Design, Business Models, and Embedded Values: Developing a mentor program management platform as a model of humane technology

Abstract

Mentor programs proliferate across society and the benefits to participants and the sponsoring organizations have been extensively documented, yet mentor program coordinators face many structural, financial, and technological challenges. These challenges have been exacerbated as technology continues to play an increasingly central role in the facilitation of mentor programs. In response to the technologization of mentor programs and the reality that mentor programs are validated but struggling, this dissertation explores how the principles of humane technology could be used to developa platform that helps mentor program coordinators navigate these challenges. The data from the first stage of a participatory design research process that included immersion in the world of mentor program management and interviews with mentor program coordinators from universities, government, non-profits, and startup accelerators, revealed that mentor program coordinators encounter a series of conflicts intrinsic to mentor program management, for example they encounter conflicting desires to provide participants more autonomy or more structure. As mentor program coordinators attempt to navigate the conflicts associated with sustaining a mentor program, they find themselves acting as part technology designer, part entrepreneur, part technical communicator, and part social justice advocate. This dissertation concludes by providing a critical reflection and recommendations for how mentor program coordinators can apply the principles of humane technology when making decisions about the design, business model, and embedded values of a mentor program.