Multi-lifespan Design Thinking: Two Methods and a Case Study with the Rwandan Diaspora

In recent years, the HCI community has recognized the need to address long(er) term information system design around on-going societal problems. Yet how to engage stakeholders effectively in multi-lifespan design thinking remains an open challenge. Toward that end, the work reported here extends an established envisioning method by introducing two new design methods, the multi-lifespan timeline and multi-lifespan co-design, with an emphasis on the element of (long) time. The new methods aim to stimulate participants' visions of future information systems by: (a) enhancing participants' understanding of longer timeframes (e.g., 100 years), and (b) guiding participants to effectively project themselves long into the future in their design thinking. We explored these multi-lifespan design methods in work with 51 Africans from Rwanda and the Great Lakes region living in the USA to understand the challenges and opportunities they envision for designing future information systems for transitional justice in Rwanda. Contributions are two-fold: (1) methodological innovation, and (2) a case study of multi-lifespan design thinking generated by diaspora members of post-conflict societies.