Design and contextual factors

Several factors related to the design of the intervention and the context in which it was deployed were found to affect engagement. All factors were categorised in the following six categories:

• Design factors:

– Topic, i.e. factors relating to the question / statement addressed by the installation – Input, i.e. factors relating to the selected input technology

– Output, i.e. factors relating to the selected output display • Contextual factors:

– Community, i.e. factors relating to the social deployment setting

– Other, i.e. factors relating to alternative aspects of the deployment context A visual overview of the factors was created to show which factors relate to which stages of engagement. At the end of each case study, this visual representation is used to map the role of all identified factors. Collectively, these overviews are used to develop a framework of factors, which is presented in the Discussion (Chapter 10). An example visual overview is shown in Figure 4.17.

PRESENTATION INCLUSIVITY

SOURCE CLARITY NUMBER OF ENTRY POINTS

FORM FACTOR

INPUT MECHANISM PLAYFULNESS

COUPLING TO INPUT UPDATE FREQUENCY

NUMBER OF ENTRY POINTS MATERIALITY INTERACTIVITY SIZE ENCODING REPRESENTATION CROWDEDNESS POSITIONING PLACEMENT FAMILIARITY REGULARITY SOCIAL CONNECTEDNESS ESTABLISHED LEADERS PRESS SOCIAL MEDIA ROLE INITIATOR DISCOVERY

TOPIC INPUT OUTPUT LOCATION COMMUNITY OTHER

Figure 4.17: Example visual overview of factors relating to (re)discovery

In the centre of the overview the engagement stage in question is displayed. On the overview’s outer ring all design and contextual factors that were found to impact engage- ment in one or more of the case studies are listed. The factors are sorted and colour-coded by category, covering both factors relating to the design (topic, input, or output) and the context (location, community, and other). A legend at the bottom of the overview indicates in which category each factor falls, with the contextual factors being shown in dark colours.

Lines connect the individual factors to a specific stage of engagement, showing that a link was found between a factor and the stage of engagement. For example, in Figure 4.17 a line is shown between ‘number of entry points’ and ‘discovery’ to show that the number of input devices that was used was found to affect how many people discovered and approached the intervention.

How each of the identified factors influenced the four stages of engagement in the Visualising Mill Road study is outlined below.

4.5.2.1 Discovery and rediscovery

Discovery of the input devices and visualisation was affected by several key factors, including the update frequency of questions, and the number of entry points for input as well as output, as shown in Figure 4.18. These factors are discussed in more detail below.

PRESENTATION INCLUSIVITY

SOURCE CLARITY NUMBER OF ENTRY POINTS

FORM FACTOR

INPUT MECHANISM PLAYFULNESS

COUPLING TO INPUT UPDATE FREQUENCY

NUMBER OF ENTRY POINTS MATERIALITY INTERACTIVITY SIZE ENCODING REPRESENTATION CROWDEDNESS POSITIONING PLACEMENT FAMILIARITY REGULARITY SOCIAL CONNECTEDNESS ESTABLISHED LEADERS PRESS SOCIAL MEDIA ROLE INITIATOR DISCOVERY

TOPIC INPUT OUTPUT LOCATION COMMUNITY OTHER

Figure 4.18: Factors framework: factors relating to (re)discovery

Presentation of topics

aged rediscovery. The frequency of updates enabled people to look forward to visiting the shops, and some people were even observed planning their visits in order to see the latest question. By updating regularly, but not instantly, a sense of anticipation was built. Initial investigations on designing for anticipation, using so-called ‘slow’ technology, have been conducted in home settings (Odom et al., 2014) and by studying non-instant digital messag- ing platforms (Hawkins et al., 2015; Tsai et al., 2015). This case study shows that the pacing of content in public settings can also successfully encourage revisitation. As people tend to visit shops regularly, but not necessarily on a daily basis, the update frequency of two days was a design decision deemed appropriate for a deployment in a high street. However, the pacing is likely highly context dependent, and may require more or fewer updates depend- ing on the timespan of the intervention and how often the location is visited by people. If the location is unlikely to be revisited in the near future, the posing of multiple questions at once may prove more suitable.

