Tension-Informed Design

A design framework that identifies and centres the tensions—competing demands, trade-offs, and misalignments—that arise when introducing new technology into established professional practices. Rather than treating adoption barriers as obstacles to eliminate, tension-informed design repositions them as opportunities for more situated and reflective design decisions. The framework organises tensions into interconnected domains (such as anchored values, practice structures, and contextual readiness) and provides structured prompts to help designers anticipate where conflicts may emerge and how changes in one domain may cascade across others. This approach is particularly relevant for introducing AI tools into healthcare and assistive technology services where professional autonomy, client relationships, and resource constraints create complex adoption dynamics.