Participatory Design for Security-Related User Interfaces

In this short paper, we explore the advantages of using Participatory Design (PD) to improve security-related user interfaces. We describe a PD method that we applied to actively involve users in creating new SSL warning messages. Supported by a designer, participants tapped into their experiences with existing warnings and created improved dialogs in workshop sessions. The process resulted in a set of diverse new warnings, showing multiple directions that the design of this warning can take. Applying PD lets participants engage more with the subject matter and thus create nuanced designs. Overall, our exploration suggests that PD can provide a suitable, versatile, and simple set of methods that support the creation of design ideas for security related user interfaces. Users are empowered to critically appraise and adapt security measures that they come into contact with in their everyday life on their own.