Description
A CaT is a tool to help facilitate the practice of Inclusive Design. It’s goal is to engage a “full diversity of potential users”, a key principle [Insights] in the practice of Inclusive Design, in the design process. In essence, a CaT is a diverse community of co-designers (or co-creators) brought together to contribute to the collective design of a system, product or service. Inclusive Design practices include: accessibility integration from the start, open work, a focus on functional needs and preferences, frequent testing, inclusive facilitation, design for adaptability and flexibility and design for uncertainty.
A CaT may also be considered as collective creativity or participatory design (Wikipedia page on Participatory Design), all of which are fundamentally a process that includes both the expertise of system/product/service designers/researchers and the situated expertise of users (those impacted by change to or creation of new systems, products and services). (Sanders and Stappers).
A CaT aims to create an environment that encourages input from diverse perspectives. “In keeping with the edict 'nothing about us without us', this principle is about including a diversity of people with a broad range of needs, preferences, interests and skills into the design process, and in so doing, weakening [blurring] the distinction [line] between user and designer.” source: https://guide.inclusivedesign.ca/insights/DiverseParticipationAndPerspectives.html
A CaT should encourage active involvement from users or potential users of the system, product or service being iterated upon—the key is to have involvement of a diversity of users, users whose needs aren’t met, users whose needs are constantly in flux; users whose insights are not available elsewhere because they do not fit into a construct of “average”.
CaTs can be applied at as many points as possible in the design process. To practice inclusive design there should be several touch points throughout a design process, and not simply at the beginning. To design inclusively it is important to review progress with and have input from a CaT community at multiple stages.
A CaT intends to:
- identify problems in a given context
- develop ideas and stories, and
- use these ideas and stories to inform the design of systems, products and/or services (any and all mediums of design can be applied here).
Collecting, sorting and applying information generated at a CaT aims to maintain all individual contributions as important as the other. They are a collection of perspectives that contribute to robust and agile solutions rather than reductive practices of data analysis that contribute to a concept of an “average”.
Create-a-Thons and Hackathons
CaTs are “short term collaborations between small groups”, similar to a Hackathon (Also refer to https://handbook.floeproject.org/InclusiveMakingAndHacking.html). A Hackathon commonly appeals to the "technical" end of the spectrum either by focusing on digitally-based design solutions or engineering physical artifacts. A CaT aims to be broader than a traditional Hackathon in that it encompasses all forms of design mediums (industrial, interior, graphic and digital) and seeks to generate ideas and stories that inform the shape of a solution rather than attempting to create a solution.
Create-a-Thon In Practice
When to consider using a CaT:
- the design problem space is ambiguous, not well defined, or complex.
- there is a broad audience who would be interested in or using your finished product / service.
- proposed solutions are not harmonious (i.e. satisfying one criteria, negatively diminishes another).
- there are many possible design directions and unsure what to focus on.
- there is a potential of bias
Use a CaT to help gather ideas, stories, perspectives that give you possible directions for further exploration.
Setting up a CaT:
- Define a loose scope
- Come up with some scenarios to help your exploration
- Some structure is needed to help guide the experience
- Do some dry runs / rehearsals with colleagues to identify possible shortcomings - address those as necessary
- Find some participants
- Aim for participation from a broad audience not just the people who fit the "average".
- Give sufficient detail and time and correspondence.
- Observe and facilitate co-creation
- Record with video and photos (consent required)
- Participants themselves can also be given tools and opportunity to document their thoughts and observations
- Give opportunity to individuals to reflect and document their personal "stories", designs, thoughts using multiple modalities (some examples may be scribbing/drawing, keyboard, voice recording or voice to text. https://guide.inclusivedesign.ca/practices/CommunicateMultimodally.html)
- Give opportunity for individuals and groups work to refine ideas and iterate
- Give opportunity for groups and individuals to inspire each other through presenting ideas.
- Ensure the pacing is sufficient, with appropriate breaks.
- Don't try to do too much. Be respectful of time.
- Build a good relationship with participants to allow for future opportunities
Case Study: IDRC-PhET Energy Skate Park Create-a-Thon
The Energy Skate Park sim is a challenging sim because:
- The user is free to position the skater anywhere within the playing area.
- When the skater is released,
PhET Energy Skate Park Simulation
Tips:
- Consider a CaT at all stages of your design process. "Co-creation can take place at any point along the design development process: pre-design, discover, design, make [iterate]" (Sanders,Elizabeth B.-N, and Pieter Jan Stappers. Convivial Design Toolbox. 1st ed. Amsterdam: BIS, 2014. Print.).
- In keeping with the core of the goal of Inclusive Design—flexibility and adaptation—always be developing a community of co-designers, and invite new potential users at every stage to build out diversity of perspectives.
Bibliography
Sanders, Elizabeth B.-N, and Pieter Jan Stappers. Convivial Design Toolbox. Amsterdam: BIS, 2014. Print.!DIgeneral1234
Guide.inclusivedesign.ca. (2017). Welcome to The Inclusive Design Guide | Inclusive Design Guides. [online] Available at: https://guide.inclusivedesign.ca/index.html [Accessed 26 Sep. 2017].