Crowdsourcing - Literature review Example

Crowdsourcing The contemporary world is characterized by rapid advancement in information technology and its applications. Crowdsourcing has become as one of the aspects revolutionalizing the modern era where computers are inescapable assets across all organizations. The invention and growth of crowdsourcing particularly in the field of interface has witnessed unprecedented growth. Throughout its growth, crowdsourcing has greatly affected the field of interface design. Regardless of a few challenges facing crowdsourcing, incorporating crowdsourcing guarantees several benefits that offset its shortcomings to project implementers. The online community can successfully provide crowdsourcing services if proper mechanisms are instituted to evaluate the skill and code submitted by potentially unknown users. Crowdsourcing raises a lot of legal, societal, and ethical issues, which can be eliminated through various counteractive mechanisms. Key Words: crowdsourcing, interface design, issues, computers Introduction Crowdsourcing is the process of outsourcing tasks to crowds consisting of dispersed and decentralized group of people in a knowledge area or field of interest, which is beyond the normal confines of the problem. The outsourced professionals assume the responsibility of tackling the problem or task. Crowdsourcing is utilized by artists, scientists, individuals, government agencies, businesses and non-profit organizations. A famous example is Wikipedia .Wikipedia allows everyone all around the world to contribute information to the online encyclopedia project. There are still other methods of using crowdsourcing. The crowd can also be triggered to vote on specific questions, products or topics also known as crowd voting. According to Baldwin (2010), this input may involve activities such as answering simple questions like Yahoo answers, solving complex issues or creating designs an example is the creation of the protein design. The paper will examine the impact of crowdsourcing in interface design and the advantages and disadvantages of using crowdsourcing. The Invention and Growth of Crowdsourcing in the Field of Interface Design The growth and invention of crowdsourcing in the area of interface design has developed exponentially. Alsever, a famous scholar, was once quoted saying that the basic concept around crowdsourcing was “tapping into the collective intelligence of the public at large to complete business-related tasks that a company would normally either perform by itself or outsource to a third-party provider”. This meant that companies had to use the assistance and aids from outside sources for them achieve specific goals or criteria which the companies would capitalize on. Crowdsourcing unlike outsourcing utilize resources that are readily available in America. Chesbrough (2011) notes that small enterprises with constricted budgets use crowdsourcing to get ideas for their user interfaces at a specific cost. Several companies initially lacked proper ways of grasping the knowledge that was held by professionals working in similar fields. If a start-up company with the name “health junky” wishes to change their company’s logo, but they still want to evade the $1,000 professional fee for the idea. If they intend to evade the payment they will therefore have to use the crowd source to acquire a surplus variety of ideas on their logo. The logo design winner is just paid $100 and they save up to 90% by making use of the crowd source. Therefore, the growth and invention of crowdsourcing in interface design can be connected with the internet era.Crowdsourcing has both positive and negative impact in the fields of interface design. Research done by Ehen (2012) revealed that startups and small businesses might not have luxurious and flexible budgets that can spend on websites or logos but through crowd source they can acquire a plethora of ideas. The Impact of Crowdsourcing in Interface Design Startups and small business do not have treasure chest which they can squander whenever they feel like. Therefore, as a result of the nimbleness and size of the businesses the branding service advisors or owners try to acquire the best quality products at the lowest prices. Crowd sourcing can offer this services and this has made many small-scale businesses cling on it like nectar from heaven. Howe (2008) asserts that many design needs from: logo designs, business names, websites, stationery cards and other graphic design needs are being crowd sourced. Though, it is relatively new crowdsourcing utilizes the whole strength of the “crowd”. It offers solutions to imagined problems, real life situations and product creation of logo designs. It is somewhat an open invitation to a community or crowd and in most cases it is public and wide like online communities made up of graphic artists only. These artists usually create a product or solve a problem, with or with no monetary compensation. In many cases however, the prize money is usually dangled and hung like a carrot. Crowdsourcing unlike the rest of the full design models is not traditional and has attracted a lot of individuals from the graphic design field. Many of these players almost lost their seats in the rise of the 99-dollar and 50-dollar logos. There was actually a time when 99-dollar and 50-dollar logos were sold online and many entrepreneurs scrambled for the services. Unfortunately, the cheapness of the logos which was 99 dollars or 50 dollars meant that their quality was also poor. The logos are still plenty on the web up to date. Recently, online competition seems to be improving the quality of crowd sourced logo designs. The designs right now are more refined, creatively designed and more successful. In general, if more prize money is being offered then more high standard submissions are provided out. If the price money for the logos is high then professional graphic designers and artists are attracted by the deal like moths to a flame. According to Lakhani (2009), this makes companies to get various design drafts from various competing graphic designers. The logos need to be memorable and unique for them to qualify as effective logos. Crowdsourcing has shortened the gap between amateurs