Designing Communication Systems for Human Systems: Values and Assumptions of “Socially Open Architecture”

This chapter describes socially open architecture as an approach to designing technology-based communication systems. It argues that designers must pursue a “principle of incompleteness,” which recognizes that design is never finished; rather it is “brought to form” in a variety of ways within different social contexts. Concrete examples of socially open architecture and the implications of the designer’s assumptions in the implementation and social effects of technology are presented.