutions for han-dling distances in time, space and culture in distributed software engineering environments. However, no com-prehensive collected body of knowledge concerning research on GSD from a CSCW perspective exists yet. The goal of this workshop is to bring together research-ers and practitioners who have studied GSD from a CSCW perspective, and provide an overview of current findings and future challenges. In the workshop, we will facilitate group discussions across the diverse groups of researchers coming from ethnographic studies of soft-ware development practices and design studies of CSCW tools and processes for GSD. The goal is to pro-vide an overview of current research, which in turn may form the basis for joint publications or an edited book.
Researching into work practices in the context of Global Software Development projects entails mu... more Researching into work practices in the context of Global Software Development projects entails multiple opportunities and challenges for the researcher. In our paper, we present several obstacles we had to deal with in conducting an ethnographic field study into offshoring in two German small to medium enterprises. These problems comprise initial access to the field, but also the observation of global work practices from a local perspective and the high complexity of interrelated media and artifacts. Building on our experiences concerning our role in the field, we describe common interests between the researcher and the companies as a challenge and chance for studies on offshoring.
ZUSAMMENFASSUNG Ethnographische Kontextstudien gehören mittlerweile zum festen Methodenrepertoire... more ZUSAMMENFASSUNG Ethnographische Kontextstudien gehören mittlerweile zum festen Methodenrepertoire von Usability Professionals und Interaction Designern. Obwohl die Geschichte der Ethnographie zeigt, dass sich die Disziplin ko-evolutionär mit den Aufzeichnungstechniken und-instrumenten entwickelt hat, gibt es bisher kaum dezidierte Ansätze für eine technische Unterstützung der Feldforschungspraxis. In diesem Beitrag wollen wir daher das Potential von Smartphones für die Feldarbeit aufzeigen, die es ...
ABSTRACT Over the last years, entry level 3D printers such as RepRaps or MakerBots have become mo... more ABSTRACT Over the last years, entry level 3D printers such as RepRaps or MakerBots have become more and more common in universities, small businesses as well as in communities of hobbyist makers. Learning how to operate (and fix) 3D printers can be quite challenging, but also empowering for users. By trying to make sense of such complex ‘new’ technologies in the context of existing (and changing) practices, users often discover ways of using technologies that go way beyond the intentions of the designers. In our paper, we will outline an on-going empirical study-based approach for supporting users in appropriating technology in very hardware-related settings. The idea is to provide an appropriation infrastructure at hardware as well as software levels of 3D printers. We have identified three dimensions of appropriation support that can be starting points for the design of supportive appropriation technologies: a (1) device-related, (2) situation-related, and (3) task-related dimension.
Dieser Beitrag untersucht die Nutzung von iPads als leichtgewichtige Public Displays zur Unterstü... more Dieser Beitrag untersucht die Nutzung von iPads als leichtgewichtige Public Displays zur Unterstützung von spezifischen Problemen bei der Zusammenarbeit in verteilten Softwareentwicklungsteams. Das Design basiert auf empirischen Studien in kleinen Softwarefirmen und zielt auf eine integrierte Darstellung von formalen und informellen Aspekten der Teamkoordination in einem gemeinsamen Arbeitskontext. Dazu werden auf einem Display gesammelte Nachrichten über relevante Vorgänge im Team wie auf einem ...
Proceedings of the 32nd annual ACM conference on Human factors in computing systems - CHI '14, 2014
ABSTRACT We present the design and evaluation of a lightweight mobile S.O.S. system that facilita... more ABSTRACT We present the design and evaluation of a lightweight mobile S.O.S. system that facilitates ad-hoc communication between first responders and victims in emergency situations. Our approach leverages established protocols and standards in unforeseen ways to provide a platform supporting the creation of short-lived communication links. The system comprises two mobile applications: one victim application that allows the broadcasting of distress signals by a novel use of Wi-Fi SSIDs; and a responder application that allows first responders to discover and trace the people broadcasting the signals. The main difference of our system with other platforms enabling communication in crisis situations is that our system is independent from existing network infrastructure and runs on off-the-shelf, commercially available smartphones. We describe the results of our evaluation process in the context of both a design evaluation during a real-world emergency response exercise and of two user workshops in preparation for an upcoming large-scale exercise.
Proceedings of the 2014 conference on Designing interactive systems - DIS '14, 2014
ABSTRACT Over the last years, digital fabrication technologies such as 3D printers have become mo... more ABSTRACT Over the last years, digital fabrication technologies such as 3D printers have become more and more common at universities and small businesses as well as in communities of hobbyist makers. The high complexity of such technologies, the rapid technological progress and the close link between hardware and software in this field poses challenges for users and communities learning how to operate these machines, especially in the contexts of existing (and changing) practices. We present an empirical study on the appropriation of 3D printers in two different communities and derive design implications and challenges for building appropriation infrastructures to help users face those challenges and making technologies more sociable.
14. Fachübergreifende Konferenz für Interaktive und Kooperative Medien - Interaktiv unterwegs - Freiräume gestalten, 2014
Cheaper and more prevalent 3D printing technology offers new and emerging opportunities for nonex... more Cheaper and more prevalent 3D printing technology offers new and emerging opportunities for nonexperts to make and produce their very own physical items and products. However, most 3D modeling software is still geared towards experts and not as inclusive as the printing technology itself. At the same time, tools are usually limited in their possibilities for collaboration. Against this backdrop, we are conducting qualitative studies with children in Germany and Palestine on practices of coconstructive 3D modeling in virtual worlds. We aim to understand how children negotiate and cooperate on joint projects and how to lead non-experts playfully into 3D modeling. For this, we utilize the game Minecraft as well as the similar browser-based tool Cubeteam. In this paper, we present first results as well as design implications for co-constructive 3D modeling tools.
