Concurrents – Environmental Psychology: Be Careful Being Smart
The pandemic has spawned increased interest in developing smart office environments. Research and experience with smart technologies makes it clear that intelligently introducing smart systems isn’t easy. The clearest message that comes from research done on smart “stuff” is that it must be thoroughly tested, in use. Both the research literature and practice folklore are packed with reports of users who have needed to take steps so that smart technologies in use align with the activity planned. One of my personal favorites of the reported situations involves a set of motion-activated lights and a Drinking Bird ™ toy. Users found that when they were doing their jobs they did not trigger the installed motion sensors so their workplace was always going dark. These employees found themselves needing to correct this problem as they required lights to do their jobs—and these workers were resourceful. Setting up a Drinking Bird ™ in …
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