The realization that software has a far reaching impact on politics, society and the environment is not new. However, only recently software impact has been explicitly described as 'systemic' and framed around complex social problems such as sustainability. We argue that 'wicked' social problems are consequences of the interplay between complex economical, technical and political interactions and their underlying value choices. Such choices are guided by specific sets of human values that have been found in all cultures by extensive evidence-based research. The aim of this paper is to give more visibility to the interrelationship between values and SE choices. To this end, we first introduce the concept of Values-First SE and reflect on its implications for software development. Our contribution to SE is embedding the principles of values research in the SE decision making process and extracting lessons learned from practice.

For many people living with conditions such as autism, anxiety manifests so powerfully it has a big impact on quality of life. By investigating the suitability of truly customizable wearable health devices we build on prior research that found each experience of anxiety in people with autism is unique, so 'one-suits all' solutions are not suitable. In addition, users desire agency and control in all aspects of the system. The participative approach we take is to iteratively co-develop prototypes with end users. Here we describe a case study of the co-development of one prototype, a digital stretch wristband that records interaction for later reflection called Snap. Snap has been designed to sit within a platform that allows the distributed and sustainable design, manufacture and data analysis of customizable digital health technologies. We contribute to HCI with (1) lessons learned from a DIY co-development process that follows the principles of modularity, participation and iteration and (2) the potential impact of technology in self-management of anxiety and the broader design implications of addressing unique anxiety experiences.

Automated passive sensing applications and self-reported smart diaries seem to hold promise for the management of anxiety in autism and other mental health conditions. However, passive sensing often struggles with noisy data, ambiguous feedback and weak user agency over the device, whilst self-reporting relies on user-entered data which can be time consuming and cognitively demanding. To address these limitations, we explore a different approach, whereby individuals consciously actuate personal data capture and are in control of it at all times; yet, the interaction solely involves clicking a button, thus avoiding cognitive overload whilst supporting immediate reflection. We call this approach intentive computing. Through our initial investigations we found that conscious interactions cannot only provide real-time relief in anxiety management, but can also function as memory anchors irrespective of the content captured and even prior to data visualization.

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