The phrase in-the-wild is becoming popular again in the field of human-computer interaction
(HCI) describing approaches to HCI research and accounts of user experience phenomena that
differ from those derived from other lab-based methods. The phrase first came to the forefront
20-25 years ago when anthropologists Jean Lave (1988) Lucy Suchman (1987) and Ed Hutchins
(1995) began writing about cognition being in-the-wild. Today it is used more broadly to refer
to research that seeks to understand new technology interventions in everyday living. A reason
for its resurgence in contemporary HCI is an acknowledgment that so much technology is now
embedded and used in our everyday lives. Researchers have begun following suit-decamping from
their usability and living labs and moving into the wild carrying out in-situ development and
engagement sampling experiences and probing people in their homes and on the streets. The aim
of this book is to examine what this new direction entails and what it means for HCI theory
practice and design. The focus is on the insights demands and concerns. But how does research
in the wild differ from the other applied approaches in interaction design such as contextual
design action research or ethnography? What is added by labeling user research as being
in-the-wild? One main difference is where the research starts and ends: unlike user-centered
and more specifically ethnographic approaches which typically begin by observing existing
practices and then suggesting general design implications or system requirements in-the-wild
approaches create and evaluate new technologies and experiences in situ(Rogers 2012). Moreover
novel technologies are often developed to augment people places and settings without
necessarily designing them for specific user needs. There has also been a shift in design
thinking. Instead of developing solutions that fit in with existing practices researchers are
experimenting with new technological possibilities that can change and even disrupt behavior.
Opportunities are created interventions installed and different ways of behaving are
encouraged. A key concern is how people react change and integrate these in their everyday
lives. This book outlines the emergence and development of research in the wild. It is
structured around a framework for conceptualizing and bringing together the different strands.
It covers approaches methods case studies and outcomes. Finally it notes that there is more
in the wild research in HCI than usability and other kinds of user studies in HCI and what the
implications of this are for the field.
