Investigators:
Carlos Aguiar (PI)
Art and Design - ID | Information Science - Informatics | University of Illinois Ubana-Champaign

Collaborators:
Gilly Leshed
Information Science | Cornell
John McKenzie English | Cornell Keith Green
Human Centered Design | Cornell

Publications:
[1] C. A. de Aguiar, G. Leshed, A. Bernard, J. McKenzie, C. Andrews and K. E. Green, "CoDAS, a Method for Envisioning Larger-Scaled Computational Artifacts Connecting Communities," 2018 4th International Conference on Universal Village (UV), Boston, MA, USA, 2018, pp. 1-6, doi: 10.1109/UV.2018.8642137.

Research into Design Methods

Keywords: Research methods / co-design / prototypes

Project 1 - CoDAS

The Co-Design At Scale (CoDAS) approach is a hybrid method developed for early design exploration of large-scale, cyber-physical artifacts. These artifacts, which include furniture, rooms, kiosks, billboards, floors, building facades, outdoor play areas, pavilions, and civic infrastructure, present unique challenges in terms of cost, material choice, design requirements, and fabrication means.

CoDAS combines elements of established Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) methods, namely co-design and user enactments, for effective development of larger-scale social computing artifacts. It addresses the complexity of realizing large-scale artifacts without the need for costly and potentially dangerous full-scale prototyping. The three main principles of CoDAS are:

1. Participants co-design with researchers using a small scale model of the artifact.

2. Participants co-create use cases with researchers, rather than following predefined scenarios.

3. Participants engage in user enactments within the small-scale model, informed by the co-created design and use cases.

The CoDAS approach involves three key stages:

1. Scale Model Fabrication: A scaled model of the target environment is created, incorporating elements defined in a social setting framework. This model serves as a basis for co-design, co-scenario creation, and user enactment.

2. Co-design and Co-creation: Participants collaborate with researchers to design the environment and create scenarios using the scaled model and elements. Audio, video, and photography are used to capture the process, or a semi-structured interview may be conducted post-activity.

3. User Enactments: Participants enact the co-created scenarios within the co-designed space, using pre-fabricated, scaled human figures to represent themselves and others. They "think aloud" during the enactment to uncover behavior, attitudes, emotions, and perceptions.

By enabling early design exploration and user enactments within a scaled model, CoDAS allows researchers to think "big" at a lower cost and risk compared to conventional design methods. The approach was demonstrated in the design of communIT, showcasing the benefits and potential shortcomings of CoDAS in large-scale interactive system design.