DOCSLIB.ORG

Reconciling Function- and Affordance-Based Design

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Reconciling Function- and Affordance-Based Design CORE Metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk Provided by Michigan Technological University Michigan Technological University Digital Commons @ Michigan Tech Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open Reports 2014 Reconciling Function- and Affordance-Based Design Benjamin T. Ciavola Michigan Technological University Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.mtu.edu/etds Part of the Computer-Aided Engineering and Design Commons Copyright 2014 Benjamin T. Ciavola Recommended Citation Ciavola, Benjamin T., "Reconciling Function- and Affordance-Based Design", Dissertation, Michigan Technological University, 2014. https://digitalcommons.mtu.edu/etds/773 Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.mtu.edu/etds Part of the Computer-Aided Engineering and Design Commons RECONCILING FUNCTION- AND AFFORDANCE-BASED DESIGN By Benjamin T Ciavola A DISSERTATION Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY In Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics MICHIGAN TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY 2014 This dissertation has been approved in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics. Department of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics Dissertation Advisor: Dr. John Gershenson Committee Member: Dr. Amlan Mukherjee Committee Member: Dr. Greg Graman Committee Member: Dr. Michele Miller Department Chair: Dr. William W. Predebon Table of Contents 1 Abstract .................................................................................................................................................. 4 2 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................ 5 3 The Nature of Technology .................................................................................................................... 10 3.1 The Planned Product Innovation Method ...................................................................................... 12 3.2 Clarifying the nature of technology: Integrating Gibson and Heidegger ...................................... 15 3.3 An affordance-based PPIM ........................................................................................................... 17 3.4 An affordance interpretation of technology state .......................................................................... 21 3.5 Implications and future work ........................................................................................................ 24 3.6 Conclusion..................................................................................................................................... 25 4 The Structure of User Needs ................................................................................................................ 27 4.1 A step forward ............................................................................................................................... 28 4.2 Reconciling function and affordance............................................................................................. 29 4.3 Affordances in a functional world ................................................................................................. 31 4.4 Reasoning with affordances .......................................................................................................... 34 4.5 Describing use with affordances ................................................................................................... 36 4.6 Conclusions ................................................................................................................................... 45 5 Integrating Function- and Affordance-Based Design processes ........................................................... 48 5.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 48 5.2 Background ................................................................................................................................... 49 5.2.1 Function-based design 49 5.2.2 Affordance-based design 52 5.3 Design descriptions ....................................................................................................................... 54 5.3.1 Problem definition 60 5.3.2 Concept design 63 5.4 Example use .................................................................................................................................. 65 5.5 Conclusions ................................................................................................................................... 70 6 Towards An Ecological Approach to Engineering Design ................................................................... 72 6.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 72 6.2 Affordance-based design ............................................................................................................... 73 6.3 The ecological approach ................................................................................................................ 74 6.4 Ecological niches .......................................................................................................................... 80 6.5 A goal-centric approach ................................................................................................................ 85 6.6 Describing a design ecosystem ...................................................................................................... 90 6.6.1 End Use 92 6.6.2 Artifact Creation 96 6.6.3 Designers 98 6.6.4 Design Methodology 101 6.7 Conclusion................................................................................................................................... 103 7 Summary and Future Work ................................................................................................................ 106 7.1 Research contributions ................................................................................................................ 107 7.2 Broader impacts .......................................................................................................................... 109 7.3 Recommendations for future work .............................................................................................. 