Publications

Keyword(s): working parents; lifestyle research; user studies; mobile technologies; home; family life; consumer technologies; crossover technologies

Abstract: This report summarises an in-depth investigation into the lifestyles of working parents taking into account both their home activities and their work activities, and how these are part of a complex lifestyle in which family and work commitments are met. We look at their patterns of mobility, stresses and strains, use of technology, home-work crossover, and domestic routines, as well as examining some aspects of their lives more closely such as the ways in which they use artefacts in planning and reminding and in household communication. Through this, we begin to focus on potential technological opportunities for HP, and point toward more in-depth research that needs to be carried out to understand the requirements for such technologies. Apart from the Introduction (Section 1) and Method (Section 3), any of the other sections in this report can be read as stand-alone topics. For the reader who wants a succinct summary of the main findings, and the implications of those findings, skip directly to Section 13. Notes: This work was originally carried out under the auspices of the User Studies and Design Group, DMSD, HP Labs Bristol.