Gathering Requirements for Inclusive Design

Abstract This paper reports on two qualitative methods - 'technology biographies' and 'cultural probes' - as methods to facilitate research in interdisciplinary research in domestic settings. As designers increasingly need to be aware of the broader social impact of technology, traditional approaches need to be supplemented by detailed investigations into everyday life and needs - and 'cultural probes' and 'technology biographies' may prove a useful part of the researcher's methodological repertoire. 1. Introduction: understanding domestic settings - "Its life, Jim, but not as we know it". This paper reports on the ongoing development and deployment of qualitative methods - 'technology biographies' and 'cultural probes' - to facilitate research in a long-term interdisciplinary research project exploring issues of dependability in ubiquitous computing in domestic settings - homes. It is clear that this relatively under researched area represents a major challenge for computer science, since the requirements for systems in the home are both crudely and subtly different from those in the workplace, calling in turn for new field study, modelling, analysis and implementation techniques. Our project is especially concerned to develop ‘enabling’ or ‘assistive’ technologies for user groups with different support needs in a variety of care settings where research suggests technology may enable differently-abled people to lead a better quality of life (Dewsbury 2001, Dewsbury and Edge 2001). However, there is little in the way of