Probing Technology with Technology Probes *

Dan Fitton, Keith Cheverst, Mark Rouncefield, Andy Crabtree

Alan Dix University of Nottingham
Lancaster University Nottingham, UK
Lancaster, UK NG8 1BB
LA1 4YR +44 (0)115 846 6512
+44 (0)1524 594532
[email protected]
{d.fitton,k.cheverst, a.dix, m.rouncefield}@
lancaster.ac.uk
for the individual’s purposes and in the support of group
1. INTRODUCTION: INVESTIGATING work.
TEXTING O’Hara et al.[20] draw particular attention to the potential for
In ‘Smart Mobs’ Howard Rheingold [22] makes dramatic claims texting to and updating situated displays remotely, and it is this
about the social and political impact of texting, drawing particular functionality and how we might measure and assess it that forms
attention to the emergence of ‘thumb tribes’ and ‘generation txt’ the focus of this paper.
and the potential impact of texting on practices as diverse as
teenage mating rituals and demonstrations. Like Rheingold we are 2. TEXTING TECHNOLOGIES: HERMES
equally interested in one of the most surprising phenomena to have AND SPAM
occurred within the field of mobile computing within recent years - In this paper we describe two applications. Hermes
the uptake of SMS (or Short Message Service) text messaging. ([4],[5],[6],[11]), which was deployed in a university, and SPAM
According to the Mobile Data Association [18], the total number of [8], which was deployed in a residential care setting. Both of these
chargeable person-to-person SMS text messages sent across the applications enable users to text to and update situated displays
main four UK GSM network operators between 31st December remotely. The Hermes system enables users to interact remotely
2003 and 1st January 2004, was 111 million, an 8% increase with office door displays via their mobile phone using SMS. The
compared to figures over the same period the previous year SPAM messaging system evolved from our experiences with
(http://www.text.it/mediacentre), and new uses of SMS messaging Hermes and also enables users to remotely update situated displays
are emerging in conjunction with interactive TV services, for (using SMS) in order to facilitate coordination and cooperation
example. Unlike Rheingold we are rather reluctant to speculate with remote work colleagues. In texting to situated displays users
wildly on what exactly this development might amount to or mean. of the Hermes and SPAM systems may make available to others
There are, of course, various well-known problems involved in their location, plans, and activities, and thereby draw upon and
interpreting statistical data [3] [2], along with associated issues reflect social aspects of everyday life that are essential to
concerning what data is appropriate and how it might be collected collaboration and coordination. Another way of thinking about the
[17]. In this paper we wish to consider some of the technical Hermes and SPAM technology is in terms of ‘affordances’ [1] and
difficulties involved in data collection. the notion that we can treat technology as affording knowledge and
Our studies are particularly concerned to understand a use of SMS as having been designed with this possibility in mind. Here our
texting that has received little investigation to date, largely due to interest is in how the different features of the assembled systems
its novel character. The topic we have in mind is the use of texting are constructed so as to ‘afford knowledge’ to, for example, the
as a means of enabling people to send messages to displays working division of labour through the reflexive articulation of
situated in the fabric of a setting rather than to another mobile which the various workaday activities in a setting are coordinated
device owned by a particular individual. Such a facility has clear and performed [24]. Accordingly, texts (to both Hermes and
potential in cooperative work settings where the need to distribute SPAM) become both the focus of work and a visible record of
awareness amongst members [9] means that messaging to a place work that has been done, put on hold, remains to be done, and so
may be more appropriate than messaging directly to a particular on. By embedding messages in the fabric of the workplace, by
individual. The potential utility of ‘situated displays’ is articulated putting the work on display so that others may be aware of it, these
by O’Hara et al. [20] - textual representations make everyday work ‘visible’ so that it can
In recent years, more and more information is being be ‘taken note of’, ‘reviewed’, ‘queried’ and in other ways be made
presented on dedicated digital displays situated at accountable by and for others involved in the work.
particular locations within our environment. At their most
basic, digital display technologies allow information to be
2.1 Hermes and SPAM: Overview and
more easily updated dynamically and remotely. However, Requirements
these new kinds of interaction technologies also allow This section provides some technical details of the Hermes and
people to use these situated displays in novel ways both as SPAM systems. The Hermes system supports remote interaction by

