OpenDesign of Scientific Research in Pandemic Context

Abstract

The Coronavirus pandemic and the consequent situation of social isolation have affected research design, especially in fields working directly with people. While online tools enable communication and collaboration, some specific domains involving contemporary technology-based systems, such as socioenactive systems, demand a deeper understanding of human-embodied action in real-world scenarios with ubiquitous technology. This work addresses this issue by presenting a study in which a research team used the OpenDesign Platform (ODP) to conduct a process of ideation and consolidation of a socioenactive-based system solution during pandemics and physical presence limitations. The contributions are twofold: addressing the demands of the research team working remotely and envisaging an interaction scenario for people in a socioenactive system, even without their copresence in the same physical space. Results have shown the strengths and weaknesses of the ODP and lessons learned towards supporting systems for teamwork in such systems’ ideation context.