The Advantages of Being There Design at Microsoft Research India Kentaro Toyama Assistant Managing Director Microsoft Research India IWIPS 2007: “Actually Being There” June 29, 2007 – Merida Mexico

Outline The Challenge of India The Value of Being There The Five Stages of Design Three Projects from MSR India –Warana Unwired –MultiPoint –Text-Free User Interfaces The Last Stage?

Outline The Challenge of India The Value of Being There The Five Stages of Design Three Projects from MSR India –Warana Unwired –MultiPoint –Text-Free User Interfaces The Last Stage?

India People ~1.1 billion people –Over half under 25 years old 22 languages Annual incomes $100-$100M+ 28 states Area ~1/3 the area of United States Technology ~20M PCs, installed base ~140M mobile subscriptions –+7M each month Sources: CIA Factbook, TRAI, CNN Roads in India

India, a Personal View My first trip to India (2004)

India, a Personal View People ~1.1 billion people –Over half under 25 years old 22 official languages Annual incomes $100-$100M+ 28 states Area ~1/3 the area of United States Technology ~20M PCs, installed base ~140M mobile subscriptions –+7M each month but, power held by few tremendous energy and optimism incredible diversity, EM microcosm reminiscent of European Union impact of weather (ubiquity of agriculture) huge interest in PCs, by everyone mobiles, mobiles, everywhere Huge potential opportunity for computing industry. But, there are new challenges that neither India nor the industry have ever faced before.

Infosys campus, Bangalore

A small Internet café on a market street in a town near Bombay

Rural village with a VSAT Internet connection near Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh

Microsoft Research India Established January, 2005 Goals –World-class academic research –Contributions to Microsoft products and businesses –Support growth of research programs in India and elsewhere Six research areas –Cryptography, Security, and Algorithms –Digital Geographics –Mobility, Networks, and Systems –Multilingual Systems –Rigorous Software Engineering –Technology for Emerging Markets Currently ~50 full-time staff, growing Collaborations with government, academia, industry, and NGOs Microsoft Research India Sadashivnagar, Bangalore

Technology for Emerging Markets Understand potential technology users in economically poor communities: –E.g., urban domestic labourers –E.g., rural entrepreneurs Adapt, invent, or design applications of computing that contribute to socio-economic development of poor communities worldwide. (Focus on research, not on shipping product.) Computer-skills camp in Nakalabande, Bangalore (MSR India, Stree Jagruti Samiti, St. Joseph’s College) Microsoft Research India

Interdisciplinary Research Aishwarya Lakshmi Ratan –Public Administration and International Development Jonathan Donner –Communications Nimmi Rangaswamy – Social Anthropology Rajesh Veeraraghavan – Computer Science and Economics Indrani Medhi – Design Kentaro Toyama – Computer Science Randy Wang Udai Singh Pawar – – Computer Science Physics Society Group Technology Individual Society Group Technology Individual Innovation Understanding Impact Innovation Understanding Impact Rikin Gandhi – Astrophysics

Often hungry Children not in school In perpetual debt Breadwinner in formal sector “Middle class” 22 11 rem aini ng dat a t 0 Computers in Agriculture Multi-mouse for EducationWell-Being MapUrban Consumer Digital Study Hall IT and Microentrepreneurs Cost-Aware Data Transfer Rohan Murty Comp. Sci., Harvard Randy Wang Computer Sci, UC Berkeley Jonathan Donner Communications, Stanford Udai Singh Pawar Physics, IIT Kanpur Aishwarya Lakshmi Ratan Public Admin., Harvard Nimmi Rangaswamy Sociology, Univ. of Mumbai Rajesh Veeraraghavan Comp. Sci. & Econ., Clemson Renee Kuriyan Energy and Res, UC Berkeley Feature phones as “bar-code” readers for data-entry in rural microfinance Information ecology of small businesses in developing markets Cost-aware transfer of data across heterogeneous channels, e.g., for mobiles DVD exchange over postal service and TVs as display for rural education Study of dynanic middle-class consumers in urban emerging markets Experiments with computing and communication systems in agriculture The state’s role in rural IT projects, with a focus on Kerala’s Akshaya project Transitions between states of wealth in emerging markets Text-Free UI Indrani Medhi Design, Illinois Inst. of Tech. UIs without text for users who are illliterate and may never have seen a computer before Government and Rural IT

Outline The Challenge of India The Value of Being There The Five Stages of Design Three Projects from MSR India –Warana Unwired –MultiPoint –Text-Free User Interfaces The Last Stage?

