The Language/Action Model of Conversation: Can conversation perform acts of design?

This article focuses on the theory of conversation embodied in LAP—an infl uential framework of phenomenology, pragmatics, and speech act theory. While LAP has received signifi cant attention in prior ACM publications, the framework deserves further consideration in light of renewed interest in the systemic view of conversation in design. The emergence of massive social media networks has inspired interest in social design and social systems, particularly in applications to network systems, including business models, online social activism, and organizational systems.