Towards value-focused decision support systems

Motivation - To support people in taking life-decisions in an informed way by reflecting on their values. Research approach - A user-centred mixed methods approach. (1) a prototype was built based on expert advice; (2) the prototype was used in participatory user studies to elicit design considerations; (3) sketches based on the considerations were tested in a user survey. Findings/Design - We present five design guidelines that were derived from the participatory design study and the online survey. Research limitations/ Implications - Only four participants took part in the participatory study, which may have led to a limited set of design considerations. Originality/Value - Designing value-focused decision support systems and, in specific, tools for value-reflection is underexplored in HCI. Our guidelines raise awareness of this important area of research. Our results are also relevant for value sensitive design. Take away message - When designing digital support for value-reflection, it is crucial to consider (1) uniqueness of each user, (2) trust in the system, (3) adjustable levels of guidance, (4) emotional triggers and (5) integration with social networks. Copyright 2012 ACM.