*
© The authors, 2004. This is the Andy Crabtree’s version of the work. It is posted here for your personal use. Not for
redistribution. The definitive version was presented at the Equator Workshop on Record and Replay Technologies, February
12-13, London: EPSRC.
allowing messages to be created and read via the web or a mobile web pages. The Hermes displays themselves use the CrEme Java
phone. We hoped that by supporting remote interaction and virtual machine, and run the PocketPC operating system.
observing how the new system was used over a significant period
of time we would gain some useful insights into the relative
importance and interaction of ‘place’ ‘space’ and ‘text’ within this
application domain. For example, what kinds of messages would
members of university staff post on their door when texting
remotely?
The Hermes system comprises a central server and a number of
wall or door mountable units (referred to as Hermes displays). At
present we have 10 units deployed on one floor of the Computing
Department at Lancaster University. Our intention was for Hermes
displays to have the ease of use and dependability associated with
an information appliance - i.e., to perform a small number of tasks
simply and well. The system provides the owner of the Hermes
display with two key functions:
1) The ability to create a message to appear on the display.
2) The ability to read messages left by visitors. Figure 2. The System Architecture of Hermes [5]
Typically, the owner will create a message to appear on their The SPAM system has been developed to support cooperation
Hermes display by entering some appropriate text using the web between staff working at two associated sites located in Carlisle, a
interface (Figure 1.) The web interface can also be used to upload a small city in the North of England. The requirements for SPAM
graphical image for display, such as an animated GIF. were obtained through ethnographic study, informational probes
The overall system architecture of the Hermes system is illustrated [7] and design workshops with the staff. The overall response to
in Figure 2. In this figure, the yellow oval represents the typical the idea of a messaging system was extremely positive. In
particular, such a system was viewed as another, alternative, tool
entities associated with a given user. At the heart of the system is a
for communication capable of supporting staff in their everyday
single central server application written in Java that runs on the
work and interaction with residents. This then became the rationale
Linux platform and provides the following key functions:
for the construction, testing and deployment of the SPAM system.
1) Centralized storage for messages and user profile
information.
2) Communication with the SMS Gateway.
3) Hosting of the web portal.

Figure 3. One of the SPAM Displays

The SPAM system has been designed to run an SMS messaging
application, allowing staff from the hostel office to communicate
easily with staff from the semi-independent living accommodation
office (and vice-versa) by composing messages using an on screen
keyboard displayed on a touch sensitive screen (Figure 3). When
messages are received by a SPAM unit they are displayed on the
screen until deleted by a member of staff. Staff can also use their
Figure 1. The Hermes Web Interface [5] own mobile phones in order to send text messages to the SPAM
displays when they are out of the office and to receive messages
The system utilizes both wireless (802.11b) and wired Ethernet
originating from a SPAM display.
network infrastructures. In order to support the reception of SMS
messages, the central server communicates with a Wavecom DB02 The overall design of the system architecture is shown in Figure 4.
GSM terminal. The web portal is implemented using Java Servlets This highlights the way in which SMS messages sent via mobile
and this enables the dynamical generation and publication of html
phones and by the SPAM units themselves are handled by the inspire design by exposing inhabitants to new experiences. While
system. there is merit and value to this approach, this is not what we mean
when we invoke the notion of a Technology Probe. Our take on
Technology Probes is different and perhaps simpler, involving the
embedding of a logging system into the technology itself.

