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With the increasing ubiquitous presence of technology, we as designers must start to look at the way these technologies support, interfere with, and compete with each other in our homes and workplaces. This study looks at the network created by these artifacts as an ecology that an individual must strive to maintain. We propose an early theoretical perspective and a preliminary research framework to analyze this phenomenon that models both the artifact itself and its value to the user. Our goal with this research is to understand the strategies that users employ to maintain their personal ecology to support the design of artifacts integration with these ecologies.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS
-Why do people decide to buy or use a specific artifact among many other simliar ones?
-How do people construct their individual ecology of artifacts?; Do they ever realize the concept of ecology?
-What are patterns of individual ecology of artifacts?; How do people use some artifacts in relation with others?
-How can designers help users to harmonize their ecology of artifacts?; What should they consider?

RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
-Investigate various dimensions of properties and values of interactive digital artifacts
-Investigate various patterns of how interactive artifacts are interconnected surrounding a personal life
-Explore integrative perspectives about how to design and use interactive artifacts (interface, value, contexts..)
-Suggest strategies about how to add/combine features when designing new artifacts for harmonious ecology

ANALYTICAL MODEL

We suggest a model for analyzing interactive artifacts in use focused on three values: practical, emotional and rational (technical). Those values were initially conceived to cover overall ecological aspects of using interactive artifact; why people use an interactive artifact (practical value), how people feel when using it (emotional value), and how the artifact is used (rational value).

APPLICATION of ANALYTICAL MODEL

It is clear that the values of individual artifacts, when seen as an ecology, mutually influence each others’ value. This can lead to situation where an “old” artifact fits better in the ecology than a new one, since the values are tightly connected. In our model of an ecology of artifacts, relationships between values and mutual reinforcement of values become the core of attention. The model shows how the evaluation of the artifacts’ usefulness becomes quite different from traditional models focused on usability and performance of individual artifacts.

Personal Inventory Study

	P1	P2	P3	P4	P5	P6	P7	P8	P9	P10	SUM
Desktop PC	1	1	1					1	1		5
Laptop	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	10
Flash driver			1		3	1		1	1		7
Printer		1	1		1		1	1	1	1	7
Mobile phone	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	10
Digital camera	2			1	1	1	1	1	1	1	9
Mp3 player	3			2	1	1	1	2		1	11
Voice recorder	1				1	1	1	1			5
Game system			2						3		5
GPS navigator			1					1			2
Television		1	1			1	1	1	1	1	7
Home theater								1		1	2
DVD player		1					1	1		1	4
Cable box		1						1			2
Others	3	1	2	4				5	1	3	19
Total	12	8	11	9	9	7	8	19	11	11	105

(the number of artifact items that each participant has)

Personal Inventory Study is aimed at investigating what digital artifacts people own and how they use and value each of their artifacts. We conducted semi-structured interviews with individual participant. We focused on understanding their perceptions about each of their artifacts. In the beginning, the participant was asked to list every interactive artifact they use on a post-it card and to select several adjectives that describe each artifact the best. In the end, the participant was asked to describe detailed reasons for selecting some adjectives including purpose and context of use for each artifact.

Ecology Map Study

As an extension of Personal Inventory Study, participants were asked to visualize relations among personal artifacts as an ecological map - the method which we named Ecology Map Study. This was done in a simplified way of sketching using artifact-labeled post-it cards (which were made in the previous part of personal inventory study) adding any graphic elements (e.g. line, box, circle) to express conceptual models about their own ‘personal ecology of artifacts’.