The Technology-Mediated Reflection Model - Barriers and Assistance in Data-Driven Reflection.

Abstract

Current personal informatics models consider refection as an important stage in users' journeys with trackers. However, these models describe refection from a meta perspective and it remains unclear what this stage entails. To design interactive technologies that support refection, we need a more thorough understanding of how people refect on their personal data in practice. To that end, we conducted semi-structured interviews with users of ftness trackers and an online survey to study practices in refecting on ftness data. Our results show that users reported refecting on data despite lacking refection support from their tracking technology. Based on our results, we introduce the Technology-Mediated Refection Model, which describes conditions and barriers for refection on personal data. Our model consists of the temporal and conceptual cycles of refection and helps designers identify the possible barriers a user might face when using a system for refection.