(Illustrated above) A scientist places a test tube containing a clinical sample into a rack next her computer workstation. Her lab’s information management application reads a signal emitted from a small tag on the test tube, then displays stored information about the tube’s contents on her screen.

An architect scans a cardboard model of a building form into her building modeling application. She gives the computing file the same name as the one she has written in black marker on the cardboard version.

A financial trader scans a barcode on a paper trade cancellation form that was faxed to him. His trading application pulls up the associated trade and prompts him to initiate the cancellation process.

What real world objects in the work practices that your team is striving to mediate are not likely not be replaced by an onscreen equivalent?

What scenarios could potentially lead to new physical objects being created based on the contents of your product?

What types of targeted organizations might be more likely to “hold onto” the physical incarnations of their otherwise onscreen work? Why?

What targeted tasks or larger activities might benefit from the tandem use of both physical and digital instantiations of an artifact?

What coordinations between interaction objects and their off screen equivalents, such as matching identification information, could provide clarifying utility and reduce workers’ efforts?

What larger technology and market trends could influence your team’s ideas about intentionally coupling physical and digital objects? What might be feasible if the value proposition was compelling enough?

What valued characteristics of real world objects could be difficult to include in corresponding onscreen objects, and vice versa?

How might these deficiencies drive workers to turn to the “other” version of an object? How could these transitions be crystallized into goal directed interaction pathways within your application concepts?

What novel interaction methods might your team envision to tightly couple certain real world objects with associated content in your computing tool? How could these methods directly bridge well characterized seams in specific work practices?

Do you have enough information to usefully answer these and other envisioning questions? What additional research, problem space models, and design concepting could valuably inform your team’s application envisioning efforts?