We have entered the age of personal informatics, with connected devices and mobile applications that enable people to track a variety information. Health and wellness data is one of the most commonly tracked data types; over 69% of United States adults currently track a health factor, with 14% using technology to so do (Pew). These numbers will continue to rise, as new sensing removes barriers to long-term, ubiquitous personal monitoring.

Less clear, however, how much value people gain from these additional tracking abilities. More data creates more opportunities for understanding one’s behavior or symptoms, the factors which influence it, and opportunities for improvement. Review of this data to produce actionable information, however, can be challenging for individual trackers, the support networks with whom they share it, and their medical team. In this talk, I will discuss early efforts and challenges to helping people gain more value from their personal informatics data, both individually and in collaboration with others.

About the Speaker

Sean Munson is an Assistant Professor at the UW's Department of Human Centered Design and Engineering and a member of the dub group. He studies the use of software to support behavior changes. His work primarily focuses on the domains of political news and opinion access and health and wellness. Sean completed a BS in Engineering with a concentration in Systems Design at Olin College in 2006 and his PhD at the University of Michigan's School of Information in 2012. He has been a political blogger and, while working at Boeing, designed concepts for future passenger airplane interiors.