Event

ResearchTalk

Seeing the use of things: how IoT will shape future business

Design informatics research seminars

Glenn Parry, University of the West of England

Improvement in design of goods and supply chains requires accurate and timely information about the patterns of use and consumption. In the consumer context the home space is often treated as a blackbox where items are ‘consumed’. The ways to generate and access data to create use-visibility are in their infancy. “Horizontal” data, which reveals patterns in consumers’ use processes, is generated by combining “vertical” data from multiple sources. Quantitative data is generated using wireless sensors in the home, and qualitative data is drawn from online calendars, social media, interviews and ethnography. Use-visibility measures (UVMs) are created which classify different forms of use data but the way the resource is used. The presentation demonstrates how the Internet of Things (IoT) may be operationalised in the domestic setting to capture data on a consumer’s use of products and the implications for design, business and supply chains.

Glenn Parry is Professor of Strategy and Operations Management at Bristol Business School, University of the West of England.  He is primarily interested in what ‘Good’ means for an organisation, exploring value as a measurement of ‘goodness’. He is interested in how IoT provides data that firms can use to improve their business models. In particular he seeks understanding of value co-creation between provider and client within the context of use of an offer.  He is currently working on personal data business models, perceived vulnerability and data, business models to support personal ‘on body’ health optimising systems, ‘blockchain for good’, and business models in the charities sector.

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Design Informations T room, 1.09 Evolution House, 78 West Port, Edinburgh, EH1