and professional artists and even between hobbyists and seasoned designers. No one cares whether a logo was designed by 16 year old or professional experienced graphic artists with accredited portfolio under his or her belt. Crowd sourcing has improved graphic design to a level of meritocracy. It does not matter if years of experience are what have made your artistic skills sharp or if its just your sheer talent. The most important thing is that you do an excellent job according to the client’s specification. Nielsen (2012) notes that turnaround time is usually very fast and each time a clock ticks more design proposals emerge. This means that the waiting time for design drafts is reduced therefore giving room for the sorting of design proposals. Many people perceive crowdsourcing as a healthy form of competition. There is also a perception that crowdsourcing will ultimately influence the market back to its traditional or initial business model. Crowdsourcing has inevitable shortcomings among these is the standard of the output. This in most cases occurs because of the lack of intimate and personalized relationship between the client and the designer a problem that a well-established firm can easily handle. The intimacy between the client and the graphic designer frequently inspires the creating of a unique design draft that also suits the client’s needs. Traditional clients would also fancy the exclusivity and the red carpet treatment. According to Williams (2008), the most important procedure to them would be the logo designing process. This is to ensure that their design or logo is not patterned by another design theme or design trend. Many people hope that logo designing and crowdsourcing are here to stay because they are continuously improving the designing criteria. Benefits of Incorporating Crowdsourcing on the Field of Interface Design Crowdsourcing is comparatively cost effective compared to permanent hiring. If individuals and companies wish to complete tasks at affordable prices, then crowdsourcing should be their ultimate solution. The main reason why many people are embracing the innovation it is because of its relatively low price when compared with hiring a devoted professional. At this low cost a lot of people are still interested in working for it at any time. Crowdsourcing is a very important tool to multinational corporations, sole traders and small businesses. It can offer the necessities needed to ensure content management, graphic design; idea sourcing and market research prosperity (Baldwin, 2010). Well managed crowd source plans can offer the creativity or expertise needed to push a project forward and in most cases offering high profits on investments. Feedback is another advantage of crowdsourcing; if organizations carefully listen to the crowd they can acquire valuable feedback suggested by their customers. Currently due to globalization communication and crowds themselves are becoming global. This may result in diverse influences on certain solutions. In graphic design and creative writing it is very common to see professional freelancers and graduate students competing to design logos and graphics. This level of competition ensures the final product is of high quality (Chesbrough, 2011). If a company is made of just a few workers who are effective and during peak periods you require extra labor force the crowdsourcing is the best solution. Crowdsourcing may handle the excess workload in a simple and cost effective solution. The use of crowd source is cost efficient since the solution is relatively cheap when compared with the design studio methods. Many companies and firms would wish to eliminate overhead by having graphic designers who are ready to be part and puzzle of the business’s innovation team. Unfortunately, this is not possible due to the benefits, payroll, salaries and tax costs. Part time designers will not be fully utilized during off peak periods. Crowdsourcing offers a wide range of services such as email campaigns and banner ads. The best way to control the muscle of crowdsourcing is by doubling down. Some platforms provide the voting and surveying feature that can be utilized using social media accounts. The feature allows the user to vote for their favorite designs and tap on your fans (Ehen, 2012). This not only offers valuable feedback but also establishes a perpetual buzz in the process. Crowdsourcing allows designers from all over the world to be accessed especially those who have diverse sets of cultures and experiences. This diversity allows the development of different design options which companies can choose from. A site like “99designs” allows a client to prioritize designs and even feedback loops with platforms where the client can chose their favorite designer. Many professional graphic designers opt to create designs which they know are appropriate for the clients, less qualified designers will even bend their principles just to make the client happy to maximize on profits. Introduction of crowd funding meant that designers did not owe clients any fiduciary duty who even at times had very little information about the companies (Howe, 2008). This therefore meant that introduction of crowd funding would build an environment that boosts creativity. A designer has to be unique and aggressive in order to stand out from the rest of the designers who are also eyeing the project. Challenges of Incorporating Crowdsourcing on the Field of Interface Design A crowdsourcing is said to have failed if it does not reach the target audience or its incentives are not powerful enough to lure the crowd and this results in poor yields. Projects in crowd sources are handled as competitive and have a fixed deadline. If miscommunication occurs between the crowd and the crowd source then the project suffers harshly. Also if the project details and specifications are too brief or vague then the crowd given the responsibility of handling it might not be able to give exemplary results (Lakhani, 2009). Most of the disadvantages arise from the advantages. For instance, it’s obvious that the cheap labor will yield to low quality products when compared with the professional and expensive labor. Cheap labor will at many times result in cheap