Designing Ethics-Aware DecidArch Game to Promote Value Diversity in Software Architecture Design Decision Making

Razieh Alidoosti; Patricia Lago; Eltjo Poort; Maryam Razavian

doi:10.1007/978-3-031-35681-0_1

Designing Ethics-Aware DecidArch Game to Promote Value Diversity in Software Architecture Design Decision Making

Razieh Alidoosti
, Patricia Lago
, Eltjo Poort
, Maryam Razavian

Information Systems IE&IS

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution › Academic › peer-review

2 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Software systems are increasingly being employed in people’s lives and society. They can improve, but also negatively affect the quality of life and interfere with human rights by, e.g., undermining the individuals’ and society’s values and causing ethical issues. To prevent such issues, software architects need to take ethical considerations into account at the early stages of design, e.g., when making architecture design decisions. Such considerations regard stakeholders, ethical values and their relations, ethical concerns, and ethical decisions. Addressing ethical considerations is especially difficult for software architects because of (i) the lack of training in ethics and philosophy, (ii) the existence of inherent ambiguity in ethical values, and (iii) the lack of methodological support in dealing with ethical and social implications of software systems, and eliciting and operationalizing ethical values. This study employs a design science methodology for developing a card-based game (called Ethics-Aware DecidArch), helping software architects reflect on ethical considerations, and creating an atmosphere to foster inclusivity by supporting the values of different stakeholders when making group decisions. The game was played in four sessions, each including four professional software architects from two multinational IT companies. This study presents lessons learned from playing the game through a participant survey and qualitative data analysis. The results show that the game helped software architects (i) reflect on different solutions for resolving ethical concerns, (ii) make ethical decisions along with providing reasons behind such decisions, and (iii) reflect on the operationalization of ethical values and their trade-offs.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	Universal Access in Human-Computer Interaction
Subtitle of host publication	17th International Conference, UAHCI 2023, Held as Part of the 25th HCI International Conference, HCII 2023, Proceedings, Part I
Editors	Margherita Antona, Constantine Stephanidis
Publisher	Springer
Pages	3-26
Number of pages	24
ISBN (Print)	9783031356803
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-35681-0_1
Publication status	Published - 2023
Event	17th International Conference on Universal Access in Human-Computer Interaction, UAHCI 2023, held as part of the 25th International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction, HCII 2023 - Copenhagen, Denmark Duration: 23 Jul 2023 → 28 Jul 2023

Publication series

Name	Lecture Notes in Computer Science (LNCS)
Volume	14020
ISSN (Print)	0302-9743
ISSN (Electronic)	1611-3349

Conference

Conference	17th International Conference on Universal Access in Human-Computer Interaction, UAHCI 2023, held as part of the 25th International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction, HCII 2023
Country/Territory	Denmark
City	Copenhagen
Period	23/07/23 → 28/07/23

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
We would like to acknowledge our gratitude to the S2 group at VU and BE cluster members at TU/e, and the software architects from two multinational IT companies who have helped develop the game and provided valuable feedback. Also, we thank Antony Tang for his feedback on earlier versions of this work.

Funding

We would like to acknowledge our gratitude to the S2 group at VU and BE cluster members at TU/e, and the software architects from two multinational IT companies who have helped develop the game and provided valuable feedback. Also, we thank Antony Tang for his feedback on earlier versions of this work.

Keywords

Design Decision Making
Design Science Methodology
Ethics
Game
Inclusion
Software Architecture

Access to Document

10.1007/978-3-031-35681-0_1

Cite this

Alidoosti, R., Lago, P., Poort, E., & Razavian, M. (2023). Designing Ethics-Aware DecidArch Game to Promote Value Diversity in Software Architecture Design Decision Making. In M. Antona, & C. Stephanidis (Eds.), Universal Access in Human-Computer Interaction: 17th International Conference, UAHCI 2023, Held as Part of the 25th HCI International Conference, HCII 2023, Proceedings, Part I (pp. 3-26). (Lecture Notes in Computer Science (LNCS); Vol. 14020 ). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-35681-0_1

Alidoosti, Razieh ; Lago, Patricia ; Poort, Eltjo et al. / Designing Ethics-Aware DecidArch Game to Promote Value Diversity in Software Architecture Design Decision Making. Universal Access in Human-Computer Interaction: 17th International Conference, UAHCI 2023, Held as Part of the 25th HCI International Conference, HCII 2023, Proceedings, Part I. editor / Margherita Antona ; Constantine Stephanidis. Springer, 2023. pp. 3-26 (Lecture Notes in Computer Science (LNCS)).

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abstract = "Software systems are increasingly being employed in people{\textquoteright}s lives and society. They can improve, but also negatively affect the quality of life and interfere with human rights by, e.g., undermining the individuals{\textquoteright} and society{\textquoteright}s values and causing ethical issues. To prevent such issues, software architects need to take ethical considerations into account at the early stages of design, e.g., when making architecture design decisions. Such considerations regard stakeholders, ethical values and their relations, ethical concerns, and ethical decisions. Addressing ethical considerations is especially difficult for software architects because of (i) the lack of training in ethics and philosophy, (ii) the existence of inherent ambiguity in ethical values, and (iii) the lack of methodological support in dealing with ethical and social implications of software systems, and eliciting and operationalizing ethical values. This study employs a design science methodology for developing a card-based game (called Ethics-Aware DecidArch), helping software architects reflect on ethical considerations, and creating an atmosphere to foster inclusivity by supporting the values of different stakeholders when making group decisions. The game was played in four sessions, each including four professional software architects from two multinational IT companies. This study presents lessons learned from playing the game through a participant survey and qualitative data analysis. The results show that the game helped software architects (i) reflect on different solutions for resolving ethical concerns, (ii) make ethical decisions along with providing reasons behind such decisions, and (iii) reflect on the operationalization of ethical values and their trade-offs.",

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Alidoosti, R, Lago, P, Poort, E & Razavian, M 2023, Designing Ethics-Aware DecidArch Game to Promote Value Diversity in Software Architecture Design Decision Making. in M Antona & C Stephanidis (eds), Universal Access in Human-Computer Interaction: 17th International Conference, UAHCI 2023, Held as Part of the 25th HCI International Conference, HCII 2023, Proceedings, Part I. Lecture Notes in Computer Science (LNCS), vol. 14020 , Springer, pp. 3-26, 17th International Conference on Universal Access in Human-Computer Interaction, UAHCI 2023, held as part of the 25th International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction, HCII 2023, Copenhagen, Denmark, 23/07/23. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-35681-0_1

Designing Ethics-Aware DecidArch Game to Promote Value Diversity in Software Architecture Design Decision Making. / Alidoosti, Razieh; Lago, Patricia; Poort, Eltjo et al.
Universal Access in Human-Computer Interaction: 17th International Conference, UAHCI 2023, Held as Part of the 25th HCI International Conference, HCII 2023, Proceedings, Part I. ed. / Margherita Antona; Constantine Stephanidis. Springer, 2023. p. 3-26 (Lecture Notes in Computer Science (LNCS); Vol. 14020 ).

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution › Academic › peer-review

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Alidoosti R, Lago P, Poort E, Razavian M. Designing Ethics-Aware DecidArch Game to Promote Value Diversity in Software Architecture Design Decision Making. In Antona M, Stephanidis C, editors, Universal Access in Human-Computer Interaction: 17th International Conference, UAHCI 2023, Held as Part of the 25th HCI International Conference, HCII 2023, Proceedings, Part I. Springer. 2023. p. 3-26. (Lecture Notes in Computer Science (LNCS)). doi: 10.1007/978-3-031-35681-0_1