How to Design with Ambiguity: Insights from Self-tracking Wearables

Abstract

Nearly 20 years ago, Gaver et al. introduced ambiguity as a design resource, proposing tactics to reflect everyday uncertainty into interactive systems. This approach is especially relevant for self-tracking wearables, which often obscure the inherent ambiguity of system design and tracked phenomena with seemingly clear, prescriptive data and insights. Although scholars recognize the importance of ambiguity, its practical application in the design process remains underexplored. To address this, we conducted a two-week workshop with 60 designers, examining the application of Gaver et al.'s tactics into 11 design concepts, and performed interviews with 16 participants. Our findings reveal eight relevant ambiguity tactics for self-tracking and offer insights into participants' experiences with designing using ambiguity. We discuss prescription and overlooked ambiguity as levers for the operationalization of ambiguity, the potential benefits and downsides of ambiguity tactics for users, future directions for HCI research and practice, and the study limitations.