Talk given at Edgemethods events on May 18th 2021.

1. Good for who?
Understanding the challenges to
implementing ‘good design’.
EdgeMethods. May 18th 2021

2. My name is
Alexandra Deschamps-Sonsino
@iotwatch on Twitter

3. Books I’ve written

4. This June

5. What I’m going to talk about
What the ecology of IoT is made of.
How it contributes to climate change.
How to take action and measure progress.

6. https://apply-for-innovation-
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https://apply-for-innovation-
funding.service.gov.uk/competition/919/overview#summary
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Expected global e-waste generation

7. The ecology
Founders with a crowdfunding campaign
Small teams in an incubator
Startups with seed funding
Scaleups with venture funding
Scaleups acquired by a corporation
Corporations with innovation groups
Corporations with design partners
Service providers (design, engineering, security, cloud)

8. Who are the service providers?

9. Stumbling block
Service providers have a role to play in how
things are connected/disconnected, used/mis-
used and discarded.
They are not held liable in the eyes of the laws
that protect consumers or the environment.
UX, or design failures, prototypes and pilot
projects turn into e-waste.

10. Nabaztag (2006-9)

11. nCube (2012-18)

12. Little Printer (2012-14)

13. Vinaya (2016-17)

14. Twine (2012-8)

15. Ding/Ome (2015-9)

16. Levi’s Commuter Trucker Jacket (2018-?)

17. Google Glass & Snapchat Spectacles (2013-?)

18. Stumbling block
An M&A approach to success or tight profit
margins might still lead to e-waste.

19. Lapka (2013-15)

20. Revolv (2012-16)

21. Thington (2015-17)

22. How to start
Looking at mechanisms to enable a customer
to make the best use of a product is a
question of ethics that helps the environment
too.

23. Privacy
Transparency
Ownership
Security
Lifecycle
Interoperability
Openness
Better IoT (2017-19)

24. Interoperability
• How easy is it to transfer the
product to be used by someone
else’s service if the company fails
or the product terms of service
expire?
• Are APIs available so that others
can build on top of the product?

25. Openness
How much is published under an
open source license once the
company closes down?
• the firmware?
• the hardware?
• the backend?

26. Data Governance
How clear is it for consumers
that the product is tied to
connectivity?
Do they understand the legal
ramifications of disconnecting
it?

27. Permissions and ownership
What happens to the customer’s
data when a consumer gifts a
product or sells it on?
What happens when they move
house?
Does the consumer understand
their GDPR rights in this context
especially when most people are
not very data literate?

28. Security
Are ‘secure by design’ approaches part of the
business process?
Is security connected to the service, hardware
and firmware design process?
Are updates communicated clearly?

29. Lifecycle
Is the product easy to fix with common household
tools and open documentation?
Are spare parts provided by default?
Is it designed for easy dis-assembly?

30. Looking beyond IoT
Look at tech and finance stack of your
business and not only your customer’s
products.
If you don’t, policy-makers will.

34. trustabletech.org
Trustable Tech Mark (2019-20)
doteveryone.org.uk
doteveryone Consequence Scanning Kit (2019-20)
Cybersecurity Labelling Scheme (CLS) for Consumers (2021)

35. Full Fact (2018)

36. GRESB real estate portfolio ratings (2020)

37. Sustainalitics ESG ratings (2020)

38. Achieving goals
Being inspired
Being safe and well
Belonging to a group
Connecting with
others
Exploring the World
Expressing oneself
Feeling impactful
Growing myself
Having autonomy
Having stability
Pursuing Pleasure
Receiving recognition
Understanding
myself
BBC Human Values Framework (2019-)

39. Other approaches and resources.
Ada Lovelace Institute
Alan Turing Institute
BSI
Centre for Data Ethics & Innovation
Digital Ethics Lab
IoT Security Foundation
Open Data Institute
Projects by if
Privacy International

40. To do
Try one assessment tool/framework at a time
and test it over multiple categories of
products you’re working on.
Include e-waste to your project risk register.
Talk to your head of legal about upcoming
local policy changes.

41. Thank you. Stay in touch.
designswarm.com
alex@designswarm.com
twitter: iotwatch