3.2 Logging Hermes and SPAM Usage

Both Hermes and SPAM perform their logging functions by
appending messages to a text file, though the source of these
messages differs between the two systems due to their design and
implementation.
In Hermes we log many aspects of the system ranging from user
interfaces actions to messages sent to the system via SMS. Due to
the multitude of devices generating messages to log, we provide a
central logging agent accessible over a network.
The SPAM application runs on a stand-alone miniature PC and all
Figure 4. Architecture of the SPAM system messages to log are generated by the SPAM main application. The
GSM terminal is interfaced though a Java class sending and
The typical use scenario is illustrated by SMS Message 1 - i.e., the parsing AT commands (a separate piece of 3rd party software is
message originating from a mobile phone is successfully delivered used in Hermes), so much more debugging information about
to the permanently staffed hostel (Location B) and the transmission communication with the GSM terminal is available. This enables
of a ‘message read’ acknowledgement is triggered by a member of all information sent to and from the GSM terminal to be logged.
staff reading the message. Message forwarding is performed by the
system if a message is sent to the semi-independent living In the Hermes project the emphasis has been on logging the user
accommodation (Location A) at a time when no member of staff is interactions which occur, as we provide many different
providing cover (denoted by AWAY STATE). In this case, the mechanisms for interactions. While with SPAM there are fewer
message (Message 2) is automatically forwarded to the display of mechanisms for interactions, consequently we concentrate on
the hostel with 24-hour cover. The two SPAM displays were logging the messages sent and received.
deployed in the two offices in October 2002. Since that time the
units have been used on a daily basis. 3.3 Examples of Raw Log Data
Figure 8a shows a sample of the log file entries generated by the
3. TECHNOLOGY PROBES: GETTING SPAM system for a message sent to Location A from Location B,
DATA FROM HERMES AND SPAM figure 8b shows a sample of the log entries generated at Location A
In a number of papers ([7],[8]) we have outlined a range of factors when this message arrives. This is a mixture of debug output from
that conspire to render our usual ethnographic data collection communication with the GSM terminal, and ‘higher-level’
techniques inappropriate and how we have sought to supplement messages indicating that a message has been sent, received etc.
our understanding of the care setting ‘from within’ by adapting
Cultural Probes. Cultural Probes [13] have achieved some Figure 9 shows a sample from the Hermes log. This logs stores
prominence in interactive systems design, where they have been user interface actions from the Hermes doorplate appliances, along
employed to inspire design as computing moves out of the with information about the appliance from which the message
workplace and into everyday life more generally. In contrast, we originated and a timestamp. The log also explicitly stores messages
have elected to adapt Cultural Probes through the incorporation of about other actions which occur such as messages sent and users
social science research methods to gather data about participants’ logging in/out.
daily lives. Our Informational Probes have been employed to
sensitise parties involved in design to the local cultures within
which new technology will be embedded and to elaborate the needs
of users. As SPAM and Hermes have been put to use in their
respective settings we have found that the technology also acts as a
probe – i.e., as a means of gathering data. The text logs generated
through the technology’s employment provide us with a
complementary source of information, which may be used to
measure and assess the functional value of our systems from the
point of view of day-to-day use.
3.1 Technology Probes
The notion of Technology Probes has recently been employed in
the Interliving Project [15]. In this context Technology Probes are
adaptations of Cultural Probes that seek to embed inspiration
within the design process, in contrast to providing inspiration for
design. Hutchinson et al’s Technology Probes situate existing
technologies in real homes rather than ‘lab houses’ in order to Figure 8a: Log of message sent from Loc. B to Loc. A
 our logs file tend to reach several hundred megabytes in size which
can introduce problems for analysis. As the Hermes system is
located inside the computing department we are in the process of
altering the logging system to store an additional copy of the log
file on a departmental fileserver, which is regularly backed up.
However this approach cannot be used for the SPAM system, as
the two end units are located geographically far from the university
(approximately 90 miles) and currently have no (reasonable
bandwidth) connectivity with the university. Obviously this factor
means that collection of the logs is difficult. The SPAM units are
also very compact machines, making it very difficult to add
additional redundant storage, e.g. extra hard drives etc.
Reliability of the logging functions can also be a problematic issue.
This is especially true of Hermes where the logging is done by a
separate agent. If the Logging Agent stops functioning or crashes
there is currently no easy way to detect that this has occurred. This
Figure 8b: Log showing message received at Loc. A
is a scenario we have already encountered and are working on
implementing a ‘watcher’ to monitor the Logging Agent.
Furthermore, we do not have an active feedback mechanism to
monitor free disk space available for the logs or any other problems
which may occur while attempting to write to a file. The
aforementioned problems must be solved to increase the
dependability of the logging function. Furthermore, clearly when
either system is not running then no information will be logged.
Both Hermes and SPAM systems have suffered unscheduled
‘downtime’.

