Flexibility

pp. 107-129

in: Guy A. Boy, Tangible interactive systems, Berlin, Springer, 2016

Abstract

The concept of flexibility can be interpreted in various ways. First, flexibility can be synonymous to autonomy. We can say that an individual is autonomous, and then flexible, when he or she is able to act without external guidance. Second, flexibility can be related to openness. When an individual has an open mind, he or she can think and use several possible solutions without preconceived constraints. Third, flexibility can be intimately related to change. An individual who is able to easily change his or her way of living is said to be flexible. This chapter will uncover the need for flexibility in design and development, subsequent use, and evolutionary redesign of tangible interactive systems (TISs). Anytime an artifact is developed, it introduces some kind of rigidity because it fixes some life activities that were only handled by people before, but it also creates new possibilities that are discovered incrementally. Once these possibilities become useful and are effectively used, they are transformed into artificial necessities.