In this conversation with Alex Schmidt, author of Deliberate Intervention, we discuss “policy” in relation to digital design and tech. We discuss how even though designers intend to do good and have a positive impact, harm can still happen as a result of our designs.

We talk about how it is natural for systems to produce unintended consequences and that understanding and accepting this is important to make things less harmful. 

When we talk about how organisations prioritise certain groups of people over others and how that can be harmful, Alex mentions “the dance of policy creation”, where technology is introduced into society, society reacts, and then the policies have to change.

“As designers, we look at the detailed journey of a user or try to identify the pain points, the points of friction. But harms aren’t usually something that users identify in the course of research. They accrue to society on a broader level, not necessarily to individuals, and become apparent later on in time.”  

(Listening time: 38 minutes, transcript)

alex-schmidt-uxpodcast-logo-gubben.jpg">alex-schmidt-uxpodcast-logo-gubben-1024x1024.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="1024">

References:

• Full transcript for episode 307
• Alexandra Schmidt:
  • Website: https://www.alexandraschmidt.com/
  • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexandraschmidt/
  • Twitter: https://twitter.com/alexschmidt
• Deliberate Intervention (Two Waves, Rosenfeld Media)
• Ambition Empower and UX Podcast
  • Make sure to use the code uxpodcast if you sign up for a $100/€100/1000 sek discount and at the same time help support UX Podcast
• Backstage mailing list (show notes to your inbox, plus extra stories, news and offers): Sign up here
• Enjoying UX Podcast? Contribute with your time as a volunteer, or make a small financial contribution to help keep the podcast running: Support UX Podcast

The post #307 Policy and design with Alexandra Schmidt appeared first on UX Podcast.