Looking for Betsy: A Critical Theory Approach to Visibility and Pluralism in Design by Milena Radzikowska A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Comparative Literature Departments of Modern Languages and Cultural Studies and Humanities Computing University of Alberta © Milena Radzikowska, 2015 Abstract Drawing on previous research on Critical Design (Dunne and Raby), Feminist HCI (Bardzell and Bardzell & Bardzell), and Rich-Prospect Browsing Theory (Ruecker), this dissertation strengthens the theoretical basis for further research into the development and application of a critical and reflective approach, emergent from the humanities, to the design of graphical user interfaces. Specifically, critical and feminist engagement with GUIs produced as part of an interdisciplinary project to design interfaces aimed at facilitating human decision-making within a manufacturing context resulted in three contributions. The first contribution is a conceptual framework for the interrogation of existing and the construction of new HCIs that includes the following six principles: challenge existing practices, aim towards an actionable ideal future; look for what has been made invisible or under represented; consider the micro, meso, and macro; privilege transparency and accountability; and expect and welcome being subjected to rigorous critique. Second, I provide an extension to RPB theory in the form of four new principles and three new tools: Principle of Participation, Principle of Association, Principle of Contexuality, and Principle of Pluralism; and the Connections Tool, the Structure Tool, and the Pluralist Tool. Finally, I challenge the current ontology of constraints and offer an expansion of the constraint category to include not just parts and materials, but also people (individuals, groups, and communities), environments (machines, working spaces, surrounding spaces, and electronic spaces), and processes (steps, time, decisions, upsets, consequences, factors, communications, relationships, and dependencies). Keywords Critical Design, Feminist HCI, Rich-Prospect Browsing, Human-Computer Interfaces, Decision Support Systems ii Preface Some of the research conducted for this dissertation forms part of a research collaboration, led by Dr. Fraser Forbes at the University of Alberta. The academic team and industry partner contributed by framing the Oil Sands Project, providing the formula that would drive the solution-generation aspects of the interface, and engaging in feedback on the three designs produced as part of this research. The three designs discussed in Chapter 5 of this dissertation – A+1, B, and Z – were published as the following: Radzikowska, Milena, Stan Ruecker, Chung Ta, Walter F. Bischof, and Fraser Forbes. “Human Decisions for a Machine World: Designing Experimental Interface Alternatives that Support Decision Making.” International Conference on Interaction Design. 9–11 Nov. 2011, Hongkong, CN. Presentation. ---, Stan Ruecker, and Chung Ta. “So, Why Is This a Digital Humanities Project: An Interdisciplinary Case Study in Connecting DH, Engineering and Industry.” Society for Digital Humanities / Société pour l’étude des médias interactifs (SDH/ SEMI) Annual Conference. 30 May–1 June 2011, Fredericton, NB. Presentation. ---, Stan Ruecker, Walter F. Bischof, Michelle Annett, and Fraser Forbes. “Geared Decisions: Experimenting with Decision Support Visualizations.” Seventh International Conference on Design and Emotion. 4–7 Oct. 2010, Chicago, IL. Presentation. ---, Stan Ruecker, Walter F. Bischof, Michelle Annett, and Fraser Forbes. “Sprockets for Gears: Interactive Decision Support Visualization for Multi-Modal Industries.” Chicago Colloquium on Digital Humanities and Computer Science (DHCS). 14–16 Nov. 2009, Chicago, IL. Poster. iii Dedication To Olivia, for being a part of me from the day this work started and for getting me through its toughest parts. iv Acknowledgments I wish to acknowledge the generous support of: the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada; Syncrude Canada Ltd.; the Department of Modern Languages & Cultural Studies and the Humanities Computing Program at the University of Alberta; and Mount Royal University and the Mount Royal Faculty Association. I want to thank my committee for all their guidance and encouragement, Dr. Jennifer Roberts Smith for serving as my external reviewer, and Chung Ta for his intellectual engagement with my sketches. I would like to express my profound gratitude to Professors Massimo Verdicchio, Geoffrey Rockwell, Maureen Engel, and Stan Ruecker for their dedication, resourcefulness, and support. Finally, my deepest thank you to Chris Shaddock for his unwavering faith in me, to Dylan Richards for reading every word of this dissertation, and to my dear friend, Susan Liepert, for her immense support in this document’s final hours. v Chapter 1: Introduction 1 Background 4 Contributions of Dissertation: a Chapter by Chapter Outline 16 Process 22 Researcher Positionality 24 Chapter 2: Visualizing Information 25 Interface Design