2024-03-06 –, Main Hall
In this talk, I share my experience about building open source software while maintaining a good balance of community input. I discuss the ways in which software engineers or developers, designers, community and product managers can adopt and incorporate research practices in software design.
In this talk, I share my experience about building open source software while maintaining a good balance of community input. This talk introduces best practices in human research practices that transcends the academic context into the technology and software context. I introduce a full suite context of research requirements in the software product development cycle. I discuss the benefits of engaging different audiences at various stages of development based on requirement variability to the stage of product proprietary. Research as a general process of knowledge production and inquiry includes scientific research, investigative journalism, data journalism, OSINT, investigation by non-profit entities, community etc. I discuss the ways in which software engineers or developers, designers, community managers and product managers can adopt and incorporate research practices in human factors testing, in the absence of a dedicated researcher on their team. Finally, I end with the importance of the human element in making inferences and judgments in product development decisions and ways in which the tradition of scientific research can inform the future of an increasingly ubiquitous digital world.
Aparna Sundar is a Senior Researcher at OpenSearch Project. She has decades of experience in the field of research and design. She actively publishes in cognitive science journals. Aparna gives talks in various domains including Technology, Psychology and Marketing.