> Related Topics: Ethical Computing and Practice
Authors: Daniel Jackson, Arvind Satyanarayan, Serena Booth
Keywords: software design, local government, ethical assessment
Resources:
Assignment 1: Design Reflection
Technical design reflection prompt focused on ethical implications of design of a browser-based version of John Conway’s Game of Life, a cellular automaton that simulates the evolution of an organism using a simple deterministic rule.
Assignment 2: Design Reflection
Technical design reflection prompt focused on social implications of design decisions in implementing “Fritter,” social app whose primary purpose sometimes seems to be to fritter your time away.
Assignment 3: A Social/Ethical Reflection
Written reflection on “Fritter” design to explain implications of design decisions and, if negative, how they might be mitigated.
- Assignment 3 Problem Statement (PDF) (DOCX)
- Assignment 3 Rubric (PDF) (DOCX)
- Design Reflection Template (PDF) (DOCX)
- Social/Ethical Reflection Template (PDF) (DOCX)
Assignment 4: Specification
A written reflection to more thoroughly address the ethical/social implications of design, and distinguish which implications follow from your conceptual design and which follow from UI design.
- Assignment 4 Problem Statement (PDF) (DOCX)
- Assignment 4 Rubric (PDF) (DOCX)
- Heuristic Evaluation Template (PDF) (DOCX)
- User Test Template (PDF) (DOCX)
- Ethical Implication Template (PDF) (DOCX)
- Usability Heuristics Cheat Sheet (PDF)
Assignment 5: Specification
A written reflection that describes how conducting the Assignment 4 reflection informed the student’s design process in this assignment.
- Assignment 5 Problem Statement (PDF) (DOCX)
- Assignment 5 Rubric (PDF) (DOCX)
- Design Reflection Template (PDF) (DOCX)
- Deployment Guide (PDF) (DOCX)
Lecture on Responsible Design
A lecture on responsible design and an activity to prepare the students for the lecture.
- Ethics Protocol: A Method for Designing Responsibly lecture (PDF - 1.1MB) (PPTX - 1.6MB)
- Preparatory Activity “Envisioning Futures” (PDF) (DOCX) before lecture
- Qualtrics Survey (PDF) (DOCX)
Final Project: “All Politics is Local”
Project prompts developed in collaboration with Cambridge City Government to practice course competencies to build software in service of local government.
