Appropriate Home Technology: Depending on Dependable Technology Systems

Dwelling with computers, they become part of the informing environment, like weather, like street sounds. A house that is true to its house nature must have a certain quiet, even stolidness. Through a thousand subtle cues, computers will help turn our houses into homes. Weiser (1996) This paper is interested in explicating some of the multiple concerns involved in designing appropriate technology in domestic, or home, settings. As society becomes increasingly reliant on computer-based systems, and as domestic settings become increasingly technologised, the systems themselves have become increasingly complex and the need for dependable systems correspondingly important. Achieving sufficient dependability in these systems, and demonstrating this achievement in a rigorous and convincing manner, appears crucial in moving towards an inclusive Information Society. The paper reflects our interest in making some initial steps towards developing improved means of specifying, designing, assessing, deploying and maintaining complex socio-technical systems in domestic contexts where high dependability is crucial. As computer-based systems and artefacts penetrate more and more into people’s everyday lives and homes, the ‘design problem’ is not so much concerned with the creation of new technical artefacts as it is with their effective and dependable configuration and integration. It is evident that satisfactory resolution of such concerns demands major, interdisciplinary breakthroughs in understanding the development of complex socio-technical systems in domestic environments since inadequate understanding of the context of the lived reality of use and user needs is often a significant cause of lack of dependability. The paper also explores the ongoing DIRC project which is currently investigating these areas within its Project Activity ‘Dependable Ubiquitous Computing In The Home’. While this paper does not attempt to solve all of the presented issues it aims to illuminate and highlight some fields of investigation that might form the basis for future and ongoing research and development agendas for appropriate technological interventions in domestic settings