… to resolve contradictory generalizations: Resistance to new technology –But computers have glamour Poverty systemic and multi-dimensional –But households functional Stark lack of money –But willing to spend Information critical… –But rarely the bottleneck Computing needs are minimal –But there are opportunities! The Value of Being There

Resistance to Technology… Many factors inhibit use of technology: High cost Reluctance to depart from habits and traditions Fear of breaking technology Lack of awareness of technology’s functional value Barriers of education or literacy A child trying to explain to her mother what is on a laptop screen.

But, Computers have Glamour Examples of interest in computing technology: Retention rates at schools rise when the school has PCs. Rural PC kiosk owners see a rise in their confidence and status in community. Office service staff eager to learn about PCs and how to use them. These examples have little to do with computer function. A kiosk operator running a near Tiruvallur, Tamil Nadu

Poverty is Systemic… Stable system makes escape difficult: Lack of money means lack of time to do anything other than survive. Lack of time means less time for education. Lack of education means fewer job opportunities. Lack of job opportunities means lack of money. “Shocks” to household create downward spiral, and there are always shocks: Health problem requires loan Loan incurs interest Interest payments prevent capital accumulation A government-sponsored mid-day meal in a Tamil Nadu school.

But, Households still Functional “Good enough” solutions exist: Credit: All kinds of loans available Healthcare: Traditional medicines, primary healthcare services Agriculture information: agriculture extension, word of mouth, salesmen

Persistent Lack of Money… Bangalore guideline for 45 minutes of housework a day: Rs. 150 (US$3)… per month! Typical daily wage for agricultural labor: Rs. 60 per day (US$1.33; Rs. 30 for women) Public-school teacher’s salary varies from Rs to Rs (US$67-178) per month. Teachers on a school trip in Karnataka

But, Willingness to Spend Luxury and aspirational consumption not unusual: Weddings costing Rs. 1 lakh (US$2200) in rural villages not infrequent (cf., avg. per capita GDP of ~US$700) Mobile phone ring tones popular even at Rs. 10 (US$0.20) per song Photography services to “enhance” photos popular. Cost range from Rs. 100 to Rs. 600 (US$2-12) A Photoshop’ed photo of a village bride (Maharashtra)

Information is Critical… General lack of information hampers quality of life: Hygiene and healthcare knowledge shallow or superstitious Poor fundamental and vocational education impedes career growth Very practical knowledge not readily available: –Government schemes for the poor –Job information –Value of savings and investment A 12-year-old enrolled in typing lessons at a rural PC kiosk

But, Information not the Bottleneck Access to information not the problem: Physical transfer of goods/cash often required. Transport infrastructure is poor. Levels of formal education very low, even with literacy. Education required to distinguish good information from bad. Other factors… –No faith in information source –Lack of time or money –Rigid mindsets A petty shop owner in Tamil Nadu

Computing Needs Minimal… Information processing rarely required… Little use of documents, charts, spreadsheets. Paper, pen, and manual calculation difficult to out-do: –Low cost –Lightweight, durable –Additional training not required

But, Technology can Help! To draw interest of community. To process and analyze aggregate data. To streamline or improve existing processes. Focus group on a potential technology-for-agriculture project

Removal or reconciliation of preconceptions is the primary value of fieldwork. General lessons are difficult to draw; contradictions abound. Fieldwork helps to identify the specific constraints that apply to a given domain or application. Women from Ariyapalayam, Tamil Nadu, husking corn The Value of Being There Recap

Outline The Challenge of India The Value of Being There The Five Stages of Design Three Projects from MSR India –Warana Unwired –MultiPoint –Text-Free User Interfaces The Last Stage?

