Research background

Through my PhD, I have developed a strong foundation in conceptualizing experience and user experience. In particular, I acquire these insights by inquring into people's dynamic processes of sense making during and through their use of technology. This is not only relational but also dialogical (in a Bakhtinian sense).

I am well versed with using varoius qualitative research methods and developing various ethnographically inspired techniques to investigate (the fuzzy) aspects of experience.

Current research interests

Phd research (2005-2009)

(link to my PhD abstract)

Understanding Serendipitous Experiences when Interacting with Personal Digital Content

Serendipity is a coined word, created ex nihilo by Horace Walpole in 1754. For Walpole, it is always about happy accidents and always about discovery, fashioning this word to describe only the fortuitous outcomes arising from chance. Hence if chance leads to a negative outcome, then it is not serendipity. However, for various reasons, this enigmatic and elusive concept (including its deligthful sounding pronunciation), has been adopted and used in a variety of (different) contexts1. As a result, serendipity has resisted clear definition.

Serendipity is best known for the role it plays in the accidental but fortunate and desirable discoveries within human endeavours. For example in Science, we read about such fortuitous accidents such as Röntgen's discovery of X-Rays or Fleming with Peniccilin. While serendipity can indeed afford such great insights and discovery, this aspect often overshadows the captivating aspects of the experience. We can encounter serendipity out of the unpredictabilities of our quotidian lives. Moments of personal serendipity are often imbued with ‘magic’ and wonder, bearing the capacity to not only delight and thrill, but under certain circumstances, it can also be personally transformative. And it is the enrich experiential asepcts of serendipity that I am interested in. Here, I define srendipity as a personally meaningful experiences through chance encounters.

Serendipity has been reported as a user experience2 (UX) arising through our use of technology. One example is when people interact or consume personal digital content. Random music listening or shuffle listening is perhaps the most popular example whereby serendipity is reported during interactions with digital music. People report being infused with a sense of awe and wonder, whilst some imbuing the phenomenon with elements such magic, or fate. At times it has led to moments of self-realization and even precipitated self-transformations. But despite the engaging and potentially rich nature of this experience, no work has been carried out to understand this brand of rich and engaging UX.

Thus my research speaks primarily to HCI researchers and interaction designers working in the field of UX. It establishes (a first to date), an empirically informed understanding of this brand of serendipity as a UX, one that arises out of people’s interactions with their personal digital content. This is accomplished through a series of qualitative empirical investigations

These investigations follow the trail of serendipity encountered during the popular practice of shuffle listening, using this mode of music listening as a vehicle to understand the UX of serendipity.

This understanding presents a detailed qualitative characterization of this serendipity. I also explicated what elements are involved and in tandem elucidated how these elements—couched within people’s practice of music listening—influence people’s process of sense making to potentially give rise to serendipity. Following this, I carried out a further study that instantiates this understanding into another domain. By translating my understanding in a system that allowed people to interact with their digital photographs, tI found that these elements were also able to engender similar experiences and in particular avail people with opportunities to encounter serendipity. 

Even though serendipity is a made-up word, people still find their encounters with it mysterious and delightful. It is true that serendipity can be encountered at any time and any place. But to experience it, this thesis found that a complex array of elements needs to be present. When arising from people’s interaction with digital content, it highlights the tight relationship between the use of random delivery mechanism and the personally meaningful content. In fact, the random encounters of this content could potentially sway and color people’s experiences, making it more likely for people to be able to locate a meaningful connection which could potentially lead to serendipity. Finally, it also requires people to be sensitive to the elements at play and to be willingly engaged in bringing it to life.

Contribution:

This understanding contributes to the current conceptual foundations of user-experience, broadening and enriching our understanding of people's experiences arising from their encounters with technology, in particular richer experiences that are deeply engaging. It also contributes to the theoretical understanding of the potential of harnessing randomness not only to supporting serendipity but also to support deeper engagement and richer UX. Of course it also extends our current understanding of the concept of serendipity.

These contributions will extend our understanding of the range of experiences that we should be supporting, especially richer, and more personally engaging experiences.  

Conclusion:

Van Andel (1994)3 concludes that serendipity is not something that can be planned for or programmed by computer. My work concurs wholeheartedly with his conclusion that any attempt to design serendipity is to extinguish the phenomenon itself. However, it extends van Andel's point by showing that while we cannot design serendipity, there is definitely potential for designers to provide a congenial scaffold whereby this engaging and enigmatic experience may be discovered opportunistically during people’s interactions with digital content.

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1 Merton, R., & Barber, E. (2004). The Travels and Adventures of Serendipity. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

2 UX arises as a consequence of people’s internal state, the characteristics of the designed system, and the context within which the interaction occurs.

3 van Andel, P. (1994). Anatomy of the Unsought Finding. Serendipity: Origin, History, Domains, Traditions, Appearances and Programmability. British Journal for the Philosophy of Science, 45, 631-648.