results. Professionals are paid for their dedicated spirit, experience and expertise but labor is only bought when you want simple tasks to be completed. Management is also another issue in crowdsourcing. Due to the large number of workers, more time might be wasted on management issues rather than finding solutions. It is hard to ensure proper relations are maintained among crowd members due to their competitive nature. Another problem is that there is no contract signed to deal with the crowdsourcing case. Workers may disappear anytime they feel like and they may also reuse previously used designs (Nielsen, 2012).Contracts are meant to be like methods of installing discipline, protocol and dedication among the designers but because they are absent disagreements are bound to occur. Companies are looking for ways of identifying methods of saving and replacing each out of pocket cost incurred. They assume that they will lay their hands on products which can attend to their branding endeavors. Companies assume that a design should portray how a company should look like but in reality their perception is what really matters. There is no room to conduct a design brief or a background check on a firm’s competitors. As no proper or official engagement exists among the client and the designer, the designer tends to be a bit reluctant. The designers also know that they are working for free they therefore submit substantial work in a short period of time for them to earn instant fame. The company sadly, does not realize that their logo lacks value and effectiveness (Williams, 2008). Bluffing off the designer client relationship and the design brief means that the project is like a biography with no title. This will ultimately lead to a mediocre and ineffective piece of work. Critics seem to suggest that crowdsourcing is like a shortcut that gives negative results. Companies have to tell the “whole world” what they do together with the graphic designers, which is pushing buttons. This online activity also undermines designing services and proves just how ignorant firms are in matters of commissioning their designers. This also leaves out designers who are still not involved in crowdsourcing. The phase that many firms try to evade in this creative growth designing processes is very crucial. An individual must find the clients, design their projects and show them his or her skills to impress them. Designers have to really appreciate their carriers for others to also admire them (Howe, 2008). The design community should take seriously the creative process and the benefits that encompass designing. Indulging in the phony contests degrades the carriers of the designers. Crowd sourcing sites are created to entice a crowd and at a certain price. Other problems that arise when conducting the process include; advertising, language barrier, motivation, faults and no contracts. In advertising, projects that are crowd sourced need to be advertised so that the results might be acceptable. Language barrier is another drawback that may arise especially because of globalization resulting in communication barriers. In motivation, when the effort applied outweighs the payment then crowd project might fail (Baldwin, 2010). Faults are bound to occur in crowdsourcing since no contracts are available and the vital procedure is usually omitted. Legally speaking crowd sourcing might cause of a lot of legality controversy since some laws do not exist as it is an emerging trend. Solution for Generating Interest from an Online Community Online communities are networks of community members who interact through certain media and in most cases this interaction crosses geographical boundaries. A famous scholar was once quoted saying that the smartest people actually worked for someone. When some of the most intelligent people are not inside the organization, such an organization’s management has the task and opportunity to get this knowledge. The recent emergence of online communities could be the ultimate remedy to the problems facing organizations. The internet is also offering solutions that many businesses found hard to find. The online communities are generating services and products in a manner that is very different from the hierarchical, organizational traditional manner (Nielsen, 2012). The potential communities have to access the energy and intelligence of the huge number of people is just amazing. Organizations are now viewing the online community as valuable and a new resource. The establishment of web 2.0 has improved the interaction and sharing processes in the internet through communities. Web 2.0 can be described as a set of key features found in web applications that assist in interoperability, information sharing and collaboration. Web 2.0 facilitates dialogue and members can interact and in the process they transfer knowledge. Online communities develop software systems that run critical applications. Most of them are actually voluntary software developers. Some of biggest technological software developers have also embraced the open community software. The software developers include Oracle, Apple, Sun and IBM. The software developers have incorporated OSS solutions in their services and products. It is interesting to realize that even large co-operations are adapting the approach even if it’s a new phenomenon with various benefits and risks. This model requires patient clients since it takes time to reap its benefits and is somewhat complex (Chesbrough, 2011). It is advisable that firms should first understand this emerging trend and how the new business model can boost innovation. Solution for Evaluating the Skill Set and Quality of the Codes Submitted by Potentially Unknown Users The emergence of blogs and wiki’s improved the process web users and developers had to go through in order to communicate or share ideas. The wiki software permits the creation of websites through web browsers mainly by the use of wiki syntax. Blogs on the other hand are forms of websites that loaded with a self –publishing feature. Blogs are made up of blog entries that consist of the publication date, title and body text which can be assigned to tags and categories. The blog also has another feature that assists in aggregating