The third user representation observed in the logics of researchers can be labeled as the ‘incompetent user’. The core of the ‘incompetent user’ representation is that this type user is not able to handle indoor climate systems in a good way. This means, in line with the underlying research principles behind this representation, that seen from a technical point of view of researchers, users interact irrational with technology. This user representation is generated through ‘referring to family members’ and ‘using complaints’. So, the ‘incompetent user’ is partly formed empirically by individual researchers and partly based on official grounds. The methods ‘referring to family members’ was recognized as less influential than ‘standardization’ and ‘I-methodology’ in generating user representations, and ‘using complaints’ as potentially powerful. Therefore, the resulting user representation of the ‘incompetent user’ should be less dominant than the ‘standardized’ and ‘smart’ user representations in the logics of research.
ECS researchers consider the representation of the ‘incompetent user’ as a measure of how typical lay people behave in a bad way with indoor climate systems.
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Despite that the situation is technically correct, the user complains. In that case you have to find out if just that person is at the wrong place, or that everybody in the neighborhood complains. Is it a logical complain? […] But then, it appears that the person is frustrated and dissatisfied because of incorrect use of the system."(E.Wissink)
Core principles of research allow ECS researchers to focus on the technical side of user-technology interactions: they give priority to technology and its efficient operation. They reasons unconsciously that nothing is wrong with technology, seen from a technical point of view, but that the error should be at the side of users of the context in which interactions take place. The logics behind this more contextual kind of research activities are that researchers assume that users do something technically wrong in cases of conflicts with technology in use.
When the ECS researchers use complaints or refer to -mostly female- family members to exemplify users, they focus on incompetent use behavior. Typical remarks about incompetent use behavior are: ‘my wife cannot set the thermostat properly’, my mother opens windows while it is not necessary’, ‘those households do not maintain the system correctly’, and ‘those elderly cannot deal with the interface’. In line of the research principles, users that play a role in these kind comments do not interact efficient or rational with technology and confirm the assumption of researchers that users do something technically wrong in cases of conflicts.
Furthermore, ECS researchers believe that the incompetent users are barely interested in technological development and do not move along with innovation:
“Systems improve continue, and eh, users do not move along [with technical progress]. “(E.Wissink) “More and more new features are built in […] But in terms of new features, residents still live in the Middle Ages.” (R.Brand)
Incompetent users have difficulties with adjusting their habits to new technologies. This is difficult to reconcile for researchers with their own logics. One researcher reasons that these type of bad habits are similar to the habit of smoking:
"ja ja, users ... [...] It's actually comparable with smoking. Everyone knows already for a long time that it is not good, but just recently people begin to quit smoking.”(P.Jacobs)
In his reasoning he implies that everyone, including the users themselves, should know better. According to him it is for users own good to get rid of bad habits like disinterest in and refusal to comply with technology. For him it seems incomprehensible that it takes generations to change. The anticipated characteristics of incompetent users form a strong mismatch with the logics of research. The researchers seem to agree that incompetent use behavior is a result of a lack of understanding.
“The lack of knowledge brings the user in a position that he or she acts in certain ways, which the developer probably did not thought about.[…] That is just the whole principle with understanding [technology], and it just does not happens with users. "(R.Brand)
In line with their research principles, they aim at a specific kind of understanding: incompetent users lack technical capabilities23. Therefore, researchers reason that ‘incompetent’ characteristics are inappropriate during research process.
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Although that the interviewed researchers do not explicit mention what kind of knowledge incompetent users miss, this was more explicit formulated in the article of Spiekman (2010) that was highlight in the part about smart users. In this article was described that users form their mental model based earlier on experiences and this deviates most of the time from the correct ‘technical’ mental model of engineers. The incompetent user representation is very often about woman and residents that complain and are always linked a lack of understanding about the working of technologies. This representation of users is a-technical, and to my opinion, the researchers suppose that incompetent users therefore misses
41 The ‘incompetent’ user representation seems to be an implicit element in the ECS research process, since research is focused on indoor climate products that are meant to be used by ‘everybody’, both male and female users, as well as technical and technical users. Real users of the type ‘incompetent users’ are not involved in the ECS research process – an environment that is highly dominated by technical competent male researchers. However, representations of incompetent users are present in the research practice of ECS. The representations are present in the researchers’ gender stereotypes and technical biases towards interactions with technology. In their reasoning the technical biased and gendered representation of the user is merely invoked by ECS researchers as constraints to be ignored in ECS research process. Because the ‘technical shortcomings of the ‘incompetent user’ results in irrational and illogical behavior, which is difficult to reconcile with their own logics. The underling difficulty is that ECS researchers cannot control or predict incompetent behavior and therefore cannot calculate the behavioral effects on the performance of indoor climate systems.
As with the ‘standardized user’, this representation too fails to convey the needs and desires that ‘real’ lay people have for indoor climate systems. Taken together, this last representation of ‘incompetent user’ also is characterized by a strong mismatch real users and it fails to take their preferences into account.
4.2.3
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OLE OF USER REPRESENTATIONS IN DESIGN LOGICS OF ECS RESEARCH PROCESSThis third sub section presents in which way of the three user representations are scripted in the design logics of ECS research process.