[Sigia-l] moving beyond first principles: how?

[paula.thornton]

[Apologies. I responded earlier this morning but my mail package crashed
with my 'investment' of a nearly completed email. Trying to recreate here.]

Dittos to Jesse's concern. In the interest of 'moving beyond' we have some
larger issues to address that go beyond IA.

For over 7 months (end of '01, through early '02) there was a serious effort
to pursue 'convergence' between related disciplines. The leadership and/or
thought leaders from ASIS&T, STC, UPA, AIGA-ED, & SIGCHI had a discussion
group to explore ideas around the need to (or not) share efforts. Some of
the 'convergent' conferences last year and this year are somewhat related to
those early discussions. But the conversation waned (focus on more pressing
matters, perhaps -- finding new clients, changing jobs, etc.). And we
continue to identify groups that were not involved in these early
discussions (HFES, for example).

There are serious issues out there to be addressed that would benefit a
portion of all of these organizations. Even now comments are being raised on
various lists that all seem to focus on a need for convergent efforts -- or
at least more global focus on issues that relate to their own work or need
to move the industry forward.

While I've seen what appears to be good academic programs, I've also seen
things that scare me. One past one-on-one discussion crashed and burned as a
well-written professor insisted that there was little need for academia and
business to collaborate. That academia needed to decide what to research on
their own. With attitudes like that, can we believe that the students coming
out of such programs will be 'useful' in industry at large (or won't have
perceptions that will take a while to reshape)?

My own needs have never been addressed by any of these organizations. I have
begun to find many individuals who agree.

If your concerns are more focused on the strategic aspects of IA
(questioning and justifying 'why' before getting to 'what' or 'how'), if you
want to find ways to encourage more synergies between academia and business,
if you believe that we have larger issues of being 'understood' as a
'collective' before we can worry about being understood as 'individuals',
let me know.

We'll see if we can't tap this energy on a wider channel.

Paula Thornton
Interaction Design Strategist
www.inknovate.com