The Five Stages of Design StageKnowledge Gained WonderTechnology / Surface Problem ExuberanceSurface Solution RealizationReal Problem AdjustmentReal Solution IdentificationUser Deeper Intuition Good design comes out of deep intuition into the user.

“Kids in the developing world need the newest technology, especially really rugged hardware and innovative software.” – Nicholas Negroponte, from the One Laptop Per Child website (2005) Exuberance

“The world's poorest two billion people desperately need healthcare, not laptops.” – Bill Gates (WRI Conference, Seattle, 2000) Realization

Outline The Challenge of India The Value of Being There The Five Stages of Design Three Projects from MSR India –Warana Unwired –MultiPoint –Text-Free User Interfaces The Last Stage?

Warana Unwired Rajesh Veeraraghavan

Over 60% of population in agriculture Mostly small and marginal farmers with 1-3 acres of land Average income of $1-2 per day Agriculture in India Wonder

Sugarcane cooperative 70 villages, farmers Asia’s first “Bridging Digital Divide” pilot (1998) “Warana Wired Village Project” Wonder

Factory FTP PC Warana Farmer DB Standard PC network Weigh stations Landline phone PC enabled Kiosks 54 kiosks in 54 villages Cost: Rs.2.5 crores (US$500,000) Rural PC Kiosks Exuberance

Check market price information Provide agricultural advice to farmers Conduct land-record transactions Surf the Internet And, do it all with a private business model! Original Goals Exuberance Allow farmers to…

Check market price information Provide agricultural advice to farmers Conduct land-record transactions Surf the Internet And, do it all with a private business model! Original Goals Realization Allow farmers to…

Internal account MIS: Issue harvesting permit Buy fertilizer through credit Get paystub Query quantity of sugarcane harvested Actual Use Realization

High maintenance cost Intermittent power Network flaky PC not optimally used! Mounting Challenges Realization

Can we preserve the functionality of the existing PC based system while making the entire system cheaper and more effective? The Problem Realization

The Solution: Warana Unwired! SMS-enabled mobile phones PC-based kiosks Adjustment

Factory FTP PC Warana Farmer DB Standard PC network Weigh stations Landline phone PC-enabled kiosks Original PC-Based Set-Up Adjustment

GSM/CDMA SMS network Factory PC Warana Farmer DB Standard PC network Weigh stations SMS-enabled phones New Mobile-Based Set-Up Windows Mobile Remote APIs SMS Adjustment

24-hour access to services –6000 SMS processed 80% of requests for getting sugarcane output 1238 unique farmer requests Response time on harvesting data. –Original: 15 days  PC: 2 days  Mobile: immediate Telcos’ interest has perked up. Neighboring cooperatives have expressed interest. Warana Unwired – Results Adjustment

SystemCost/Farmer /Year New PC System 394 Existing PC System 177 SMS Mobile (kiosks) 159 GPRS(kiosks)139 SMS Mobile(without kiosks) 111 GPRS ( no kiosks) 91 Units: Rs COST DETAILS: Common cost: Kiosk rent, Kiosk salary SMS cost: 50 paise/SMS GPRS per byte cost: 7000 times cheaper than SMS cost High Maintenance cost: UPS battery, Hard disk, printer, monitor No GPRS coverage Low end phones do not support GPRS SMS data plans are dropping Savings over PCs 1 million Rupees /54 villages/1 year ($22,000) Costs Adjustment

Farmer from pilot village expresses initial disbelief… Once he sees it on the phone, he gets excited and says, “Barabar hai, eh tho bahuth accha hai.” “The information is exact and it is very good.” Farmer from another village demands access… We tried to tell them that we were in a testing phase, to ensure that the system worked; the farmer replied, “I saw messages are coming on the mobile phone. There is no problem. So where is the question of success? ” Farmer Response Adjustment

So far… Successful replacement of kiosks in seven villages. System in operation since October Expansion to other villages in cooperative To do… Analysis of feedback and surveys for concrete impact Pilots with other cooperatives Status Adjustment

Outline The Challenge of India The Value of Being There The Five Stages of Design Three Projects from MSR India –Warana Unwired –MultiPoint –Text-Free User Interfaces The Last Stage?

