Digital diabetes management (DDM) traditionally emphasizes the monitoring of physical conditions (e.g., blood glucose, HbA1c) of people with diabetes (PwD) and often neglects the promotion of positive feelings towards diabetes to improve wellbeing. A first interview study (N=10) showed that PwD feel well in their daily diabetes management when their DDM systems are unobtrusive and flexible (autonomy), support them to attain skills to control their condition (competence), and provide a “safety net” to prevent harmful conditions (security). Based on this, we designed 10 DDM concepts to foster autonomy, competence and security and discussed them with PwD (N=10) in a second study. Participants perceived the concepts as patient-centered and reflective of their everyday experience with diabetes. PwD appreciate DDMs that help them regain control over their lives, balancing the prevention of harmful situations with avoiding overly prescriptive medical advice.

While realism is a common design goal for virtual reality (VR), VR also offers opportunities that are impossible in the real world (e.g., telekinesis). So far, there is no design support to exploit the potential of such “impossible” augmentations, especially for serious applications. We developed a card set and a workshop format, which features 15 opportunities to facilitate the ideation of augmentation-oriented VR. We piloted the method in five workshops with people in the early stages of developing a VR application (N=35). Participants found the cards easy to use and to inspire viable new concepts that differed from earlier ideas. Analysis of the concepts with interaction criticism identified two strategies: (1) augmentations that are only loosely related to the purpose of the application, simply to increase “fun”, and (2) augmentations that are closely related to the core purpose and thereby subtly facilitate its fulfillment. The latter has the greater potential.

While speculative methods (e.g., design fiction) could help industry to reflect critically about future products and services, little is known about their potentials and limits when applied in a corporate setting. In this case, we worked with an automobile manufacturer to explore the near future of self-driving cars. For more than a year, we speculated using diverse methods, developed stories about a future with self-driving cars, and told them through 24 artifacts (e.g., city map, quick start guides). In this paper, we scrutinize the process, discuss what has worked and what not, which challenges we faced, and how corporate requirements shaped the emerging design fiction. We saw a trend toward affirmative rather than speculative design, driven by product-centricity and the need to justify process and outcome through concrete innovation. While speculation raised interesting questions about technological futures, it remained a challenge to transform them into concrete design implications.

Compared to work environments, the digitization of homes is progressing only slowly. While existing Smart Home applications focus on automatization of, for example, light or heat, there is little discussion about strengthening interpersonal relationships as a potential benefit of smart systems. Since the central dining- or kitchen table is the traditional “social interface” of a home, it seems worthwhile to research domestic interactive tables’ potentials of digital support. This paper presents a review of domestic interactive table concepts as well as a survey about pleasurable moments at (non-digital) domestic tables. Based on this, we develop four design principles, Sociality, Flexibility, Distinctiveness, and Homeyness, to offer orientation for the design of future domestic interactive tables.

In radiology, medical technology providers (MTP) focus mainly on technology-related issues, such as image quality or efficiency of reporting. Broader notions of radiology as "meaningful work" are largely seen as out of scope for an MTP. The present paper challenges this. In a real-world case with a large MTP, we showed that medical technology could be designed more holistically to explicitly improve radiologists' wellbeing. We first gathered work practices experienced as especially conducive to wellbeing. From there, we distilled ideal practices to increase wellbeing and turned them into two software applications. The MTP's initial skepticism dissolved, while radiologists unanimously emphasized wellbeing and demonstrated how they work towards improving it. Based on our insights, the applications resonated well among the radiologists involved, the healthcare provider, and other customers of the MTP. We close with a critical reflection of the challenges and opportunities of designing wellbeing-driven technology in the work domain.

While the general debate about the potential of automated vehicles is pervasive, less is known about how people experience those vehicles in everyday life. To this end, we studied the experiential consequences of a speculative automated "valet parking" service. We designed three variants and confronted participants "in the wild." The automation replaced practical worries about how to navigate a parking garage with unease about the safety of the car, which clearly limited potential gains in positive experiences. The unease could be counteracted by providing feedback about the car itself and the process. This created the impression that the car is properly cared for. In addition, while parking in garages in itself was not especially enjoyable, it played an important role in a number of related positive practices (e.g., shopping routines). To ensure acceptance, automated systems need to carefully address the question of how those systems become embedded in everyday life.