Abstract
In view of the pervasive role played by Information Technology in contemporary life, a growing community of researchers, practitioners, and educators has been involved with human-centered computing (HCC), a field of studies concerned with the integration of theories and methodologies to support the combined investigation of machines, humans, and domains of applications. Comprehensive HCC studies should then articulate technical, personal, social, and cultural factors, addressing the use of technology, its design, and development.
This introductory chapter provides an overview of our incremental contribution to advance HCC studies, a suite of tools called SigniFYI. With this tool, we aim to uncover meanings inscribed in software, their origins, and consequences. We propose to identify and trace instances of consistently related objects across different segments of investigation concerning software production and use. In order to achieve this goal, we rely on semiotic engineering theory, which provides us with conceptual and methodological resources with which to obtain a coherent perspective across multiple segments of investigation. The result is a principled account of relations between the objects in each segment.
Following Schön’s perspectives on reflective practice applied to software design and development, SigniFYI stimulates researchers, professionals, and educators to think critically about what they do and how they do it and with which means and for which ends. Additionally, in research contexts, SigniFYI supports the validation of knowledge produced with interpretive research methods.
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Notes
- 1.
As will be discussed later, the message on screen 1 is not clear about how many parents can be added.
- 2.
Note that the user interface designer has decided to use the term “Add more” (parents or responsible adults), which communicates the modeler’s meaning more effectively to the end users. However, the use of “Add Parent” in the system’s model is something that HCI designers will rarely have the chance to spot and improve.
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Sieckenius de Souza, C., Fontoura de Gusmão Cerqueira, R., Marques Afonso, L., Rossi de Mello Brandão, R., Soares Jansen Ferreira, J. (2016). Introduction. In: Software Developers as Users . Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-42831-4_1
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