3.5 Experiences Analysing Log data

To date, we have done a preliminary analysis of 300 messages set
by the owners of Hermes displays over a continuous period of
approximately five months. The goal of this analysis was to obtain
a rough approximation of the proportion of messages which shared
Figure 9 – A sample from the Hermes log personal context in some way, and the breakdown of these
messages in terms of their containing location, activity or temporal
3.4 Working with Logs: Technical Issues information. For example, through analysis we found that 250 (83
One of the initial technical issues encountered was that of what %) contained some aspect of sharing context [5], the breakdown of
information to log, as it is difficult to predict which information these messages is shown in figure 10.
may be useful in the future. It is sometimes obvious from the outset
which information will give the best clues about use (etc), though it location temporal
may not be apparent until thorough analysis of the logs what
additional information it would have been useful to collect. When
12 6 18
5 8 5
collecting information there are usually limits on the amount that
can be collected, so a balance is necessary between what is
essential and what is possible to store. For example, for the Hermes
doorplate appliances most user interface actions are logged, but the activity 29
pen movements (i.e. a user drawing a note) are not, as this would
require large amounts of network bandwidth between the appliance
and the logging agent, and place a high processing load on both Figure 10: Analysis of Hermes messages according to the
devices. The doorplate appliance would definitely not be able to categories of shared context [5]
cope with the additional load and the ‘leaving a note’ process In order to obtain this statistical breakdown from the Hermes logs
would be so un-responsive it would be unusable. However, in several phases of parsing and analysis were required. It was first
general our policy is a prudent one, i.e. to collect more information necessary to extract all the parts of the log concerned with users
than may at first appear necessary. setting messages on their doorplates (this was achieved using the
The safe storage of the logs is another important technical issue standard Unix ‘grep’ command). A program was then written to
which needs to be addressed. Initially all the logs were stored on parse the remaining parts of the log, separating the entries and
single computers, but (typically!) we experienced hard disk failure formatting the text. The fourth phase was then to perform a search
with both the Hermes and SPAM systems. Our initial solution had to replace the user identifiers used by the system with users full
been to make backups of the logs as regularity as possible and names. The fifth phase was to go through each entry by hand
replicate these across many machines. The opportunity to backup looking at the message and categorising (using tags) its context. A
logs also provides a good point to start a new log file, we do this as sample from the log including tags is shown in figure 11. The final
phase was to write a program to analyse the context each message
was tagged with and produce the statistics, which could then be
used to generate figure 10.