MultiPoint Udai Singh Pawar, Joyojeet Pal (UC Berkeley), Kentaro Toyama

Education in India Rural school in Chinhat, Uttar Pradesh Wonder 300M children aged 6-18; 210M enrolled in school; 105M actively attending. Mostly small and marginal farmers with 1-3 acres of land Teachers poorly trained and frequently absent

No toilets No walls No permanent building Terrible student-teacher ratio Intermittent electricity UPS broken Frequent maintenance of PCs required Teachers not computer literate Caste discrimination Religious discrimination Students hungry Poor retention rates Poor pay for teachers Teacher absenteeism Student illness No supplies No textbooks Parents uninvolved Child labourTeachers multitasking Irrelevant curriculum Heat Many children per computer Rural Education: Problems Wonder

No toilets No walls No permanent building Terrible student-teacher ratio Intermittent electricity UPS broken Frequent maintenance of PCs required Teachers not computer literate Caste discrimination Religious discrimination Students hungry Poor retention rates Poor pay for teachers Teacher absenteeism Student illness No supplies No textbooks Parents uninvolved Child labourTeachers multitasking Irrelevant curriculum Heat Many children per computer Rural Education: Problems Exuberance

PCs in Rural Education 5-10% of primary schools in India already have a PC. PC classrooms generally used to “babysit” students as teacher teaches other classes. Typically, 2-6 PCs per primary school. Exuberance

At school after school… One PC, many children. Realization

MultiPoint: Solution Provide a mouse for every student –One cursor for each mouse, with different colours or shapes –USB mice Have tried up to 20 –Content modified Game-like environment Adjustment

MultiPoint: Demo Adjustment

MultiPoint: Results Preliminary user studies [ICTD2006] Questions –Can students understand MultiPoint paradigm? –How do children interact with MultiPoint? –Does MultiPoint increase engagement? Methodology –Trials: 20 min single mouse 20 min MultiPoint 10 min free play –3 trials of 6-10 children Before Adjustment

MultiPoint: Early Results Everyone wants a mouse. –Girls more likely to share than boys. Kids understand MultiPoint immediately. All students more engaged for longer periods of time. –Even children without mice engage longer. Self-reporting is positive. –Exception: one student didn’t like MultiPoint because of competitiveness Before After Adjustment

MultiPoint: Advantages Incentives aligned –Cost effective: One computer + 5 mice comes to ~$100 per child. –Content authors can adapt to paradigm –Government / administrators can claim better use of computers –Teachers can keep more students entertained –Students have more fun (cf., multi-player computer games) Adjustment

MultiPoint: Current Work Current work –Software SDK for content writers to be released in August 2006 –Technical features to maximize educational value of MultiPoint –More user studies to test pedagogical value –Pilots with NGOs in India –Hoping to disseminate beyond India New hypothesis: Better for primary education than one PC per child? Adjustment

Outline The Challenge of India The Value of Being There The Five Stages of Design Three Projects from MSR India –Warana Unwired –MultiPoint –Text-Free User Interfaces The Last Stage?