Number of entry points for input

By distributing a series of devices across multiple locations, the number of entry points (Hor- necker et al., 2007) was increased. As a result, the likelihood of locals coming across them at some point while visiting the area was also increased. With the exception of a few stud- ies (e.g. Taylor et al. (2012); Vlachokyriakos et al. (2014)), till date, deployments of public input technologies have largely focused on the use of a centralised approach, where a single entry point is placed in a key location. This approach is sufficient in areas that have such key locations, such as a popular public square or train station. However, a centralised approach is less suitable in residential neighbourhoods or other areas that do not have one clear ‘com- mon place’ that is frequented by a large proportion of the local community. This case study has shown that a distributed approach can instead enable people to discover the technology at multiple locations.

Input technology form factor

The physical presence of the voting devices in the community enabled locals to encounter them during their everyday routines. In other words, localised discovery was facilitated by the tangible design of the input technology. Furthermore, the overall look of the voting de- vices, consisting of brightly coloured arcade buttons against a black background, was found to catch people’s attention. The buttons were also found to attract people to the devices by

evoking curiosity: people were keen to find out what their function was. This confirms pre- vious findings on enticing people to publicly situated technology by designing for curiosity (Houben and Weichel, 2013).

Update frequency of output

Similar to the regular updating of the questions, the scheduled updates of the visualisations was found to encourage revisitation. By slowly unfolding the data over time, rather than revealing the data instantly, people gained awareness of the pace at which they could expect additional information. By delaying the updates, people had something to look forward to. As a result, the visualisation updates became anticipated events, motivating people to return regularly. Further research is required, however, to establish appropriate pacing for different contexts, and to find out more about how long ‘slow’ updates can motivate urban communities to stay engaged.

Number of entry points for output

The distribution of visualisations along Mill Road ensured that there were entry points across the community, and that a large number of people took notice of them. This perva- sive approach helped spread awareness of the project and fostered curiosity among residents and visitors who were keen to find out more about the meaning of the representations. Sim- ilar to the lack of distribution of input technology, till date, few studies have explored the use of decentralised situated output. Furthermore, the deployments that have made use of multiple entry points, such as the Viewpoint study (Taylor et al., 2012), have only explored small scale distribution (e.g. Viewpoint was deployed at three locations). This case study, where visualisations were shown at 19 different locations, has shown that a distributed out- put approach can enable discovery and revisitation across a community.

Materiality of output

By adopting a non-digital display approach, using chalk graffiti, the project did not require the type of infrastructure that is typically needed for digital displays (e.g. electricity, Internet connection). The materiality of the visualisations made them far less constrained in where they could be deployed, which meant that the existing urban environment could act as the visualisations’ canvas. As a result, not only the input technology, but also the visualisations could be embedded in the community’s rhythms and routines – making them easy to discover

and revisit. In addition, the use of colourful chalk graffiti made the representations stand out against grey pavement, making people notice them.

Size of output

The discovery of the visualisations was further encouraged by the size of the visualisations, which made them prominent features along the street, see also the Placement section below. Placement

Both the input devices and visualisations were placed in the context of local shops, either inside (voting) or just outside (visualisations). This placement was chosen because of the im- portant social role these shops played in the area, according to local residents. This approach was particularly valuable because the area does not contain other key social spaces that are regularly visited by a majority of residents, such as a central square. As the shops were al- ready part of the existing rhythms and routines of the community, embedding the project in these locations promoted discovery and rediscovery: people were known to visit these places regularly, and would inevitably stumble upon the project. This proved particularly key for the involvement of people beyond the core group of active community members, as these people were less likely to attend meetings by community or resident groups, but were likely to visit the shops. Furthermore, the diversity of the shops involved proved cru- cial for engaging a broad range of people. The findings suggest that for community-wide discovery it is key to leverage on the social role of existing public and semi-public places — such as shops, libraries, and stations. As these locations already play an important role in the community, their involvement can help kickstart participation from a wide variety of people.