109 9 Works Cited ........................................................................................................................................ 112 10 Appendix A: Copyright Authorization ............................................................................................... 116 3 1 ABSTRACT Traditional engineering design methods are based on Simon’s use of the concept function, and as such collectively suffer from both theoretical and practical shortcomings. Researchers in the field of affordance-based design have borrowed from ecological psychology in an attempt to address the blind spots of function-based design, developing alternative ontologies and design processes. This dissertation presents function and affordance theory as both compatible and complimentary. We first present a hybrid approach to design for technology change, followed by a reconciliation and integration of function and affordance ontologies for use in design. We explore the integration of a standard function-based design method with an affordance-based design method, and demonstrate how affordance theory can guide the early application of function-based design. Finally, we discuss the practical and philosophical ramifications of embracing affordance theory’s roots in ecology and ecological psychology, and explore the insights and opportunities made possible by an ecological approach to engineering design. The primary contribution of this research is the development of an integrated ontology for describing and designing technological systems using both function- and affordance-based methods. 4 2 INTRODUCTION The field of design theory is undergoing a period of change, in which both external and internal pressures are driving researchers to rethink long-standing assumptions about the nature and structure of the engineering design process. Pressure in the commercial environment has driven firms to seek competitive advantage through the adoption of agile and sophisticated design processes. Users and developers of traditional engineering design processes and design theories have fought to keep pace with these innovations, but in many ways their tools still lag behind practice. The central hypothesis of this dissertation is that there is an opportunity to bridge the innovation gap between theory and practice by providing design methodologists with a conceptual framework that addresses the shortcomings of traditional methods. Design practitioners operate in a business environment driven by increasing global competition and an increasing pace of technology change. Businesses today operate in a globalized environment in which designers must work across and design for multiple cultures and socioeconomic backgrounds. The sheer variety of users, use contexts, and cultures that any product is likely to face mean that design processes must be responsive to a diverse set of user needs. While traditional techniques such
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Affordances: Clarifying and Evolving a Concept
    Affordances: Clarifying and Evolving a Concept Joanna McGrenere Wayne Ho Department of Computer Science User-Centered Design University of Toronto IBM Software Solutions Toronto Laboratory Toronto, Ontario 1150 Eglinton Ave. East, Toronto, Ontario Canada M5S 3G4 Canada M3C 1H7 [email protected] [email protected] Abstract between the two uses are identified followed by a brief The concept of affordance is popular in the HCI survey of the use of the concept in the HCI literature. community but not well understood. Donald Norman We clarify a number of ambiguities that remain today appropriated the concept of affordances from James J. including the meaning of affordances in application Gibson for the design of common objects and both software. Lastly we provide a design framework that implicitly and explicitly adjusted the meaning given by extends Gibson’s definition of affordances. Gibson. There was, however, ambiguity in Norman’s 2 Gibson’s Affordances original definition and use of affordances which he has Gibson’s academic career centered on the field of visual subsequently made efforts to clarify. His definition perception [5]. He deviated from the classical theories germinated quickly and through a review of the HCI of perception that were based on physics and physical literature we show that this ambiguity has lead to widely optics because he felt that physics provided an varying uses of the concept. Norman has recently inappropriate frame of reference for visual perception. acknowledged the ambiguity, however, important Gibson made it his life’s work to describe an clarifications remain. Using affordances as a basis, we appropriate ecological frame of reference.
    [Show full text]
  • Affordances-For AI EDAM Special Issue 1
    Don Norman Sep 7, 2014 Affordances-for AI EDAM special issue 1 AFFORDANCES: COMMENTARY ON THE SPECIAL ISSUE OF AIEDAM DONALD A. NORMAN1 The concept of affordances has an interesting history, starting with the keen observations and thoughts of the perceptual psychologist, J.J. Gibson in the late 1970s, moving into the world of design through the 1988 publication of my book “Design of Everyday Things” (later originally titled “Psychology of Everyday Things”), and then making its way into engineering design in the 2001 paper by Maier & Fadel. As a result of this disciplinary migration, the concept of affordance leads several rather separate lives within these different fields -- ecological psychology, Design, and engineering design -- with each field barely aware of the work being done in the others. Those who use the concept in ecological psychology and philosophy seem unaware of its use in design and engineering. Similarly, those in design are mostly unaware of its use in engineering. And those in engineering and design are unaware of the work that has continued on the concept since its introduction into their own domains. Disciplinary silos still exist. See, for example, the detailed analysis by Dotov, Nie, and de Wit, 2012, and the one by Chimero, 2003, both of which ignore the work outside of perceptual and ecological psychology, even though both claim to be broad, comprehensive reviews. Gibson would be puzzled, delighted, and dismayed. Me too: I am delighted and somewhat puzzled, but I replace dismay with amusement. A word of caution is needed here about my use of the terms “engineering,” “engineering design,” and “Design.” In the design and manufacture of a product or service, many different disciplines play a role.