Text-Free User Interfaces Indrani Medhi, Kentaro Toyama

Illiteracy 1-2 billion illiterate population in the world. 98% live in developing countries. India’s rate of literacy (optimistically) estimated at ~60%. Wonder

Target Users Women from several Bangalore slums Informal sector jobs Income range: INR (USD 20-50) per month Illiterate or semi-literate Most have never seen a PC (those who have seen, only in their employers’ homes; but, not allowed to touch) Wonder

Ethnographic Design Exuberance 300+ hours with over 250 people from urban slums in Bangalore: –Interviews –Participatory design –Rapid prototyping –Subject trials

Text-Free UI, Take 1 Design Principles: –Pen or touch interface –Liberal use of icons and images –Voice feedback –Care in details of graphics; semi-abstracted cartoons –Aggressive use of mouse-over functionality –Consistent help icon Monster.com for domestic labourers? Maps for illiterate users? Exuberance

User Studies, Take 1 Task: For a friend who is unemployed, find the best- paying job in her neighborhood. Results: Subjects could manipulate the application, but only 30% completed the task, even with significant prompting: Problem: Deeper problem in motivation and lack of cognitive model of how the PC worked. Realization

Can any UI be converted into one that is usable by illiterate users? ILLITERACY FEAR OF TECHNOLOGY LACK OF TRUST IN TECHNOLOGY LACK OF AWARENESS OF WHAT TECHNOLOGY CAN DELIVER New Problem! Can a UI be developed to allow an illiterate, first- time PC user to access information he/she needs without any assistance or prompting? New question: Original question: Realization

Full-Context Video A full-context video explains the broader context of the application and how it works, in addition to instructional material about how to use the application. Full-Context Video Adjustment

Full-context video has clear value: Without video first, only one out of 17 (6%) was able to complete the task at all, taking 11 prompts and 8.2 minutes With video first, 18 out of 18 completed the task, with an average of 4.7 prompts and 6.5 minutes Without Video (A) With Video (B) Total Task Completed (out of 35) 835 Prompts reqd for completion Avg completion time (min) Sequence - AB Task Completed - AB 117 Prompts reqd for completion Avg completion time (min) Sequence - BA Task completed – BA 718 Prompts reqd for completion 64.7 Avg completion time (min) User Studies, Take 2 Adjustment

Qualitative Results Other observations: Round-two subjects were incredulous that round-one subjects didn’t understand the application. Impact of video not permanent for most subjects. Many wanted to see the full- context video each time, even after seeing it before. Full-context video appears to increase motivation, as well as performance. Those who saw full-context video were interested in providing feedback on the specifics of the UI. Adjustment

Text-Free UI, Take 1 Design Principles: –Pen or touch interface –Liberal use of icons and images –Voice feedback –Care in details of graphics; semi-abstracted cartoons –Aggressive use of mouse-over functionality –Consistent help icon –Full-context video Adjustment

Outline The Challenge of India The Value of Being There The Five Stages of Design Three Projects from MSR India –Warana Unwired –MultiPoint –Text-Free User Interfaces The Last Stage?

The story thus far… StageWarana UnwiredMultiPointText-Free UI Wonderagrarian societyrural educationilliteracy Exuberance Internet for farmers! PCs in classrooms! UIs without text! Realization little PC value for most farmers too many children per PC UI manipulation not the issue Adjustment SMS-based inventory query multiple mice per PC full-context video Identification???

Why not PC kiosks? Identification Soup kitchens brand themselves another way and serve a different kind of community. Four-star restaurants brand themselves one way, and serve a particular clientele. The importance of branding in serving food… It’s difficult to serve both client groups in one physical location.

Why MultiPoint? Identification Games are fun, and games with other kids are even more fun! People are already accustomed to sharing hardware.

Why Full-Context Video? If you were told that, if you put anything in this box and spelled the object’s name 100 times out loud, it would come to life… Identification “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” – Arthur C. Clarke would you bother to do it?

Recapitulation Stage Warana Unwired MultiPointText-Free UI Wonder agrarian societyrural educationilliteracy Exuberance Internet for farmers! PCs in classrooms! UIs without text! Realization little PC value for most farmers too many children per PC UI manipulation not the issue Adjustment SMS-based inventory query multiple mice per PC full-context video Identification “Just the info I need.” “We’ll share and play!” “Demystify it for me.” Cyclical process

Outline The Challenge of India The Value of Being There The Five Stages of Design Three Projects from MSR India –Warana Unwired –MultiPoint –Text-Free User Interfaces The Last Stage Starts It All Over Again!

Thank you! Questions?