for Manufacturing & Decision Support 27 Graphical Data Representation 45 Wicked Problems in Design 63 Chapter 3: Critical HCI 66 But First, Views on Design 67 Critical Design 74 Feminist Theories 79 Intersecting Feminism(s) with HCI 83 Intersecting Feminist HCI with Critical Theory 92 Chapter 4: A Case for Critical Design in Practice 95 Critical Design Making 100 Critical Design Thinking 111 A New Framework for Critical Design Practice 119 Reflection on Accountability 128 Chapter 5: Paths Are Made by Walking 131 Locating RPB Principles in Manufacturing DSS 135 Locating RPB Tools in Manufacturing DSS 146 Extending Existing RPB Principles 151 Feminist RPB in Manufacturing DSS 160 Proposing New RPB Principles and Tools 166 A Critical Challenge to the Power Embedded in Prospect & Refuge 171 Chapter 6: Summary & Conclusions 175 Strengthening the Theoretical Grounds for a Critical Reflection 175 Interrogating Designed Artefacts 178 vi Applying Critical Design to HCI: a New Framework 183 Extending RPB 184 Chapter 7: Further Research 187 Topics for Further Research 188 Design Criticism 192 Works Cited 193 Appendix A 213 vii Fig. 1.01: The 2008 design concept by Carlos Fiorentino (Paredes-Olea et al. 2008). 7 Fig. 1.02: Proposed system for managing the change process (Radzikowska, Ruecker, and Sinclair, 2015). 12 Fig. 2.01: Sample dashboard design, featuring Google analytics (Kissmetrics). 34 Fig. 2.02: Instrument panel in the control room of the PUREX Plant, 1988 (Roger Ressmeyer). 36 Fig. 2.03: Sample HMI interface (design by Radzikowska, adapted from Hollifield et al., ff). 39 Fig. 2.04: The four levels of recommendations common to HMI design. 42 Fig. 2.05: Charles Minard's map of Napoleon's Russian campaign of 1812 (Minard). 47 Fig. 2.06: Emma Willard’s Picture of Nations, 1835 (Willard). 48 Fig. 2.07: 1854 John Snow’s Cholera Map of London (Snow and Cheffens, n.pag.). 49 Fig. 2.08: Diagram of the Causes of Mortality in the Army in the East by Florence Nightingale (n.pag.) 50 Fig. 2.09: Why Health Care is So Expensive by Heather Jones (Jones). 52 Fig. 2.10: Exploring Nobel Prize Recipients (Lupi et al.) 53 Fig. 2.11: A static data visualization of the human genome (Krzywinski). 54 Fig. 2.12: Still from a motion graphic (Niemen and Dickinson ). 55 Fig. 2.13: TextArc, illustrating relationships between words found in Alice in Wonderland (Paley). 56 Fig. 2.14: The Health InfoScape project (MIT SENSEable City Lab). 58 Fig. 2.15: The Johnny Cash Project (Milk). 60 Fig. 2.16: The We Feel Fine interface (Harris and Kamvar). 61 Fig. 2.17: Newsmap (Weskamp). 62 Fig. 2.18: The Bubblelines tool with a pre-loaded corpus (Rockwell and Sinclair). 63 Fig. 2.19: Diagram illustrating the connectedness of all aspects of visual design. 65 Fig. 3.01: This sentence, developed by John Heskett explains the four ways design can manifest: as the field or discipline, the process(es) used to achieve an outcome, the physical plan, and the finished product. (Diagram by Windsor). 69 Fig. 4.01: Million Dollar Blocks by the Spatial Information Design Lab and the Justice Mapping Center (Kurgan and Cadora). 102 Fig. 4.02: Dunne & Raby, Hertzian Tales, Faraday Chair, 1997–98 (Hammoud). 103 Fig. 4.03: Float Tank (Mark van Manen). 104 Fig. 4.04: Dunne & Raby, Communo-Nuclearist Train, 2013 (Dunne and Raby, United Micro Kingdoms). 106 Fig. 4.05: Ruminant Bloom (2004). Lights made of preserved cow stomachs (Lohmann). 107 Fig. 4.06: An example of an Adbusters’ subvertisement – Absolut Impotence (IOGT-NTO). 109 Fig. 4.07: Do Hit Chair (van der Poll). 110 Fig. 4.08: Mr. Germy (Charbonnel and Vanstone). 110 viii Fig. 4.09: The Mandala Browser displaying an analysis of “love” in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet (Mandala Application). 125 Fig. 5.01: Faces of Innovation displays all researchers at MRU with tools for sorting by Faculty and Department (Mount Royal University). 133 Fig. 5.02: An example of the Microsoft Excel Solver (Microsoft). 134 Fig. 5.03: The Slot Machine (Radzikowska, Ruecker, Fiorentino, and Michura). 136 Fig. 5.04: Sample sketch from the Paper Drill (Radzikowska). 137 Fig. 5.05: Out of Sight, Out of Mind (Pitch Interactive). 140 Fig. 5.06: U.S. Gun Deaths (Kirk, Kois, and @GunDeaths). 141 Fig. 5.07: The ManyEyes interface (IBM Cognos and IBM Research Group). 142 Fig. 5.08: The Johnny Cash Project (Milk). 143 Fig. 5.09: Detailed view of one frame found in the Johnny Cash Project (Milk). 144 Fig. 5.10: An RPB of pills (Ruecker, Given, Sadler, and Ruskin). 145 Fig. 5.11: Gears representing parts of the linear equation are constrained by a circular calendar. (Radzikowska et al., “Human Decisions for a Machine World”, n.pag.). 147 Fig. 5.12: Gears representing parts of the linear equation constrained by a calendar. (Radzikowska et al., “Human Decisions for a Machine World”, n.pag.). 149 Fig. 5.13: Sample linear programming problem, written in the Standard form (Free Software Foundation). 151 Fig. 5.14: Two gear designs: one for flavours and one for ingredients. 153 Fig. 5.15: Colour as applied to the ingredient gears.