Anner Dieter and Holly Robbins held an workshop to work on the IoT Design Manifesto. ThingsCon Amsterdam 2015 was held at Volkshotel December 4, 2015

1. IMPLEMENTING RESPONSIBLE DESIGN
IN A CONNECTED WORLD
IoT Design Manifesto
WORKSHOP
4-12-2015 Thingscon Amsterdam

2. HI!
Anner Holly Jeffrey

4. WHY

5. Peak of inflated expectations
Technology trigger
Trough of Disillusionment
Plateau of Productivity
Slope of
enlightenment

7. MANIFESTO
10 Principles
Open for discussion
A tool for conversation
Guideline

8. WHY THIS WORKSHOP?
• Identify the situation of designing in the IoT world
• Develop techniques and strategies for how the
manifesto’s principles can be implemented
• Develop practical guidelines for promoting responsible
design within the IoT
• Achieve this by “doing” … practice what we preach

9. PROGRAMME TODAY
Who we are, why we have a manifesto, what is this workshop for? (5 min)
Participant introductions (5 min)
Manifesto re-cap (5 min)
Super pressure cooker concept design session (60 min)
• Breakup & mix into groups (5 min)
• Check the briefs (10 min)
• Design your concept (10 min - for real …)
• Showtime 1! (20 min)
• Refine the concept with the manifesto (30 min)
• Showtime! 2 (20 min)
Conclusions & discussion ( … min)

10. INTRODUCTIONS!
Who?
What?
Why?
Favourite Star Wars character?

11. RECAP MANIFESTO

12. DON’T BELIEVE THE HYPEI

13. We pledge to be skeptical of the cult of the new —
just slapping the Internet onto a product isn’t the
answer. Monetising only through connectivity
rarely guarantees sustainable commercial
success.
DON’T BELIEVE THE HYPEI

14. WE DESIGN USEFUL THINGSII

15. Value comes from products that are purposeful.
Our commitment is to design products that have
a meaningful impact on people’s lives; IoT
technologies are merely tools to enable that.
WE DESIGN USEFUL THINGSII

16. WE AIM FOR THE WIN-WIN-WINIII

17. A complex web of stakeholders is forming
around IoT products: from users, to businesses,
and everyone in between. We design so that
there is a win for everybody in this elaborate
exchange.
WE AIM FOR THE WIN-WIN-WINIII

18. WE KEEP EVERYONE AND
EVERY THING SECURE
IV

19. With connectivity comes the potential for
external security threats executed through the
product itself, which comes with serious
consequences. We are committed to protecting
our users from these dangers, whatever they
may be.
WE KEEP EVERYONE AND
EVERY THING SECURE
IV

20. WE BUILD AND PROMOTE
A CULTURE OF PRIVACY
V

21. Equally severe threats can also come from within.
Trust is violated when personal information
gathered by the product is handled carelessly. We
build and promote a culture of integrity where the
norm is to handle data with care.
WE BUILD AND PROMOTE
A CULTURE OF PRIVACY
V

22. WE ARE DELIBERATE ABOUT
WHAT DATA WE COLLECT
VI

23. This is not the business of hoarding data; we only
collect data that serves the utility of the product
and service. Therefore, identifying what those
data points are must be conscientious and
deliberate.
WE ARE DELIBERATE ABOUT
WHAT DATA WE COLLECT
VI

24. WE MAKE THE PARTIES ASSOCIATED
WITH AN IOT PRODUCT EXPLICIT
VII

25. IoT products are uniquely connected, making the
flow of information among stakeholders open and
fluid. This results in a complex, ambiguous, and
invisible network. Our responsibility is to make
the dynamics among those parties more visible
and understandable to everyone.
WE MAKE THE PARTIES ASSOCIATED
WITH AN IOT PRODUCT EXPLICIT
VII

26. WE EMPOWER USERS TO BE THE
MASTERS OF THEIR OWN DOMAIN
VIII

27. • Users often do not have control over their role within the
network of stakeholders surrounding an IoT product. We
believe that users should be empowered to set the boundaries
of how their data is accessed and how they are engaged with via
the product.
WE EMPOWER USERS TO BE THE
MASTERS OF THEIR OWN DOMAIN
VIII

28. WE DESIGN THINGS FOR THEIR LIFETIMEIX

29. Currently physical products and digital services
tend to be built to have different lifespans. In an
IoT product features are codependent, so
lifespans need to be aligned. We design products
and their services to be bound as a single, durable
entity.
WE DESIGN THINGS FOR THEIR LIFETIMEIX

30. IN THE END, WE ARE HUMAN BEINGS.X

31. Design is an impactful act. With our work, we
have the power to effect relationships between
people and technology, as well as among people.
We don’t use this influence to only make profits or
create robot overlords; instead, it is our
responsibility to use design to help people,
communities, and societies thrive.
IN THE END, WE ARE HUMAN BEINGS.X

32. CONCLUDING
We pledge to be skeptical of the cult of the
new — just slapping the Internet onto a
product isn’t the answer. Monetizing only
through connectivity rarely guarantees
sustainable commercial success.
The world is becoming increasingly connected. This
offers opportunities for designers, engineers and
entrepreneurs to create unprecedented products
and services. Yet, a connected world also brings new
questions and challenges to the table.
This manifesto serves as a code of conduct for
everyone involved in developing the Internet of
Things, outlining 10 principles to help create
balanced and honest products in a burgeoning field
with many unknowns.
WE DON’T BELIEVE
THE HYPE
I
With connectivity comes the potential for
external security threats executed through
the product itself, which comes with serious
WE KEEP EVERYONE
AND EVERY THING
SECURE
IV
A complex web of stakeholders is forming
around IoT products: from users, to
WE AIM FOR THE
WIN-WIN-WIN
III
Value comes from products that are
purposeful. Our commitment is to design
WE DESIGN
USEFUL THINGS
II
IOT DESIGN MANIFESTOFirst drafted by a number of design professionals,
this manifesto is intended to be a living document
that the larger community of peers working within
the IoT field can contribute to and improve upon.
This manifesto is a living document, we seek your
input to help it grow. Please discuss, contribute,
remix, and test the boundaries of these principles.
www.iotmanifesto.org
v1.0 · May 2015

