Public defense PhD thesis by Sabrina Sauer on 18 September 2013
On Wednesday 18 September, 16.30h Sabrina Sauer defends her thesis:
“User innovativeness in Living Laboratories – Everyday user improvisations with ICTs as a source of innovation”
What happens when the ideas of ordinary people become the starting point for the design of new ICTs? This PhD thesis aims to answer this question by investigating Living Laboratory practices. The guiding principle of Living Laboratories is that user-centered design situated in a daily life context instigates unexpected new ideas and uses of technologies, culminating in the development of more successful ICTs. Working from a Science and Technology Studies-perspective, this book focuses on how the dynamic relationship between user, context and technology is translated into new ICTs in Living Laboratories. The concept of improvisation is used to guide the analysis of end user innovativeness.