Figure 12a: Messages Received at Location A

Figure 11: Part of the Hermes Message Log including Context

Tags [5]
Clearly the analysis of logs such as those produced by Hermes can
be a difficult and time consuming process. Performing the analysis
in phases is useful as the information generated at each phase can
be used for different types of analysis and to look at different
factors.
The manual tagging of entries was an unfortunate but necessary
step which required a large degree of human judgement. In more
detail, some messages required careful consideration to decide
what types of context they actually shared. For example, the
message: 'At CSCW'02 back Monday 25th Nov' has been Figure 12b Messages Sent by Location A
categorized as containing activity + location + temporal but it Initially it was very hard to follow the chronological order of
could be argued that the message only contains temporal and dialogues using two separate files for messages sent and received,
location attributes. so the analysis program was modified to output to a single file.
When we attempted to analyse the SPAM logs to look at the Unfortunately we found that only the time and date of messages
dialogue taking place we found this to be an unexpected challenge. received had been logged, not the time and date that messages were
After attempting various means to parse the logs in different ways, sent. The SPAM system does provide an acknowledgement reply
programs were written to extract messages sent and received from SMS message when a message has been read, this means that
the SPAM logs and place them in separate text files, separating and usually the next entry in the log gives a good approximation of
formatting the entries. An example of the results from this process when the previous message has been sent. This is obviously not
for Location A’s log file can be seen in figures 12a and 12b, this ideal, and makes analysis of the logs more difficult, as the
sample includes the messages which can be seen in figures 8a and acknowledgement messages entries in the logs tend to make it
8b. It is interesting to note that we only have to look at the log file harder to see the actual messages being sent and received (and
at one of the locations (in this case Location A) to see all the should ideally be filtered out). Our solution to this problems has
messages sent between the two. again been to modify the analysis program to make the
acknowledgement entries much smaller (so they only take up a
single line), and to highlight by hand the messages sent and
received using different coloured marker pens. Additionally we
performed a search and replace to add names to known mobile
phone numbers. The final result can be seem in figure 13 where
messages received are highlighted in green and messages sent in
yellow, this makes it much easier to see dialogue taking place than
in figures 12a and 12b.
 a user’s Hermes display did not update properly so that for a week
while he was away his door displayed “I am in! Alan”. Now he
always includes with such messages an explicit date, e.g. “Alan in
all day today, Thurs 13th”. In this case because Alan possesses a
good ‘mental model’ of the Hermes system he was able to adapt
his behaviour through a subtle change in message composition to
overcome the potential problem caused by a Hermes update failure
[4]. Providing users with appropriate feedback is of paramount
importance when supporting such interaction and is one means for
tackling the complex dependability requirements inherent in
systems such as Hermes and SPAM - the quantum leap in difficulty
of building and deploying systems that need to be operational on a
constant basis. Crucially, we believe that it is important to deploy
such systems in the long term. This is necessary in order for users
to have sufficient time to domesticate the technology by adapting it
Figure 13: Manually amalgamated (and annotated) log file to particular features of the domain and/or to develop new forms of
showing dialogue between SPAM units at Loc. A (Durran Hill) use (‘innofusion’ in [12]).
and Loc. B (Botcherby)
4. UNDERSTANDING USER EXPERIENCE
3.6 Future Work WITH HERMES AND SPAM
We hope to further analyse the SPAM logs, using a similar This section presents some reflections on the data we have
approach as with Hermes, to tag and analyse messages sent (e.g. obtained from the ‘technology probes’ in the Hermes and SPAM
one category might be a request to switch communication systems. Despite the difficulties of extracting coherent data from
mediums) and dialogues taking place. This will help us to explore the probes we believe that some interesting and important material
how the SPAM systems is actually being used; and how this use has been produced. Our emphasis has been on studying technology
has changed over time and whether or not the types of usage follow in use, reflecting a longstanding tradition if not research orthodoxy
regular patterns. in the field of Computer Supported Cooperative Work
([14],[21],[10]). Our interest is in understanding the data on texting
It is crucial that we strive for an overall improvement in the as ‘everyday occurrences’, as constituent features of ordinary
dependability and flexibility of our logging systems. To this end, workaday activities. The point of this is, as the late Harvey Sacks
