Emily Wong

Speculative and systemic design are both used by HCI researchers to engage in complex sociotechnical change. However, they are rarely integrated in ways that make their complementary strengths explicit. This paper introduces Systemic Futures Dialogue, a design approach that interleaves speculative and systemic design methods across micro-macro and present-future dimensions. We report on an 18-month case study with the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) industry, that applied a mixture of methods used in both design disciplines. These included semi-structured interviews, systems mapping, future-based scenarios, speculative probes, and participatory reflection. The resulting design approach generates grounded futures by connecting macro-level system dynamics with micro-level speculative critique, identifying tensions between present-day solutions and desired futures. The final Systemic Futures Dialogue contributes methodological guidance for conducting critical, participatory design work within a sociotechnical system.

Collaboration in distributed mixed reality (MR) creates co-presence illusions by bringing a digital representation of the remote collaborator into the local user’s physical space. However, constraints in each physical environment, such as different spatial layouts and furniture, can hinder collaboration and momentarily break the illusion of co-location. Since the remote user’s physical space is invisible to the local user, the source of the interaction problem is often imperceptible, leading to familiar real-world interactions suddenly feeling unfamiliar—a concept we term the Jamais Vu Effect. In this paper, we conceptualise and demonstrate this effect through a five-part user study that elicits the user experience of the Jamais Vu Effect in MR. We contribute a shared vocabulary and understanding of spatial interface design challenges to help designers and researchers discuss and improve distributed collaboration in MR.

Collaborating across dissimilar, distributed spaces presents numerous challenges for computer-aided spatial communication. Mixed reality (MR) can blend selected surfaces, allowing collaborators to work in blended f-formations (facing formations), even when their workstations are physically misaligned. Since collaboration often involves more than just participant pairs, this research examines how we might scale MR experiences for large-group collaboration. To do so, this study recruited collaboration designers (CDs) to evaluate and reimagine MR for large-scale collaboration. These CDs were engaged in a four-part user study that involved a technology probe, a semi-structured interview, a speculative low-fidelity prototyping activity and a validation session. The outcomes of this paper contribute (1) a set of collaboration design principles to inspire future computer-supported collaborative work, (2) eight collaboration patterns for blended f-formations and collaboration at scale and (3) theoretical implications for f-formations and space-place relationships. As a result, this work creates a blueprint for scaling collaboration across distributed spaces.