Case studies for human–computer interaction: lessons from a call for cases

Dear reader!Beyond "classical" research articles with clear sections on related work, methods, analysis, and implications, i-com also publishes other formats such as position papers and case studies.For human-computer interaction, case studies are a particularly well suited format.HCI research aims to understand how people interact with technologies in specific situations, how systems are introduced into organisations, and how they are appropriated over time.These processes are always embedded in organisational histories, practices, and infrastructures.Case studies are designed to put exactly this context into the foreground.They allow authors to present rich, situated descriptions that capture not only what a technology does, but how it is taken up, adapted, resisted, or quietly worked around.Case studies can focus on many kinds of HCI topics, from collaboration software and mobile apps to XR systems, process models, or methods.Some case studies emphasise how a particular system is used in practice.Others focus on design, showing how empirical insights are translated into prototypes and then into changed work practices.Across these variants, case studies help to uncover problems and opportunities in real settings, explore design alternatives, show how cause and effect unfold over time and highlight both successes and failures in ways that others can learn from.These characteristics make case studies valuable for practitioners, students, and researchers.Practitioners gain examples of how others have designed and introduced systems and what worked in which way.Students can learn from teaching cases that show how experts have addressed a given situation.Researchers obtain detailed accounts that can inspire questions and help refine concepts.