Positioning

In addition to selecting well-visited places, the positioning of the input devices and visu- alisations within these venues also emerged as a key factor in facilitating discovery. The positioning of the voting devices on the tills of the participating shops meant that the de- vices were embedded into existing community practices, as people were likely to notice them when paying for their goods.

Similarly, the positioning of the visualisations on the pavement adjacent to the entrance of each participating shops meant that people were likely to notice them when entering or leaving the shops. This visibility of the representations displayed on the pavement suggests

that further explorations of alternative display surfaces (i.e. not all digital upright screens) may help in finding ways to combat display blindness. Findings from the Mill Road study, and the earlier investigation of street graphs in the Tidy Street project (Webb, 2011), suggest that the use of the ground can be effective, especially as people naturally often look down while walking. It should, however, be noted that one reason for the success of this alternative display surface may be its novelty. If, at some point, pavements and streets are filled with information, a display blindness similar to that of current upright displays may develop. The size of the visualisation in relation to the narrowness of the pavement also encouraged passers-by to walk close to, or over, the visualisations, further promoting discovery. This confirms recommendations for other types of publicly situated technology, which state the importance of positioning installations near traffic flows, such as the positioning of kiosk systems (Maguire, 1999) and digital displays (Brignull and Rogers, 2003).

Familiarity

People’s familiarity with the locations in which the input technologies and visualisations were placed proved important for discovery. The introduction of the novel devices and representations was noticed instantly by those highly familiar with the environment: their expectations of the familiar context were challenged.

Crowdedness

In busy locations, such as one of Mill Road’s takeaway shops, the honeypot effect was ob- served regularly. The presence of people around the voting device or visualisations intrigued other passers-by, who then walked up to them to find out why people were standing there. Social connectedness

The pre-existing social connectedness within the Mill Road community ensured that word spread quickly about the project: customers spoke to shopkeepers, active residents spoke to other people attending community group meetings, etc.

Established leaders

The involvement of key figures in the community, including trusted long-term residents and shopkeepers, with whom the residents were already familiar, played a key role in spreading awareness of the project. For example, shopkeepers were observed telling customers about the voting devices when they approached the till. By leveraging the existing social role these

established leaders had within the Mill Road community, news about the project not only spread quickly, the leaders’ support also gave the deployment credibility.

Press

Traditional media played an important role in creating awareness of the project in the wider area. After mentions on a local radio show and in the city’s newspaper, shopkeepers noticed an increase in people entering their shops with the sole purpose of finding out more about the project. This confirms recommendations in previous work on publicly situated technology, which suggests that systems that have been advertised beforehand, and are therefore already introduced to people, are more likely to be tried out by people (Maguire, 1999). Due to the unpredictable nature of ‘news’, this factor is difficult to take into consideration in the early phases of any project. Nevertheless, media coverage can play an important role in getting a community’s attention and kickstarting discovery, as previously also demonstrated in the Waiting Wall study (see Section A.1), and therefore exploring ways in which local press can be involved or contacted are likely to be worthwhile.

Social media

Social media can also play an important role in promoting discovery. During the study, peo- ple shared the project through platforms such as Facebook and Twitter, with others learning about it as a result. This can be particularly powerful when people or organisations with a large reach share their experiences, such as established leaders, shops, or community groups. 4.5.2.2 Understanding

Inclusivity of topics

All selected questions were chosen for their inclusivity, to ensure locals as well as visitors would be able to easily understand them. This successfully enabled people to learn more about the aim of the project, as they were able to read and understand the posed questions. This aligns with Taylor et al. (2012) suggestions on the use of short and simple questions to improve community engagement.

Source of topics

By sourcing topics from local shopkeepers and residents, a set of topics was identified that could be easily understood by people living and working in the Mill Road community. The use of such community-generated topics also ensured that people could relate to the topics.

