On Socio-technical Enablers for Ubiquitous Computing Applications

The focus of this paper is on context-aware, self-adaptive ubiquitous computing applications that involve mobile users. The development of such applications is inherently complex for two main reasons: From a technical perspective, context management and adaptation management add complexity to the application design and implementation. From a socio-technical perspective, concerns and requirements related to the social embedding and user acceptance must be addressed in the application design and lead to additional complexity, particularly because sensitive personal data is collected, processed, stored and communicated by such applications. In this position paper we present an analysis of the problem space and a solution approach. We have developed an interdisciplinary methodology that systematically addresses technical as well as non-technical concerns. Our conclusion is that solving the socio-technical challenges will be a key enabler for ubiquitous computing.