Redesigning Agricultural Hand Tools in Western Kenya: Considering Human-Centered Design in Development Research - Susan Wyche and Jennifer Olson

Thu, Feb 06, 2020   12:00 PM ‐ 1:30 PM

MSU AFRICAN STUDIES CENTER SPEAKER SERIES LIVESTREAMED AT EYEONAFRICA.MATRIX.MSU.EDU

Thursday, February 6th, 2020 12:00 – 1:30 p.m. / Room 201 International Center

All are welcome! Lunch will be provided.

ABOUT THE TALK

Human-centered design (HCD) is a creative approach to technology design that prioritizes users’ needs in the design process. It is characterized by three phases: understanding, ideation, and evaluation. Enthusiasm for using HCD persists among ICTD (information and communication technologies for development) researchers; funding agencies continue to support efforts to use the approach in development projects. However, published studies documenting each phase of the approach are few. Here, we present one such case study that documents our use of HCD to understand farmers’ hand tools in Kenya and to explore their ideas for new tools—designed to make weeding easier. We also present an evaluation of three redesigned tools, which were manufactured by jua kali (local metal workers). Our findings suggest that HCD resulted in improved tools. These findings motivate a discussion that elaborates on using HCD in ICTD. We suggest that the most significant impacts of HCD may come from using the approach to understand diverse local conditions as they relate to design, and from jua kali integrating the approach into their design practices. Finally, we consider how HCD supports (and challenges) conducting ethical research.

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS

Susan Wyche, PhD, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Media and Information at Michigan State University, where she is also affiliated with the university’s African Studies Center. Her research primarily focuses on human computer interaction (HCI). She conducts fieldwork in primarily Kenyan sites that she has been visiting since 2007. Wyche received her Ph.D. in Human-Centered Computing from Georgia Tech. She is a 2015 recipient of an NSF CAREER Award.

Jennifer Olson, PhD, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Media & Information at Michigan State University. She has extensive experience conducting research and development work in Africa related to societal aspects of information and communications technology use and adoption, and causes and consequences of climate change. She examines these issues through a gendered lens. The research projects have combined extensive fieldwork with ecological and climate modeling funded by NSF, USAID, the Rockefeller Foundation, the United Nations Environment Programme and others.