Incident Cards: A Tool for Documenting and Reviewing Experiences with Chronic Conditions

For researchers, capturing the lived experience of individuals with chronic conditions poses significant challenges; however, this is crucial for effective design and research in these settings. We propose Incident Cards, an artifact designed to help researchers and designers translate these experiences into a structured format that facilitates documentation, recollection, review, and reflection. Inspired by the Critical Incident Technique, Incident Cards offer a comprehensive and holistic view of self-management experiences, capturing both clinical and contextual factors. Our method for creating Incident Cards includes guidance on data collection and analysis, to ensure relevance and usability across diverse contexts. We present an application of Incident Cards on a diary study and follow-up workshop of 10 individuals living with type 1 diabetes. We discuss Incident Cards’ value and practical application in interviews, workshops, and generative design activities. Our findings indicate Incident Cards have potential to help researchers ground experiences, foster engagement, and support reflection.