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The Spectrum of Meta-Design Environments: The Correlation of Openness and Purpose

Abstract

We propose an extended definition of meta-design which relates the intent of the meta-designer to the degree of allowed user freedom. We believe that meta-design is a spectrum of "user control", and environments are made to allow different levels of user-control, depending on the the goals of the meta-designers. The level of openness in an environment is an important consideration when designing an environment, because openness has certain profound effects on the environment's professionalism, usability, etc. Allowing a large amount of freedom can mean that amateurs can make the site unreadable, for example. However, making a site too rigid can frustrate users who want to change or do things in a certain way. The designer must decide how easy it will be to make changes, how much can be changed, and how much knowledge the user must possess in order to make valuable alterations.

Keywords: meta-design, continuum of mutability, SER model, turing tar pit, Web 2.0

I. Concrete Definition of Meta-Design
In meta-design, the conventional design of a product is different in the involvement of designers and users at the beginning and end. Traditionally, the designers and users were separated at two extremities so that the creation of the product only involved designers and users only used the product after it was released. Over time, there may be shifts in human behavior within society that require a more useful product so designers will eventually meet again to make a better product.

[insert traditional timeline from lecture 9 that illustrates the process of creating a product or create a new one...]

For meta-design, the boundary that separates the interaction of the designer and user when designing a product is broken. Thus, the power is distributed among the designers and users at design time. After the product is released, the users utilize the benefits of the product until human behavior changes in society. At this point, designers and users can either continue to modify the product in order to satisfy the changes within society, or discontinue the manufacture/use of the product and start from the beginning again using remnants of the original product.

[insert meta-design timeline from lecture 9 that illustrates the process of creating a product or create a new one...]

II. Theoretical Meta-Design Process
Meta-design is best described under the Seeding, Evolutionary growth, and Reseeding (SER) model, which is similar to the life cycle of a potted plant. The first step of the SER model requires a multifaceted architecture created by designers and users to provide a foundation for an underdesigned, seeded idea or product before distribution. This is similar to providing a bed of soil for the seed to grow in a pot.

After distribution of this seed, evolutionary growth requires users be involved and provide information. Throughout this step, users experience deficiencies and limitations in the seed which require either the designer or user to remedy the problems. Incremental modifications by users help support the seeded idea by fostering evolutionary growth. The degree of these modifications are dependent upon how much access a user was given when designers were initially creating the architecture. User's involvement is critical in the success of the seed, otherwise the seed fails to develop and is eventually obsolete. Looking back at the seed embedded in the pot's soil, the evolutionary growth stage is similar to a gardener cultivating and providing the necessary nutrients for the plant to grow. The conditions of the environment may require the gardener to buy additional tools from stores to assist in the plant's growth such as a bigger pot, mulch, scissors to trim weeds wrapping around the plant, or using a stake and rope to hold the plant upright. Without the gardener or store's assistance, the plant will die off due to negligence.

After a certain point, there may be changes in human behavior within society or significant deficiencies that require reseeding. During this stage of reseeding, designers can decide to leave the original seed alone by letting it remain active or terminating it. In either case, designers will take parts of the original seed and any of its extensions in order to start all over again with a new seed. Some of the reasons behind initiating this step can be due to shifts in technology requiring substantial changes in the infrastructure of the seed, significant limitations that require enhancements, lack of incremental modifications, or changes in human behavior that detracts from using the seed. In the potted plant analogy, this could mean that the flower might require a transplant to a better environment to support it or be undergoing changes beyond the gardeners control. If the seed was an annual flower like petunias, then it has outgrown its use over its life time and needs to be replanted from its seeds. If the seed was a perennial like tulips, the gardener could use the offspring to plant more tulips while still caring for the original seed.

III. Turing Tarpit: Trade-offs in Infrastructures Granting User Privileges

IV. Examples of Meta-Design Environments

V. Identification and Analysis of Existing Meta-Design Environments

VI. Spectrum of Physical and Virtual Meta-Design Environments

[insert final draft of spectrum here]

VII. Conclusions

Acknowledgments

References

Authors of this document are the MakeShift Crew:

Alberto Aranda
Andy Truman
Anne Gatchell
Ho Yun "Bobby" Chan
Kyla Maletsky