Tag’s review on 2nd and 3rd waves of HCI

The field of HCI has been going through three waves ever since it appeared in early 80s until today. This whole period has been divided into three waves. First wave (started in 80s), had focused more on cognitive science and human factors as subjects of studies. The second wave (started in 90s), has focused on users as workers with particular practice as group work, the work settings and established communities where users cooperate and learn from each others (this is lost in3). In this wave, the fields of PD and CSCW have developed to face cooperation problems (challenges in 3). Finally, the third wave (started in 2000s) has been focusing on individual experience, home and leisure (the rest of life) separated from work.

 

According to the author, from comparing wave 2 and 3, we find that wave 2 focused on solving issues related to cooperation among users within a community. Thus, methods like PD has been taken for granted which led to a lack of reflective practice. Whereas this is not the case in wave 3 where such a method is not granted but rather individual experience is the main focus. However focusing on individual experience involves emotions, which are driven from interaction with others.

 

Thus the claim that wave 3 challenged values in wave 2 might not be accurate. As the movement from sharing communities to individual experience does not necessarily mean isolating individual but rather building shared communities electronically and maybe, making it easier for users to share and learn from each other. However, wave 2 values should not be abandoned as the author suggested but rather enhanced using wave 3 strategies. And that what seems to be happening now, as the emotions and experience in wave 3 are actually results of rationality and purposefulness in wave 2. This concludes the main theory of the author that says: “New design should not replace existing mediators but rather should exist with them to enhance their functionality”.