Consequences of Computing:
A Framework for Teaching

Principles and Skills Underlying the Social and Ethical Dimensions - Page 27 of 36

[SP4] Populations are always diverse. A common principle of human-computer interaction runs thus: (1) Design for your user (2) You are not your user. This principle is a warning to avoid the assumption that others have your preferences and proclivities. In more principled terms, the situations in which a technology will be used, the people who will use that technology, and the uses to which it will be put, are all more varied and diverse than one might first expect. It is better to design with this variability in mind than to be surprised by it later. Not to take this variability into account may land one in grave ethical (and perhaps legal) difficulty. This principle can best be taught by practice in the software design course, in human-computer interaction courses, and in senior projects. The dedicated social and ethical issues course can provide some summary of the sorts of variability that can be expected.

[SP5] Empirical data are crucial to the design process. All of the above principles suggest that things in the real world may not be what our specification sheets tell us they are. Since this is often true, the good designer will make every reasonable attempt to collect systematic data to determine the situation in which software or hardware may actually be used, rather than rely simply on guesses, armchair speculation, or optimism. Mathematical proofs, or tests based on the specifications alone ignore the crucial effects of the context in which the technology is actually used.

The evaluation component of the software design course, or of other technical courses can be an excellent place to teach this principle. In addition, the social and ethical issues course can provide students with an overview of the ways that context can make dangerous what one thought was a safe, efficient system. The senior project can also ask students to incorporate some sort of empirical evaluation of the project in terms of its real world use.