blog articles for them to be syndicated using atom feeds or really “simple syndication” (RSS). Some codes submitted by unknown users might be malicious and substandard (Williams, 2008). To avoid any form of web lockdown all feeds are developed in XML or extensible markup language. The XML is a set of rules used to encode documents that going to be electronically used. This assists other software’s to use or read the details of the feed. Web 2.0 is also made of social software’s like instant messaging, online forums and social networks and micro blogging. Micro blogging is a new type of blogging and communication which enables users to update their status and post with limited number of words and is then sent to other followers these include Haiku, Pownce and Twitter. All of them have a feature that allows users to broadcast messages at once to several followers. This feature among social networks has made them very popular especially among college students. On the matter of code submissions, social platforms established a Top coder community that employed over 30,000 coders from all around the world. They utilized an algorithm to forecast if a high standard submission would be received (Baldwin, 2010). If this was not possible top coder would find the specification inaccurate as the financial compensation was low. Effects of Crowdsourcing on the Budget and Timeline of a Design Project Crowdsourcing may hinder the timeline and budget of a design project especially when the company begins outsourcing the duty to an online firm. A technology firm in America was keen to insist that crowd sourcing especially in software delivery would not work as result of the failure to deliver on budget and on time. A report conducted by a financial watchdog agency showed that 18% of the projects were cancelled before completion. 51% of the projects were completed at a higher budget, behind schedule and had fewer features than what was required (Lakhani, 2009). Crowdsourcing is faced with issues of terminations, delays and cost overruns which undoubtedly affect the timeline and budget of a design project. Most failures detected in crowdsourcing were due to omission of specific vital procedures. The first step in the design project is the requirements gathering process. Then we have the architecture phase where components are created and tested. The other stages are component production, assembly phase and certification phase. Once the designs are submitted the review board must evaluate and scrutinize the designs to find the winner. The winning designs are then posted in the online community and asked to code the design according to the given specifications. Once the component production stage is completed then the components need to be integrated to form the final system and in most cases they are integrated to form applications. Members participating in the assembly phase must also sign a disclosure agreement (Nielsen, 2012). The certification phase involves the creation of automatic test scripts. The final phase is the user acceptance analysis which marks the end of a successful design development. If all these procedures are followed to the letter then crowdsourcing might not affect the budget or time factors. Legal, Social, and Ethical Issues Associated with Crowdsourcing This global collaboration brought about by the internet has both positive and negative impacts on societal, legal and ethical issues. These web tools responsible for a national wide collaboration equip community members with various specialized skills. The platforms gives room for talented individuals to assist organizations solves problems and even distributes the whole problem to the community. The innovation process really benefits from this form of online activity. The legal limits governing these forms of collaborations are at times not comprehensive. Online laws need to be clearly defined to ensure no felony is done unknowingly. The fact that many communities from all over the world can interact and share ideas means that some social and cultural aspects are interchanged in the process of solving problems (Howe, 2008). Ethical attributes on the other hand should be only fully functional when conducting online interactions as different people are from different backgrounds and it would be in appropriate to offend others. Conclusion Crowd sourcing has intensified interactions and communication between corporations and scientists. Through crowd sourcing people can now raise research questions and get immediate feedback from professionals all around the globe. It is clear that crowd sourcing has made advancements and improved many technical fields. Finding solutions has been one of the most sort-out services all around the world in the scientific and technological fields. Crowdsourcing basically acts like a solution finder accelerator by incorporating knowledge from external sources by including professional researchers and scientists in the interactions and innovation processes. It is also evident that this is a new innovation and it has its own setbacks. Before any company can think of adopting it the firm should first weigh its advantages over its disadvantages to avoid disappointments. References Baldwin, C. (2010). When open architecture beats closed: The entrepreneurial use of architectural knowledge. In Massachusetts, USA: Harvard Business School. Chesbrough, H. (2011). Open innovation: the new imperative for creating and profiting from technology. Boston, Mass: Harvard Business School Press. Ehen, K. (2012). The collective resource approach to systems design, Computers and democracy. Aldershot, England: Avebury Press. Howe, J. (2008). Crowdsourcing: why the power of the crowd is driving the future of business 1st ed., New York: Crown Business. Lakhani, K.(2009). The core and the periphery in distributed and self-organizing innovation systems. Doctor’s Thesis. Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA: MIT Sloan School of Management. Nielsen, M. (2012). Reinventing discovery: the new era of networked science. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press.SA: Harvard Business School. Williams, A. (2008). Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything, New York, USA: Portfolio. Read More