Chapter 1

An Introduction to Studying and Designing Technology for Domestic Life

Performing research and technology design for domestic life is by no means easy. Research and design methods commonly used in the field of Human-Computer Interaction for conducting studies of other settings may not easily translate to studying domestic life given its richness and complexity. This book documents the new ways in which researchers are studying domestic life, as well as designing and evaluating technology in the context of the home and domestic space. Each chapter is a candid discussion about one or more methods that were successfully used for research studies with a focus on the challenges that the researchers faced while using the methods themselves and the best practices they learned. This introduction chapter lays the foundation for understanding how to use this book and presents a summary of topics that are described in chapters throughout the book.