Informing the design of an information management system with iterative fieldwork

Abstract

We report on the design process of a personal information management system, Raton Laveur, and how it was influenced by an intimate relationship between iterative fieldwork and design thinking. Initially, the system was conceived as a paper-based UI to calendar, contacts, to-dos and notes. As the fieldwork progressed, our understanding of people's practices and the constraints of their office infrastructures radically shifted our design goals away from paper-based interaction to embedded interaction with our system. By this we mean embedding information management functionality in an existing application such as email.