Tech Footprint Toolkit
Supporting Designers in Anticipating Technology Impact
Sara Colombo (TU Delft - Industrial Design Engineering)
Qiulin Zhu (Student TU Delft)
Kacper Pietrzykowski (Independent researcher)
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Abstract
This work introduces the Tech Footprint Toolkit, an interactive toolkit for designers and developers to anticipate and address the impacts of digital technologies on humans and society. Although digital technologies can cause unintended harm to people, their complexity and unpredictability often discourage designers and developers from systematically reflecting on potential negative effects. Drawing on frameworks such as value-sensitive design, the Tech Footprint Toolkit supports designers' reflections on the potential impacts of digital systems through an iterative process comprising three phases: i) exploring potential technology impacts across eight dimensions of the human experience, ii) evaluating the system in relation to these dimensions, and iii) identifying design strategies to mitigate potential negative effects. We present the toolkit and its design process, together with insights from a preliminary evaluation, and outline challenges and recommendations to guide its future development.
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