UX and Social Justice Presentation by Dr. Doug Walls

2. What we are doing:
• Ground rules
• Introductions:
• Why SJ/UX?
• Definitions
• What are the SJ/UX differences between development and advocacy?
• SJ/UX Examples
• Differences
• Practice: Problem development
• Practice: Values - Vision - Mission
• Reflection

3. Ground Rules
• Learning is most important
• Explaining is valuable, so asking questions is
essential
• Improve your practice, grounding (an internal
process, building as a community, putting it into
practice)

4. Introductions
• Form up a problem team with teams of 4-5
people
• Get to know your design team and why they
are here!

5. Why SJ/UX?
• Good design doesn’t just happen. It is not a checklist of requirements, though it must
certainly support the tasks that users need to accomplish. It is not a passing grade on
a usability test; all the functionality in the world is meaningless if users can’t or won’t
use the application. It is not a slick, natural-feeling interaction model . . . So what is
good design? Design is a research-based, highly iterative process with a focus on
exploring different models of the user-system interaction” (Richardson3)
• Popular technology takes seriously all people’s everyday interactions with IT, not just
the experiences of the privileged, and then uses these experiences as the starting
point for exploring what it means to be a critical citizen in the information age. Popular
technology assumes that collectively produced analysis of structural inequality in our
everyday lives provides a source of empowerment, new knowledge, and
transformation.” (Eubanks)

6. Traditional UX
● UX is the process of design that covers every aspect of
the user’s experience of a particular product to meet the
needs of the user as well as the organization.
● Transcends traditional notion of creating a product that
meets functional needs, but also fulfills and enhances
user’s end goals
● Includes research, visual design, information
architecture, interaction design, and usability testing

7. Traditional Social Justice
“Social justice is the view that everyone deserves
equal economic, political and social rights and
opportunities.”
(National Association of Social Workers)
"all people share a common humanity and
therefore have a right to equitable treatment,
support for their human rights, and a fair
allocation of community resources."
(Toowoomba Catholic Education)

8. Defining SJ/UX
The development of digital infrastructure
that will benefit users by changing the
social environment to further democratize
social goals and/or facilitate justice and to
address violence, oppression,
discrimination or other undesirable social
dynamics.
Application as coordinator of social change.

9. Differences in UX/SJ Projects
➔contexts
➔advocacy
➔development
➔affect

10. Differences in UX/SJ Projects: Contexts
“It is impossible to understand context,
but it’s still vital that we pay attention,”
- Peter Morville

11. Differences in UX/SJ Projects: Advocacy
Higher risk associated with SJ UX
The problem does not always have a clear
solution
UX designer is responsible for
understanding audience and advocating for
them during design process

12. Differences in UX/SJ Projects: Development
Waterfall
● prototyping
● cost
● sustainability
Agile
● UX needs more lead
time.
● Stakeholder time
● Information can stall
● final product

13. Differences in UX/SJ Projects: Affect
➔affect of user base, stakeholders
➔affect of team

14. Example: “Blexting”

15. Example: “ROC United Diners’ Guide

16. Example: Spoileralert

17. Developing a design team . . .
➔Finding a problem
➔Developing a values, vision, and
mission statement for the team
➔Power mapping process

18. Values, Vision, Mission
➔Values - (Why) Why is the issue a
problem? What does your group
value? What ideas can bind them
together?
➔Vision - (What) based on those
values, what is your “perfect” world?
➔Mission - (How) How are you going
to make that “perfect” world
Developing a design team . . .

19. VALUESProblems

20. Problem - learning to love problems
Devs like to solve problems but sometimes
they don’t know what the problems are.
Programs like Code for America connect
developers with the community

21. Example - Problem “Blexting”
Blighted houses bring down
neighborhoods, create unsafe
environments, and create despair.

22. Make: Problem
➔locate a situation in your home town
➔scale local
➔avoid “cause” & “effect” logics
➔don’t build it yet

23. Reflection: Problem
Does your problem statement address a
need?
Make sure there is not an implied answer.
Is this a situation that can be addressed?
Is it a “wicked,” problem?

24. VALUESValues

25. Example - Values “Blexting”
Safety
Community
Security
Efficiency
Information
Audiences

26. Make: Values
What are values?
Everyone should write their values on post
it notes. (1 value per post it)
Sort into values and actions/ other items.
What are some practices or actions that
express those values? (probably on some
of these post its)

27. Reflection: Values
Have a conversation with your team
➔Is everything up in your affinity space a
value?
➔For each value affinity cluster, come up
with two or three examples of the
practices, processes, actions, or
behaviors that could apply to people

28. VALUESVision

29. Examples - Vision “Blexting”
Detroit with no urban blight.

30. Make: Vision
➔(WHAT) Create a single sentence that
reflects your values perfect world. A
world where, ideally, you and your team
do not need to exist because the
problem does not exist in any real way.
➔What kind of world are you trying to
create?

31. Reflect: Vision
➔Why does it exist?
➔Does your vision reflect the ultimate
outcome or result you are hoping to
achieve?
➔the world as you want it to be,
not just as it is

32. VALUESMission

33. Example - Mission “Blexting”
“LOVELAND is based in Detroit, Michigan and the San
Francisco Bay Area with a growing team dedicated to
putting America online parcel by parcel. We work with
governments, developers, neighborhood groups, and
passionate individuals to gather and present information
about property in clear, actionable ways.
In Detroit our community missions include arming people
with information to battle a plague of tax foreclosures and
running an ongoing survey of property conditions to help
fight blight.”

34. Mission Statment
➔ (HOW)- How you will get to your vision
("To X")
➔Make it an action/active language
➔What is the purpose of (your
organization)?

35. Make: Mission
Try using this set up . . .
Our group will do (action)
So that (Purpose)
in order to serve (audience)
Make sure to check against your values
and missions to see if they are present

36. Reflection: Mission
➔How might your mission statement help
your organization/agency make decisions
about its priorities, actions, and
responsibilities?
➔Do you have a mission broad enough to
encompass multiple stakeholders?
➔Is it narrow enough to let you power map
stakeholders?

37. VALUESPOWER MAPPING

38. Power mapping Exercise “Blexting”
+
+
-
-
“We work with governments,
developers, neighborhood
groups, and passionate
individuals”
Interest
Power

39. Power mapping Exercise
+
+
-
-Interest
Power

40. Minimum Viable Product
“In product development, the minimum
viable product (MVP) is the product with the
highest return on investment versus risk.”
For our purposes, it is the smallest product
that delivers the most amount of impact or
change.
Provides proof of concept to gather
resources to scale up and adapt.