    [Show full text]
  • DESIGN Ii Affordances and Design
    V ICTOR K APTELININ AFFORDANCES AND DESIGN ii AFFORDANCES AND DESIGN TITLE: Affordances and Design. AUTHOR: Victor Kaptelinin. PUBLISHER: The Interaction Design Foundation EDITION NUMBER: 1 ISBN PAPERBACK EDITION: 978-87-92964-12-0 ISBN EBOOK EDITION: 978-87-92964-13-7 COPY EDITOR: Ailsa Campbell REFERENCE VALIDATION: Armin Walinsky GRAPHICS, INTERIOR/EDITORIAL DESIGN, AND COVER: Bent St. Madsen and Mads Soegaard COPYRIGHT CLEARANCE: Michael Thorman PROOFREADER: Ailsa Campbell SUPERVISORY EDITORS: Mads Soegaard and Rikke Friis Dam EDITORIAL ASSISTANT: Soeren Dam TYPOGRAPHY: This text is set in Georgia COPYRIGHT: See section on Copyright PEER REVIEW: This book has undergone double-blinded peer-review based on the reviewing guidelines iii Table of Contents ABSTRACT ������������������������������������������������������������������ V CHAPTER 1: Introduction: Why affordances? ......... 1 CHAPTER 2: Theoretical roots ................................. 12 CHAPTER 3: Affordances in HCI research: An overview ........................................ 25 CHAPTER 4: Key issues of debate ............................ 63 CHAPTER 5: Conclusion: Reflections on the present and future of affordances as an HCI concept ............................... 81 CHAPTER 6: Where to learn more ........................... 92 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ������������������������������������������������� 97 REFERENCES �������������������������������������������������������������� 99 ABOUT THE AUTHOR ������������������������������������������������� 109 iv AFFORDANCES AND DESIGN v Abstract
    [Show full text]
  • Affordance, a Concept for a Measurable Design - Fitness Furniture, a Case Study
    International Association of Societies of Manchester School of Art Design Research Conference 2019 Manchester Metropolitan University DESIGN REVOLUTIONS 02-05 September 2019 Affordance, a concept for a measurable Design - Fitness furniture, a case study Sousa, Ana Isabela; Sarmento, Teresab; Borges, Afonsoc; Mendonça, Ruid a FBAUP/FEUP, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal b Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal c LabCom, Universidade da Beira Interior, Porto, Portugal; ID+, Universidade de Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal d FBAUP, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal; ID+, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal Bearing in mind the population growth, Design follows economy’s pace by choosing multifunctional solutions. However, this reality challenges the usefulness of products, making us question the eXtent to what all functions are perceptible and feasible in a positive manner. Moreover, by a functional design, one eXpects an intuitive use advocated by the concept of affordance, which in practice translates unconscious actions into well-designed aspects. When referring to a multifunctional design, where different conteXts coeXist, many items must be clearly communicated. Throughout this paper we try to establish a relationship between the concept of affordance and multifunctional design, having as an argument the development of furniture that enhances sports practice, and so fulfils a twofold functionality. The conceptual definition of affordance is exposed first, by using examples of design that validate its relevance, and then tackles the hybrid design in an analytical setting. The discussion stands for affordance as a concept able to measure the hybridity of a product through its latent functions, which established by the user's unconscious interaction, contribute to the multifunctionality of the objects.
