A Series of Fortunate Events : Reflecting on Lessons Learnt from Challenges and Failures in CCI Research

Hartikainen, Heidi and Ventä-Olkkonen, Leena and Sharma, Sumita and Fitton, Daniel and Gazulla, Eva Durall and Niaz, Yusra and Kinnula, Marianne and Iivari, Netta (2026) A Series of Fortunate Events : Reflecting on Lessons Learnt from Challenges and Failures in CCI Research. In: IDC '26 : Proceedings of the 25th Annual ACM Interaction Design and Children Conference. ACM, New York, pp. 1416-1419. ISBN 9798400722837

Abstract

Even the most comprehensive plans may go awry when working with children and in places such as schools, which results in unexpected challenges or sometimes failures. Yet, research publications seldom report on these failures and events, and meaningful second hand experiences are rarely shared beyond the project or research team, if at all. To break this cycle, we propose a half-day workshop at IDC 2026 for collectively reflecting on project experiences - from (un)fortunate events to failures, to learn and grow as a community. We invite researchers and practitioners, young and experienced, to bring their experiences and to collectively compile a list of lessons for the CCI community. This workshop builds on prior initiatives on learning from failures, with the goal of incorporating regular collective reflections as a practice at IDC.