CV

My research in user experience has been to develop a more conceptual, theoretically grounded understanding of user experience. Working from a background informed by phenomenology and intentionality, the notion of experience is grounded by the concept of intentionality where a user's experience is always oriented towards some object in the world; it is always about that object (Husserl, 2001). As we engage with the world, our intentional relations with the world changes because the world exerts its own intentionality towards us: a technological intentionality (Ihde, 1990). Our navigation in this world then is largely made up by this dynamic relationship and coming to grips with this situation requires a user to learn from their experience. I want to take this perspective that has been thoroughly developed in the philosophy of consciousness and analyze our interactions with interactive artifacts through this lens. Standard usability problems can be made more nuanced by using the theory of breakdown (Winograd & Flores, 1986) to analyze for instance what causes users to struggle to use and subsequently work around games they use (Ryan & Siegel, 2009).

Relevant selected papers I have worked on include:

• Jung, H., Stolterman, E., Ryan, W., Stroman, T., & Siegel, M. (2008). Toward a framework for ecology of artifacts: How are artifacts interconnected surrounding a personal life? In Proceedings of 5th Nordic Conference on Human-Computer Interaction. 201-210. Lund, Sweden.
• Ryan, W., Stolterman, E., Siegel, M., Jung, H., Stroman, T., Hazlewood, W. R. (2009). Device ecology mapper: A tool for studying users’ ecosystems of interactive artifacts. In Extended Abstracts of Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, 4327-4332, Boston, MA.
• Ryan, W., & Bardzell, J. (2007). Using Player Breakdown as a Lens for Understanding the Development of Literacy in Video Games. In Games, Learning, and Society. Madison, WI.
• The heart of my dissertation studies this theme.

Visit the publications page for a full listing.

Video games have become a pervasive part of our culture and have pushed the development of both hardware technology as well as providing new ways of interfacing with technology. Manovich (2002) argues that video games are one of two industries that have pushed technology to the state it is today—the other being defense technology. I find video games to be a particularly interesting form of learning to use interactive artifacts. Although we have genres which generally separate the types of expectations that will be placed on a user by a game, each game is encapsulated to provide a novel experience for a user requiring a great deal of learning to make each experience meaningful—this is one of the components of games that make them so fun. So, my research in this area has really been to understand the human dimension of games, but also to make that knowledge useful for game designers to walk the balance between games that are too easy providing no challenge and games that are two complex that become overwhelming.

Relevant selected papers I have worked on include:

• Ryan, W., & Siegel, M. A. (2009). Evaluating interactive entertainment using breakdown: Understanding embodied learning in video games. In DiGRA 2009. London, England. Available at DiGRA Digital Libraries.
• Castronova, E., Cummings, J., Emigh, W., Fatten, M., Mishler, N., Ross, T., & Ryan, W. (2009). Case study: The economics of Arden. In Special Issue of Critical Studies in Media Communication. 26(2), 165-179.
• Bardzell, J., Bardzell, S., Birchler, C., & Ryan, W. (2007). Double Dribble: Illusionism, mixed reality, and the sports fan experience. In Proceedings of International Conference on Advances in Computers for Entertainment Technology. 216-219. Salzburg, Austria.
• Bardzell, J., Ryan, W., & Bardzell, S. (2006). Radical game play: The confrontation between machinima platforms and filmmakers. (Unpublished).
• Bardzell, J., Bardzell, S., & Ryan, W. (2006). Virtual events in metaverse worlds: The intersection of interfaces, leisure, commerce, and persistent groups. (Unpublished).
• Bardzell, J., Bardzell, S., & Ryan, W. (2006). The video game tutorial: Narrative, HCI, and virtual learning. (Unpublished).

Visit the publications page for a full listing.

My early research career has been inspired by the importance of design and the design process. As countless authors have noted, it is impossible to separate the design of an artifact and its use (Petersen, 2002; Croon Fors, 2006; Willis, 1999). To understand completely the interaction and use of any interactive artifact, an account of the design of these artifacts must be included. So far, my investigation into design has just begun, but I do intend to continue this investigation in my future work. Some of the work I have done so far has been with Dr. Siegel's Design Pedagogy group. So far, we have looked at our own design programs as well as some historically important examples such as the Bauhaus and Institute of Design in Chicago in terms of how such programs grow and direct themselves towards their overall goals.

So far, there has been only one paper we have even written on this topic:

• Ryan W., Hazlewood, W. R., & Stolterman, E. (2009). Breaking the mold: Problem setting through evocative designs. (Unpublished).

Visit the publications page for a full listing.

1. Husserl, E. (2001). Logical Investigations. New York: Routledge.
2. Ihde, D. (1990). Technology and the Lifeworld: From Garden to Earth. Bloomington, IN: Indiana UP.
3. Winograd, T. & Flores, F. (1986). Understanding Computers and Cognition: A New Foundation for Design. Norwood, NJ: Ablex Publishing.
4. Ryan, W. & Siegel, M. (2009). (2009). Evaluating interactive entertainment using breakdown: Understanding embodied learning in video games. In DiGRA 2009. London, England.
5. Manovich, L. (2002). The Language of New Media. Cambridge: MIT Press.
6. Petersen, M. G. (2002). Designing for Learning in Use of Everyday Artefacts. Ph.D. Thesis. University of Aarhus, Denmark.
7. Croon Fors, A. (2006). Being-with Information Technology: Critical Explorations Beyond Use and Design. Ph.D. Thesis. Umeä University, Sweden.
8. Willis, A. M. (1999). Ontological Designing. In Proceedings of the Design Cultures, Conference of the European Academy of Design, Sheffield, UK.