Experiential Interface Design for the Transference of Scientific Publications from University to SMEs

Transferring knowledge between universities and industry is known to be problematic. The paper addresses the situation of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in order to understand their use of scientific knowledge. We use our understanding of SME situations and information practices to develop suggestions for the interface design of a generic knowledge pathway. The interface design is based on principles from experience design with the aim to draw attention to the scientific knowledge and make it desirable and understandable.
The study used practice theory as its conceptual framework and this involved three qualitative data-collection methods: 1) introductory interviews with CEOs, 2) walk-alongs with the CEOs while they introduced their work environments, and 3) semi-structured interviews with employees. We used the iterative Life Cycle Model to transform the findings from the practice study to interface design.
Generally, the SMEs look for knowledge in two situations: when they have a pressing problem to solve and when they want inspiration for new business opportunities. The SMEs consult many different channels and scientific knowledge from universities is not their first choice. SMEs see scientific knowledge as abstract, theoretical and not result-oriented.
The analysis pointed to six key experiential qualities for the interface design: close to everyday tasks, a concrete and result-oriented presentation, surprising teasers, involving multimodal, and spontaneous navigation, and interactive sharing of knowledge. The paper concludes with suggestions and sketches for an experiential interface design.