    [Show full text]
  • Celia Hodent, Phd. @Celiahodent Director of UX @ Epic Games
    UX of Onboarding and Player Engagement Celia Hodent, PhD. @CeliaHodent Director of UX @ Epic Games Perception Cognitive Science Interaction Human Factors Satisfaction Emotions HCI User Research UX Design UX Strategy Interaction Design … Intro Discovery Learning Immersion Conclusion REMINDER: How the brain learns PERCEPTION MEMORY (input) (synaptic modification) INFLUENCING FACTORS INFO PROCESSING Intro Discovery Learning Immersion Conclusion Perception: How it works Perception is a construct of the mind. It is subjective. Intro Discovery Learning Immersion Conclusion Perception: It’s subjective Intro Discovery Learning Immersion Conclusion Memory: How it works SENSORY MEMORY Part of perception Importance of attention WORKING MEMORY Short-term – Easily disturbed Requires heavy attentional resources LONG-TERM MEMORY No known limits in time and space Intro Discovery Learning Immersion Conclusion Memory: It’s fragile Forgetting curve: (Ebbinghaus, 1885) Intro Discovery Learning Immersion Conclusion Attention: How it works We are not carefully scanning all of our environment … Rather, attention works like a spotlight. Intro Discovery Learning Immersion Conclusion Attention: It’s VERY limited Multitask Inattentional blindness (or why we suck at multitasking …) Intro Discovery Learning Immersion Conclusion A UX Framework User eXperience Usability GameFlow Signs & Feedback Perceived Pacing (challenge, learning curve, surprises, …) Clarity Form Follows Function Motivation (competence, autonomy, relatedness) Consistency Minimum Workload
    [Show full text]
  • Affordance, Forgiveness, and Ambiguity in Human-Computer Interaction and Human-Robot Interaction Olia Lialina
    Once Again, the Doorknob: Affordance, Forgiveness, and Ambiguity in Human-Computer Interaction and Human-Robot Interaction Olia Lialina To cite this version: Olia Lialina. Once Again, the Doorknob: Affordance, Forgiveness, and Ambiguity in Human- Computer Interaction and Human-Robot Interaction. Media Theory, Media Theory, 2019, Rethinking Affordance, 3 (1), pp.49 - 72. hal-02469444 HAL Id: hal-02469444 https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-02469444 Submitted on 6 Feb 2020 HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est archive for the deposit and dissemination of sci- destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents entific research documents, whether they are pub- scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, lished or not. The documents may come from émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de teaching and research institutions in France or recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires abroad, or from public or private research centers. publics ou privés. Distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution - NonCommercial - NoDerivatives| 4.0 International License Special Issue: Rethinking Affordance Once Again, the Doorknob: Media Theory Vol. 3 | No. 1 | 49-72 © The Author(s) 2019 Affordance, Forgiveness, and CC-BY-NC-ND http://mediatheoryjournal.org/ Ambiguity in Human-Computer Interaction and Human-Robot Interaction OLIA LIALINA Merz Akademie, Stuttgart, Germany Abstract Based on the author‟s keynote lecture at the 2018 „Rethinking Affordance‟ symposium (Stuttgart, Germany), this essay offers a comprehensive survey of the tensions between J.J. Gibson‟s and Don Norman‟s perspectives on the concept of affordance, and formulates an incisive critique of how Norman reconfigured Gibson‟s initial theory.
    [Show full text]
  • Conceptualizing Design Affordances from a Cognitive Perspective Jeremiah D
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Digital Repository @ Iowa State University Iowa State University Capstones, Theses and Graduate Theses and Dissertations Dissertations 2009 Conceptualizing design affordances from a cognitive perspective Jeremiah D. Still Iowa State University Follow this and additional works at: https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/etd Part of the Psychology Commons Recommended Citation Still, Jeremiah D., "Conceptualizing design affordances from a cognitive perspective" (2009). Graduate Theses and Dissertations. 10533. https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/etd/10533 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Iowa State University Capstones, Theses and Dissertations at Iowa State University Digital Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Iowa State University Digital Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Conceptualizing design affordances from a cognitive perspective by Jeremiah Daniel Still A dissertation submitted to the graduate faculty in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Major: Human-Computer Interaction Program of Study Committee: Veronica J. Dark, Major Professor Ana Correia Stephen Gilbert Alison L. Morris William S. Robinson Iowa State University Ames, Iowa 2009 Copyright © Jeremiah Daniel Still, 2009. All rights reserved. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT iv CHAPTER 1. GENERAL INTRODUCTION 1 Dissertation
    [Show full text]