Non-user centered design of personal mobile technologies
Jo Herstad, Dagny Stuedahl, Thanh Do Van · 2002
During design and development of personal mobile communication technologies, various user centered design approaches are frequently used. Based on results from three ethnographic studies of bike messenger operations, bike police operation and field engineering operations, we argue that the view of the non-user should be included during design. Concepts from the social construction of technology tradition are used as analytic devises for investigating the role of the non-user. The automobile is used as an example of a personal mobile technology throughout the paper to illustrate the role of the non-user. Keywords: Design, users, mobility 1. Introduction Telephones have become ubiquitous in the western world. Today we take the fixed telephone for granted in private homes, in offices and at public places. It is acknowledged that the introduction of the fixed telephone led to major changes in society (Fischer 1992), both for the users of the technology and for the ones that do not use it...