My research explores new forms of interactive technology.
ResearchAdoption?Use
After decades in Silicon Valley, I started to wonder whether there might be a systematic way to take novel research results beyond publication and into the hands of end users.
There seems to be a missing Adoptionstep in user-centered design.
What additional thinking and work are needed in taking research beyond the lab? The ideas below illustrate part of that broader process.
Depending on the nature of the research and your relationship to potential users, there may be several paths to explore. In my own work, I created Inovo Studio to carry research from inception through to a product and business.
If you’re interested in what it might mean to take your own work beyond the lab, I’d be happy to chat. This path can take considerable work, but, as with research, having a good guide can make the journey smoother.
From Design to Use
Formative studies, ideation, prototyping, user testing, iteration: these are core components of user-centered design, and we have numerous methods to draw from. Those activities can lead to a refined design or a functional prototype. Adoption involves a further task: helping people transition from their existing way of doing something to our new one. Even what we perceive as subtle changes might be large for the end user. Demonstrating the promise of research and making that transition happen require different kinds of work.
From Promise to Practice
There is often a hope that once research is published, code is shared, or a prototype is available, people will find and use it. Even when our study metrics show the promise of a new approach, a user adopting it involves learning effort, changes in habits, and uncertainty about whether the change will be worthwhile.
Even if the technology is free, the human costs remain.
Furthermore, reaching the people who could benefit from the work takes deliberate attention. They need to notice it, trust it, and understand what it offers. End users are unlikely to find the research paper and artifacts; existing businesses are busy fighting fires with their current products. How this shows up for you and your research depends on the work itself and your relationship to its potential users.
Exploring through Inovo Studio
With Inovo Studio, I conduct my own research while considering how it might become a product or business. My goal is to find a model that can be repeated across research projects.
Choosing the right measuring stick is one of the issues that arise. In academia, novelty and publishability are important criteria for a contribution. Looking beyond the lab, we might compare our early prototype with the highly polished products of a company such as Apple and think it is insufficient. However, for adoption, the relevant comparison is the state of practice. What do the people who could use the research actually do today?
If people choose to use what we still consider a research prototype, despite crashes, usability issues or other flaws we see, then it helps them more than their current solution. That is a win.
My app, Shape Cast, is an example of this journey. It is a tool for ceramic artists that grew from my own experience and qualitative research into ceramic slip-casting practices. It started as a prototype and evolved into a tool for creating plaster-mold designs without requiring manual 3D modeling. We launched its beta in fall 2023, published the work at CHI, had over a thousand users, and are now generating revenue. Despite all of the limitations, it is in the hands of artists and helping people.
If you’re interested in exploring what taking your own research beyond the lab involves, please reach out .