we plan to investigate the approaches adopted by other systems might say, is to examine the data to see what details it provides of
(e.g. safety critical control systems) for managing the production of how the technology is ‘made at home’ in the settings it inhabits and
log files, and this should reveal some useful insights into how we how it comes to fit into and resonate with a domain of practical
might improve the reliability of our logging processes, e.g. through action ‘that has whatever organization it already has’ [23]. Our
the use of monitoring and notification mechanisms. concern, then, is with how this technology finds a place within the
day-to-day work of a setting and is responsive to the ‘working
3.7 Human Troubles Involved in Getting the sensibility’ of those under study. This interest and the kind of data
collection it requires is, perhaps, remote from the kinds of general
Data reflections that someone in an occupation (e.g., a university
One of the key issues with both texting systems, and particularly
lecturer or care worker) can produce, and much more attuned to
the ability to collect any worthwhile data from them, is the need for
their consciousness and attention when they are actually engaged
users to have a strong trust in the reliability of the system - i.e., a
in their work. In particular we are interested in the use of texting in
strong belief that any SMS text message that they send to a situated
the exercise and development of users working sensibility and
display will (indeed) appear on the situated display and remain
especially how and in what circumstances they react to or decide to
there for an appropriate period of time. In the absence of such
initiate text messaging. The development, deployment and
dependability any interpretation of the data from the technology
evaluation of the Hermes and SPAM systems have revealed a
probes is, at best, problematic. In the case of Hermes this means
number of interesting issues in this regard.
messages staying there until removed or replaced by another
message while in the case of SPAM it means staying visible until Having installed the text messaging equipment, ensured it
deleted by a member of staff. Of course, in order to encourage functioned adequately, and demonstrated it to users, the systems
users to trust the system, they need to see the system functioning have now been in constant use for over a year. Without necessarily
correctly over a protracted period of time - i.e., months rather than subscribing to the fetishization of quantitative data, our analysis to
minutes. We have found achieving this kind of dependability date has been hampered by an inability to easily compile statistical
difficult, especially for the Hermes system. The ideal situation data on usage and so our analysis has largely been based on a time-
would be to develop a system in which all components work consuming manual examination of the logs. Manual examination of
faultlessly or at least have an extremely long mean-time to failure the logs suggests that current usage seems focused on:
(MTF). However, such a situation is indeed ideal. For example,
SMS messages are not always delivered in a timely way by a given Awareness (e.g., “Has fax, email got through? Has X left yet?”).
GSM service provider (especially where a message requires Coordination between sites (e.g., “I keep ringing and nobody
routing between different service providers). It has been interesting answers? Can you ring me please”; “Pizza & and chips ready
to observe how some users have developed coping strategies to come on in !”).
deal with early reliability problems. For example, on one occasion,
Coordination between staff (e.g., “Please ring car wont start”; What becomes obvious in reading the text logs is the flexibility of
“Alison can you ask terri to ring me when she comes in about the text messaging in terms of supporting the everyday work of the
swop”). hostel and the university department. The expressive’ character of
texting is also noteworthy. Even without the addition of emoticons,
Tracking schedules (e.g., “What shift is steve doing tomorrow and our users routinely employ texting for affective communication
where”; “Alison on visits and has mobile. Brian out with hh and
about work, work crises, jokes and general social banter.
has own mobile”
“I can hear a kind of jingley sound and there are animals on the
Queries (e.g., “Which keys should we hand over?”; “Can I possibly roof what does this mean?” “It means that Santa is passing over
get a lift into town”). the house and making his way down to see me”
The SPAM logs reveal a growing familiarity with SMS or “Help please its all too much on my first day back”
‘textspeak’ (e.g., “What does 18tr mean?” - “Later in SMS speak,
get with it babe”) and its use to tell jokes (e.g., “how do u turn a “Hello ian i was wondering if everything was alright?”
duck in2 a soul singer: put it in the microwave until its bill
withers”) suggests the technology is slowly but surely becoming “A man went to the doctors with a lettuce up his bum and the
doctor said its just the tip of the iceberg im afraid”
organizationally embedded in the day-to-day work of the
residential care setting, as the following extracts also indicate: The affective character of texting has been observed by other
“SORRY IM GOING 2B LATE DARRIN” researchers in other settings [25]. As Nardi et al. [19] put it,