33. PRESSURE COOKER!
Split up - let’s make groups
You’ll be assigned a role - act like it
Let’s do this super fast …

34. TOMORROW’S KITCHEN

35. Brief #1
Local greengrocers team up w/
Ultimaker® to build new retail
model.
Brief #2
Carpenters union create open
source kitchen based on usage
data.
Brief #4
Waste processors want to bid for
clean waste from urban
households
Brief #3
Salvation army wants to tap into
the resource of expiring food
Brief #6
A national political party wants
kitchen table that strengthens
family ties.
Brief #5
Hospital commissions nearby
amateur chefs to make hospital
food

36. MAKE IT YOUR OWN
How can we create / design / improve
a …….………..
for ….………..
to …..…………

37. DEFINE
What will you be designing? (service, thing, … etc )
It can be “evil” - there are no no no limits!
What does this mean for your role / profession in the
process?
Draw it ! (advertisement poster)

38. HOW?
Where will your concept be used?
Sketch the context of the physical space (2D)

39. HOW?
Add your solution, users and other actors and
play out the actual use / behaviour
In three marvellous dimensions!
Explain to group (2 min max!)

40. SHOWTIME!

41. ADD MANIFESTO!

42. Concept
DesignVerify
Implement
IOT DESIGN MANIFESTO CHEATSHEET
This is the IoT Design Manifesto cheatsheet. It aims to make the principles of the manifesto
actionable.
How to use this?The principles of the manifesto work on different abstraction levels. So when you design a
product, you would address conceptual issues first, and become more specific toward
implementation. Then iterate once more to account for interrelated issues.
1. Concept What is the raison-d’être ? Why is it connected? What value do we create?
2. Design How should it work? How would people interact? How would it show…
3. Implementation What do we need to develop? How do we account for privacy?
I. WE DON’T BELIEVE THE HYPEImagine, your product would be advertise
without any mentioning of connectedness
data, the internet or smartness. What
would it be that would trigger a customer?
II. WE DESIGN USEFUL THINGSThis is basically a challenge of good design.
What kind of untapped potential is there in
this product? What would’ve been
impossible 10 years ago, but would now
suddenly be possible? What needs can the
product cater for that it couldn’t do before?
III. WE AIM FOR THE WIN-WIN-WINIoT products are connected. Not only to the
web or a service, but through that service to
anyone involved in creating it.Who is involved with the product, and what
is to gain from being connected? And if one
stakeholder clearly wins, how’s that of value
to the other stakeholders?
IV. WE KEEP EVERYONE AND EVERY THINGSECUREWhat are the scenarios you can think of,
where security is at stake. And what are the
potential points where security can be
breached? On product level, service level?
Or does your product put other products
around it at risk?V. WE BUILD AND PROMOTE A CULTUREOF PRIVACYThis is an organisational issue. Privacy is a
complex matter and you need to align
everyone working on a product or service
to have a common notion and policy
relevant to the context of your business.
When drafting your policy, try to ‘be’ your
customer, and push for extreme scenarios
like company acquisitions, security
breaches, partner company bankruptcies,
potential outsourcing of processing and
storing data, etc. etc.
VI. WE ARE DELIBERATE ABOUT WHATDATA WE COLLECTWhat is the minimal amount of data we
need to process to make this product work?
And what data could be of use for the
current user, future users, or future
versions of a product? How could a product
become a better version of themselves?
How could other products work better
through data from your product?
If any data stream doesn’t server any of
these purposes, why bother to collect or
store it?
VII. WE MAKE THE PARTIES ASSOCIATED
WITH AN IOT PRODUCT EXPLICITHow will your user know who is involved
with your product? When, in the process of
bringing this product into her/his life, will
she/he understand that the product is an
element of a greater network with more
parties involved?
VIII. WE EMPOWER USERS TO BE THE
MASTERS OF TH

43. Concept

44. A complex web of stakeholders is forming
around IoT products: from users, to
businesses, and everyone in between. We
design so that there is a win for everybody in
this elaborate exchange.
WE AIM FOR THE WIN-WIN-WINIII

45. Design

46. Users often do not have control
over their role within the network
of stakeholders surrounding an IoT
product. We believe that users
should be empowered to set the
boundaries of how their data is
accessed and how they are engaged
with via the product.
WE EMPOWER USERS TO BE THE
MASTERS OF THEIR OWN DOMAIN
VIII

47. Implementation

48. This is not the business of hoarding data; we
only collect data that serves the utility of the
product and service. Therefore, identifying what
those data points are must be conscientious and
deliberate.
WE ARE DELIBERATE ABOUT
WHAT DATA WE COLLECT
VI

49. SHOWTIME (again)!

50. DISCUSS
What happened?
How did the manifesto help / obstruct / influence your group?
We would like to know how you plan on using or implementing what
you’ve learned?
What point in your development / design process would you go back
to the points in the manifesto?

51. WE SPIED WITH OUR LITTLE EYES…
TBD during the workshop

52. THANKS - YOU’RE ALL AWESOME!