{"id":15947,"date":"2018-09-03T11:53:05","date_gmt":"2018-09-03T10:53:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/marvel7077.wpengine.com\/?p=15947"},"modified":"2020-11-12T12:24:52","modified_gmt":"2020-11-12T12:24:52","slug":"designing-ethically-pt-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/marvelapp.com\/blog\/designing-ethically-pt-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Designing Ethically Pt.2"},"content":{"rendered":"

Labeling bad decisions as \u201cunforeseen consequences\u201d is no longer an excuse. Here\u2019s how designers can proactively ensure that their products are ethical in every\u00a0stage.<\/h2>\n

This is the second part of a two part series. If you haven\u2019t already, check out <\/em>Designing Ethically Pt. 1<\/em><\/strong><\/a> for a high-level overview on why ethics in design is necessary, how to redesign our design process to include an ethical foundation, and how to sustain ethics in our practice.<\/em><\/p>\n

For an alternative to this 13-minute read, check out the <\/em> site for a more digestible version of the framework, toolkit, and more!<\/em><\/p>\n

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In Designing Ethically Pt. 1<\/em><\/a>, we saw how it was necessary to integrate ethics into design, reimagined a new design process, and strategized how to sustain the practice. To summarize, ethics are crucial because our technology today has the ability to impact billions of people, for better or for worse. Nowadays, it seems like a lot of worst-case scenarios have been unveiled (at Facebook, Uber, and the like). A common response from companies in hot water is that the unethical consequences they caused were \u201cunforeseen.\u201d 1) I\u2019m calling BS on that. 2) It is more imperative than ever for those in tech \u2014 not just designers \u2014 to play a role in preemptively preventing \u201cunforeseen\u201d issues. 3) The redesigned design process can help.<\/p>\n

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Redesigned design\u00a0process<\/p><\/div>\n

In the redesigned design process, there were several new steps introduced. The three steps that are especially actionable for designers are evaluating, forecasting, and monitoring.<\/strong> In Designing Ethical Pt. 2<\/em>, I want to go over ways to apply those three key steps and also reframe the way we consider products. The structure of this post is as follows:<\/p>\n

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  1. Evaluating Problem Statements: <\/em><\/strong>How do you assign ethical weight to your problem statement to determine if it is worthy of being addressed?<\/li>\n
  2. Layers of Effects: <\/em><\/strong>In this section, learn how to reframe the way you view products so that you can better forecast ethical conundrums.<\/li>\n
  3. Forecasting Toolkit: <\/em><\/strong>Get your hands dirty by trying out the forecasting exercises for your own products.<\/li>\n
  4. Monitoring Checklist: <\/em><\/strong>Intermittently double and triple check your product after it\u2019s been shipped to make sure it isn\u2019t violating anything on this list.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Evaluating Problem Statements<\/h2>\n

    Once you\u2019ve defined a legitimate problem, how do you go about figuring out if the problem ought to be addressed? This stage of the redesigned process goes after the empathize and define stages in the typical design process<\/a>. After you\u2019ve completed the define step, you\u2019ll likely have a point of view statement, which is parsed out below.<\/p>\n

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    Check out more info from the Interaction Design Foundation\u2019<\/a>s site!<\/p><\/div>\n

    The need <\/em>section is the part that is important to analyze. Is it benefitting users or society? Think back to the duty-based ethics we discussed in Designing Ethically Pt. 1<\/em>. Is the intention good? And while you\u2019re still in that frame of mind, try analyzing if the identified, positive, user need has any negative collateral. For example, check out the following graphic.<\/p>\n

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    Try going through these considerations and figuring out if your user need aligns with one of the categories on the left side without <\/em>necessitating one of negative categories on the right side. For example, if I am trying to bring in a product like Airbnb into a new community to help a group of people <\/em>(namely the hosts that live there as well as the tourists that visit)\u2026will I be able to do so without putting down another group <\/em>(put more bluntly, without gentrifying the area<\/a>)?<\/p>\n

    These lists of positive needs and negative collateral are by no means set in stone and should <\/em>be added to in the future. This step of evaluating problem statements does not mean that you shouldn\u2019t develop any new product just because it might intertwine with negative collateral. If that were the case, we\u2019d never develop anything. Evaluating just means taking the time to consider the ramifications of your user need with a wider lens.<\/strong> It also primes us to start thinking in a way that will come in handy when we jump into forecasting \u201cunforeseen consequences.\u201d<\/p>\n

    Layers of\u00a0Effect<\/h2>\n

    Before we start forecasting, let\u2019s reframe the way we look at the products and experiences we either make or use. If you were to ask any layperson in the street, \u201cWhat is Twitter?\u201d, they would probably give you an answer along these lines:<\/p>\n