Proceedings of the 17th ACM conference on Computer supported cooperative work & social computing - CSCW '14, 2014
ABSTRACT The high complexity of knowledge-intensive work such as software development makes it be... more ABSTRACT The high complexity of knowledge-intensive work such as software development makes it beneficial to have spaces for formal and informal articulation work. Existing information systems (IS) tend to treat these different aspects of coordination separately, resulting in problems of awareness and coordination. To bridge this gap, we present the concept of Articulation Spaces which combines aspects of Coordination Mechanisms and Common Information Spaces (CIS) in order to provide a room for mediating between the formal and informal aspects of coordination. Based on a design study in the form of a lightweight public display that has been tested in a medium-sized German software company, we show how Articulation Spaces provide information for meta-coordination, encourage ad-hoc coordination and support decision-making processes. Our findings provide insights into the design of support systems for flexible and coordination-intensive contexts such as software development work.
Proceedings of the 17th ACM conference on Computer supported cooperative work & social computing - CSCW '14, 2014
ABSTRACT Based on a field study in Guangdong Province, this paper describes the social media use ... more ABSTRACT Based on a field study in Guangdong Province, this paper describes the social media use of Chinese migrant workers in the manufacturing sector. It was found that social media plays a significant role in the lives of young workers who have left their rural hometowns in early adulthood and struggle to survive in the urban centers. They buy expensive IT devices to gain a social reputation, as social media provides opportunities for self-expression; strengthens their self-consciousness; and to a certain extent, influences their world view. For most of the workers in our study, social media has become a very important part of leisure time and entertainment. Moreover, the life in virtual worlds provides them a psychological compensation mechanism to temporarily avoid the pressure of their daily lives.
Lecture Notes in Computer Science, 2013
Proceedings of the 25th Australian Computer-Human Interaction Conference on Augmentation, Application, Innovation, Collaboration - OzCHI '13, 2013
ABSTRACT In this paper, we examine challenges people face in situations of disrupted network infr... more ABSTRACT In this paper, we examine challenges people face in situations of disrupted network infrastructures and how people use surviving portions of technology to cope with these challenges. We show how an important aspect in crises is the disturbance of services caused by disruptions in underlying technological structures. In such situations, people resort to all possible means to “reconstruct normality” in the sense of restoring their ability to communicate. For doing so, people often make creative use of the remains of the technological landscape. Building on the analysis of interviews with crises witnesses and first responders, external reports and scientific literature, we propose and describe three categories of mechanisms involving the creative use of surviving technology in crisis situations. We argue that studying these mechanisms can provide a key source of inspiration to define qualities of resilient architectures, and use these mechanisms as creative input to propose architectural qualities that can potentially make communication systems more resilient in the face of crises.
Proceeding of the 4th international workshop on Cooperative and human aspects of software engineering - CHASE '11, 2011
Since the 1990s, the forms of production, distribution, configuration and appropriation of softwa... more Since the 1990s, the forms of production, distribution, configuration and appropriation of software have changed fundamentally. Nowadays, software is often embedded in software ecosystems, i.e. in complex interrelations between different stakeholders who are connected by a shared technological platform. In our paper, we investigate how small software teams deal with the challenges of appropriating and configuring software in the Eclipse ecosystem for their daily work. We empirically identify three different approaches for dealing with appropriation in software ecosystems which are represented by the "ideal types" lone warrior, centralized organization, and collegial collaboration. Based on a discussion of these strategies and the underlying appropriation practices we found in the field, we suggest theoretical and practical implications for supporting appropriation in software ecosystems.
Proceedings of the companion publication of the 17th ACM conference on Computer supported cooperative work & social computing - CSCW Companion '14, 2014
ABSTRACT Global software development (GSD) has been an im-portant research topic in the CSCW comm... more ABSTRACT Global software development (GSD) has been an im-portant research topic in the CSCW community for more than two decades. CSCW has helped identify a significant number of challenges and solutions for han-dling distances in time, space and culture in distributed software engineering environments. However, no com-prehensive collected body of knowledge concerning research on GSD from a CSCW perspective exists yet. The goal of this workshop is to bring together research-ers and practitioners who have studied GSD from a CSCW perspective, and provide an overview of current findings and future challenges. In the workshop, we will facilitate group discussions across the diverse groups of researchers coming from ethnographic studies of soft-ware development practices and design studies of CSCW tools and processes for GSD. The goal is to pro-vide an overview of current research, which in turn may form the basis for joint publications or an edited book.
Researching into work practices in the context of Global Software Development projects entails mu... more Researching into work practices in the context of Global Software Development projects entails multiple opportunities and challenges for the researcher. In our paper, we present several obstacles we had to deal with in conducting an ethnographic field study into offshoring in two German small to medium enterprises. These problems comprise initial access to the field, but also the observation of global work practices from a local perspective and the high complexity of interrelated media and artifacts. Building on our experiences concerning our role in the field, we describe common interests between the researcher and the companies as a challenge and chance for studies on offshoring.
ZUSAMMENFASSUNG Ethnographische Kontextstudien gehören mittlerweile zum festen Methodenrepertoire... more ZUSAMMENFASSUNG Ethnographische Kontextstudien gehören mittlerweile zum festen Methodenrepertoire von Usability Professionals und Interaction Designern. Obwohl die Geschichte der Ethnographie zeigt, dass sich die Disziplin ko-evolutionär mit den Aufzeichnungstechniken und-instrumenten entwickelt hat, gibt es bisher kaum dezidierte Ansätze für eine technische Unterstützung der Feldforschungspraxis. In diesem Beitrag wollen wir daher das Potential von Smartphones für die Feldarbeit aufzeigen, die es ...