“Blocked in snow will be late” It is interesting that a lightweight technology consisting of

“Snow problem please ring Barbara” no more than typing text into a window succeeds in
providing enough context to make a variety of social
“Penny am with mr gate closed bvt not locked” exchanges vivid, pleasurable, capable of conveying humour
and emotional nuance.
“Hold up with s m money will be delayed back a s a p Barbara”
Of particular interest to us is what Nardi et al. characterise as
The organizational character of texting has also become evident in ‘outeraction’, where text messaging does more than support rapid
the use of Hermes, as the following extracts make perspicuous: informal communication but also facilitates practices that make
communication possible. Such practices include negotiating the
“Am running 20 mins late”
availability of others for conversation (e.g. “Please phone the house
“On bus - in shortly” when you are able”). Such negotiation requires some sensitivity
towards the work and pace of work of others and involves
“Gone to the gym” recognizing appropriate and inappropriate times to contact others,
“Johm - in ww burger joint.” appropriate modes of interruption, and so on. Texting allows
people to address the kind of issues on which communication turns
“Maomao going to be late – will catch up later. A.” in that it is less obviously ‘in your face’ than some other forms of
“ In big q at post office … Will be a bit late” communication. It permits delayed response or easy
acknowledgement (pressing the acknowledgement button), for
As these examples illustrate, the organizational character of texting example, and at the same time facilitates multi-tasking, allowing
consists of an explicit sharing of context in order to support (or workers to monitor texts whilst engaged in other jobs. The logs
potentially support) collaboration with others. suggest that texting in the hostel allows workers to negotiate their
availability and maintain their connection with the rest of the staff.
Like Nardi et al. [19] and Isaacs et al. [16], when examining the
Knowing who is around, what people are doing at weekends or
sharing of context we are interested in the communicative functions
during sleepovers at the main hostel, for example, enables workers
of texting - of the use of texting for quick questions and
to establish and project a range of possible interactions, much as
clarifications, for example (e.g., “Do you know if Helen has any
the door displays at the university allow people to project
medicine”; “ Wot time is Paul calling to c hh”). Similarly, there is
appropriate course of action in response to messages left by staff.
evidence in the logs that texting is useful for various kinds of
Texting, in other words, enables users to plan joint activities as
coordination. Texting is particularly useful to coordination when
much as it enables their coordination.
immediate responses are required (e.g., “D ... XXX has to have
blood test at cc at 10 30 i will take him can you tell him to be ready
- let me know if you have got message” - “Got message have 5. CONCLUDING REMARKS
cancelled his taxi”). However, the use of text also extends to In this paper we have commented on some of the technical
coordinating the use of technology when, for example, a difficulties we have faced in our deployment and use of
conversation is complicated and/or involves too much typing (e.g., 'technology probes' as an attempt to log activity and use of two
“Please phone house when you are able”). In other instances SMS applications.
texting is relied upon when other technologies (phone, fax, email,
From a technical perspective we have certainly found that
etc.) are in use or are being kept clear in the anticipation of urgent
managing and maintaining the logging functions of both the
use and to alert others on occasions where technical failures occur
Hermes and SPAM systems has raised some unexpected
(e.g., “Put the phone on to answerphone”; “Please switch the
challenges. We have certainly learnt that appropriate support for
mobile phone on”; “u r blocking the phone line after someone
logging needs to be considered at design time given the potential
telephoned here it sounded like mike. Please sort out as we can not
implications that appropriate support for logging can have on
use the mobile if needed”).
system design. For example, with both the Hermes and SPAM
systems the adopted network infrastructure limits the flexibility that either getting or analysing the data is easy, for the data is
with which logs can be maintained. indexical to the activities that generated it. Knowledge of those
activities - obtained through our other researches - is brought to
We believe that the experiences we have had with the logging bear on analysis of the data and to make sense of it – to make it
aspects associated with Hermes and SPAM would generalise meaningful. In other words, the data depends for its adequacy on
significantly with that of other systems in the loosely defined
knowledge of the activities in which the technology is embedded
ubicomp domain. In more detail, we believe that logging tools need and used. That knowledge is used to interpret the data but is not
to be developed to support remote monitoring and/or capturing of contained within the data [3]. Consequently where the
logs from different (but related) sources that are potentially measurement and assessment of the functional value of
producing data 24/7. Clearly, we need to look to the solutions that collaborative systems is concerned there remains a need to exercise
have been found in domains such as safely critical control systems caution and leave certain tasks to human skill and judgement.
to provide us with insights, e.g. the need to develop special
‘watcher’ processes to monitor the correct functioning of the
logging function by detecting and warn of potential problems, e.g. 6. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
approaching storage limits. This work described in this chapter has been conducted under the
auspices of the CASCO project (grant number GR/R54200/01), the
One requirement that is perhaps more peculiar to ubicomp systems Equator IRC (www.equator.ac.uk) and Dependability IRC
(given the potential range and number of sources of logging (www.dirc.org.uk) funded by the UK Engineering and Physical
information) is the need to consider the design of appropriate tools Sciences Research Council. We would also like to acknowledge
to support the amalgamation of separate logs and the need to the members of Lancaster University’s Computing Department and
support human augmentation (e.g. categorising data in the logs) of the Croftlands Trust for their continued tolerance and support.
these logs, we have found this latter requirement to be a key
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