UX research and ethnographic design for humanitarian technology.

A presentation at UX Waterloo in January 2021 in Waterloo, ON, Canada by Eriol Fox

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UX research and ethnographic design for humanitarian technology. Peace building Crisis response http://bit.ly/EF-UXWaterloo @erioldoesdesign @uxWaterloo #uxWaterloo

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Content warnings. Violence against women, the Manchester arena bombing, radicalisation of youth and terrorism, natural disasters, colonisation, racism, education/ social status prejudice. Some slides will have ‘No photos/copies please’. Please do not take photos/copies of these slides. @erioldoesdesign @uxWaterloo #uxWaterloo

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Hi, I’m Eriol. (Ehh-roll). They/Them pronouns. 10 years in digital product design and UX. 7 years in humanitarian / third sector. 3 years in (FL)OSS. PhD student researching Humanitarian OSS and Design. I’m a human rights centred designer. @erioldoesdesign @uxWaterloo #uxWaterloo

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Helping people raise their voice and those who serve them to listen and respond better We were able to map all the health facilities in Kathmandu Valley before the earthquake, which will undoubtedly help the relief workers’ ability to deliver supplies and help save lives. A tool to help other teams reach each other everyday and in a crisis. On any device. No photos/copies please

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developing countries, global south, emerging markets, third world, aid reliant, the next billion, new readers, socially excluded, migrant population, global margins, the west,economic peripheries, poor, sub-

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Isooko. Peace Building + Tech. @erioldoesdesign @uxWaterloo #uxWaterloo

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Isooko’s aim “ Isooko explores the potential of digital technologies to support peace through testing and development in Rwanda and Kenya.” You can find more info at isooko.eu @erioldoesdesign @uxWaterloo #uxWaterloo

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Dispatcher. Crisis Response + Tech. @erioldoesdesign @uxWaterloo #uxWaterloo

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Dispatcher’s aim “ Can technology help people create and maintain resilience in times of crisis? What kinds of technology aids rather than overwhelms? ” You can find more info at bit.ly/ush-dispatcher @erioldoesdesign @uxWaterloo #uxWaterloo

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Why Rwanda and Kenya? “ Rwanda’s history with Genocide led to a number of social policies and projects that worked on peace. Kenya’s history of tribal/political conflict allow exploration into crisis. ” @erioldoesdesign @uxWaterloo #uxWaterloo

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Grant funded activity is… …often restrictive, prescriptive and at it’s worst ‘proposal first’ instead of ‘human first’. @erioldoesdesign @uxWaterloo #uxWaterloo

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Academia ≠ Practice What works in the ‘lab’ doesn’t always work in the field. @erioldoesdesign @uxWaterloo #uxWaterloo

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Living Labs Methodology. @erioldoesdesign @uxWaterloo #uxWaterloo

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Public + Civil Society Orgs What works for public might not work for CSOs. @erioldoesdesign @uxWaterloo #uxWaterloo

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‘Public’ User Journeys. Personas. Stakeholder mapping. Rapid prototyping. @erioldoesdesign @uxWaterloo #uxWaterloo

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‘Civil Society Orgs’ (CSO’s) Defining peace. Understanding User Journeys and Personas. Tech tool demos. Impact mapping. @erioldoesdesign @uxWaterloo #uxWaterloo

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Flexibility within boundaries. Be willing to adapt activities for good reasons. @erioldoesdesign @uxWaterloo #uxWaterloo

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‘Aid’ Language. Countries used to an ‘aid’ presence are ‘non-profit’ language proficient. @erioldoesdesign @uxWaterloo #uxWaterloo

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Working with trauma. Practice working with difficult subject matter allows better handling of it when witnessed. @erioldoesdesign @uxWaterloo #uxWaterloo

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facebook.com/polycomdevelopmentproject Working with trauma in design activities. @erioldoesdesign @uxWaterloo #uxWaterloo No photos/copies please

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@erioldoesdesign @uxWaterloo #uxWaterloo No photos/copies please

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No photos/copies please @erioldoesdesign @uxWaterloo #uxWaterloo

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No photos/copies please

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Homework* Think of a deeply upsetting event in your life and try to begin to ‘Journey map’ this event. @erioldoesdesign @uxWaterloo #uxWaterloo

  • Very optional homework

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How did we make sure we did this ethically? ~ Researchers went through the same process ~ Researchers examples built a compassionate connection ~ Attendees notified pre-workshop of subject matter ~ Psychological support on site ~ Confidentiality ~ Researchers were supported post workshop @erioldoesdesign @uxWaterloo #uxWaterloo

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No photos please Schooling your reaction @erioldoesdesign @uxWaterloo #uxWaterloo

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Surprising subjects can arise. Many subjects come into play when conducting research: History, culture, politics, poverty. @erioldoesdesign @uxWaterloo #uxWaterloo

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Can I relate to you? ~ Race/Ethnicity ~ Perceived Gender/Sex ~ Social Status ~ Interest/Circumstance ~ Education @erioldoesdesign @uxWaterloo #uxWaterloo

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‘Deep ethnographic’ vs ‘dip-in, dip-out researcher’ @erioldoesdesign @uxWaterloo #uxWaterloo

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No photos please Deep ethnographic. Kathmandu living labs @erioldoesdesign @uxWaterloo #uxWaterloo

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Team Rubicon UK and SARAID Community resilience team @erioldoesdesign @uxWaterloo #uxWaterloo

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‘Dip-in, Dip-out’ researcher. Dispatcher by Ushahidi. @erioldoesdesign @uxWaterloo #uxWaterloo

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‘Dip-in, Dip-out’ researcher. Isooko public workshop. @erioldoesdesign @uxWaterloo #uxWaterloo

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Stay safety, stay healthy. Take burner phones, extra devices, do interviews in pairs or threes @erioldoesdesign @uxWaterloo #uxWaterloo

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Doing your own field study in an emerging market. @erioldoesdesign @uxWaterloo #uxWaterloo

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Practice on your next holiday* ~ Community research online ~ Photography ~ Ask taxi drivers about your topic @erioldoesdesign @uxWaterloo #uxWaterloo *Optional. This activity may frustrate who you’re on holiday with

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Reports and Guides. Leaving no one behind: Lessons from the Kerala disasters https://www.preventionweb.net/publications/view/69992 Safe sisters - Digital security challenges faced by women human rights defenders. https://safesisters.net/resources/ The Human Rights, Big Data and Technology Project https://www.hrbdt.ac.uk/publications/ @erioldoesdesign @uxWaterloo #uxWaterloo

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Conferences + Events ~ Rightscon ~ Internet Freedom Festival ~ Mozfest ~ Peace tech labs ~ Tech4Good @erioldoesdesign @uxWaterloo #uxWaterloo

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Human rights Centred Design community. https://hrcd.pubpub.org/ An initiative that brings together people at the intersection between human rights and design, tool development, and user education. All efforts aim to foster and extend the community. @erioldoesdesign @uxWaterloo #uxWaterloo

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Resources and tools. Electronic Frontier Foundation eff.org AccessNow accessnow.org Advocacy Assembly advocacyassembly.org Code for America - Qualatative research guide AXIS tools - https://usable.tools/guidebook/ Design Justice Network - https://designjustice.org/ @erioldoesdesign @uxWaterloo #uxWaterloo

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Books! @erioldoesdesign @uxWaterloo #uxWaterloo

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Thanks folks. noti.st/eriolfox linkedin.com/in/eriolfox github.com/Erioldoesdesign medium.com/@EriolDoesDesign @erioldoesdesign @uxWaterloo #uxWaterloo