PRESENTATION INCLUSIVITY

SOURCE CLARITY NUMBER OF ENTRY POINTS

FORM FACTOR

INPUT MECHANISM PLAYFULNESS

COUPLING TO INPUT UPDATE FREQUENCY

NUMBER OF ENTRY POINTS MATERIALITY INTERACTIVITY SIZE ENCODING REPRESENTATION POSITIONING PLACEMENT SOCIAL CONNECTEDNESS ESTABLISHED LEADERS PRESS SOCIAL MEDIA ROLE INITIATOR UNDERSTANDING

TOPIC INPUT OUTPUT LOCATION COMMUNITY OTHER

CROWDEDNESS

FAMILIARITY REGULARITY

Figure 4.19: Factors framework: factors relating to understanding

Input technology form factor

The simple form factor of the voting device, which consisted of a minimal interface, con- taining only one question and three buttons, enabled people to easily understand the aim of the project simply by looking at the voting device.

Number of entry points for output

The distribution of visualisations along the street made it possible for people to walk from shop to shop to compare the results between individual shops or between areas.

Coupling to input

While the input and output were not co-located in the exact same locations, their placement inside and outside the same shops provided a clear coupling. Furthermore, this placement helped people understand the link between the data collection and visualisation process, providing insight about the context in which the data was gathered and luring people inside (see Placement).

Representation of output

The design of the situated visualisation focused on the use of relative data. This proved key in fostering engagement. Firstly, this simplified view of the data enabled people, including those unfamiliar with these types of graphical representations, to easily interpret the results. Secondly, it also enabled people to compare the results between questions and shops (see also Number of entry points for output). Furthermore, the relative data allowed people to learn more about the collected data from each shop, without providing insight into partici- pation figures. In other words, the use of relative data ensured that the insights people could glean from the visualisations were on the community’s relative differences and similarities in perceptions on different topics, without shifting the focus to the popularity or lack of popularity of individual shops.

Positioning

The positioning of the input devices and visualisations in the context of local shops enabled people to observe, read, and compare the questions and visualised data in a natural man- ner. As window shopping, and browsing items inside a shop, are common behaviours, their actions did not stand out, and the observations and findings from interviews suggest that people did not experience social embarrassment (Brignull and Rogers, 2003), performance anxiety (Akpan et al., 2013), or evaluation apprehension (O’Hara, 2003).

Furthermore, literally positioning the displays on the doorstep of the local shops ensured that customers and passers-by were able to instinctively connect the data with the location. In other words, the contextual positioning of the visualisations directly resulted in further understanding of the data. In addition, this positioning enabled people to compare the re- sults between shops and areas.

Crowdedness

The presence of other people near the input technology or visualisations enabled people to observe others interact with the intervention, in order to learn more about it. This worked particularly well during busy shopping times, such as Saturdays (all shops), and evenings (supermarkets, delicatessen, takeaway restaurant).

Established leaders

helped others to get a better understanding of the project. Most importantly, shopkeep- ers were always present to answer people’s questions about the project.

Press

The coverage of the study by the local press also allowed people to learn more about the project, and how they could participate, simply by reading an article or listening to a radio show. 4.5.2.3 Interaction PRESENTATION INCLUSIVITY SOURCE CLARITY NUMBER OF ENTRY POINTS

FORM FACTOR

INPUT MECHANISM PLAYFULNESS

COUPLING TO INPUT UPDATE FREQUENCY

NUMBER OF ENTRY POINTS MATERIALITY INTERACTIVITY SIZE ENCODING REPRESENTATION CROWDEDNESS POSITIONING PLACEMENT FAMILIARITY EVENTFULNESS SOCIAL CONNECTEDNESS ESTABLISHED LEADERS PRESS SOCIAL MEDIA ROLE INITIATOR INTERACTION

TOPIC INPUT OUTPUT LOCATION COMMUNITY OTHER

CROWDEDNESS FAMILIARITY REGULARITY

Figure 4.20: Factors framework: factors relating to interaction

Presentation of topics

As a new question was posed every other day, people were encouraged to voice their opinion regularly by interacting with the voting devices. The update frequency successfully fostered repeat interactions over time, by motivating people to return to the shops.

Inclusivity of topics

The posed questions were designed to be accessible to locals as well as visitors. As a result, they facilitated participation from diverse demographics.

Number of entry points for input

The distribution of voting devices allowed people to submit their vote at different locations. While this behaviour was not observed regularly, the interviews revealed that some people submitted their votes on the same question at multiple locations, to communicate how their