Reflective Agile Iterative Design

In Sacks’ account of new technology adoption, new technologies do not transform the world, but rather they are “made at home in the world that has whatever organization it already has”. In this process of being made at home, use emerges and design understandings arise. A Reflective Agile Iterative Design (RAID) framework was employed to iteratively design a mobile social group communication technology which harnessed existing mundane technology such as instant messaging and SMS, and study its emergent use. The technology was “made at home” in peoples’ lives over time and led to small shifts in their communication and coordination patterns. RAID-style approaches are often glimpsed behind Web 2.0 sites and academia, although the style itself has received little direct attention in the academic literature. The approach is summed up as ‘learning about technology through living with it’ and is well suited to understanding and designing mundane technology with its fusion of the action research and agile development philosophies. The characteristics and challenges of designing using this approach are described.