Design of information systems (DESIGN)
Under construction
Welcome to the research group for Design of Information Systems at the Department of Informatics, University of Oslo.
Our research focuses on how to design information systems that support users in their activities. We work multidisciplinary combining technological and socio-cultural knowledge about use and users in designing how information should be shaped into physical representations that users can interact with.
We do research on design, i.e. form-giving. We draw on other design disciplines (architecture, product design) as a basis for finding out how to give form to information. The design we do ranges from shaping a small piece of information to the overall distribution of information between humans and machines or between automatic processes and user-controlled processes. Information is presented and communicated in visual, audio or haptic forms, and the forms should be suited for the particular use context. The different physical representations require different designs, and we have a particular interest for web and mobile services, combining small and big screens and mobile terminals. We explore how these can interact with embedded systems that include sensors. At a more general level we design activities where some actions are delegated to a computer (e.g. calculation) and some to humans, where the computer processes can be automatic or user-controlled. Since our design is aimed at supporting users activities we work closely with future users in the design and evaluation of technical solutions. Our research also includes designing new methods and techniques for collaborative and multidisciplinary design.
We do research on use, i.e. the activities in which the technology should become an integrated part. We draw on a range of theories and methods from social sciences, cultural studies, pedagogy, media studies and law in this research, and we collaborate with researchers from these other fields. We also need to know about the content of the activities we design for, and we are particularly interested in mobility and traffic information, presentation of knowledge in museums and in local community settings, and in mobility and services in the health care sector.