Relying on failures in design (ACM interactions article)

My article about technological failures has been published in the last issue of ACM interactions. It addresses the possibility to use failure as design tactic:

“failures and mistakes are important too because they are implicit signs of a need or problem that requires a solution. The examination of failures reveals what is commonly referred to in HCI as the “gulf of execution,” i.e., the difference between the user’s expected actions to achieve a goal and the actual required actions

However, my quirky mind-set left me wondering about the role of failure in design research: If problems and mistakes are so interesting and insightful, why not be a bit more bold and enlist them as a design tactic? I am suggesting the conscious design of “questionable” prototypes to investigate user experience. (…) In doing so, what kind of insights can be derived from leading people in the wrong direction?“

Link