Socio-Technical Trustworthiness (SoTechTrust): A framework to ensure the trustworthiness of socio-technical systems

Advanced technology's rapid evolution in our daily lives increases the complexity and opacity of socio-technical systems (STS), leading to a sense of nondeterminism among individuals. This perception makes it challenging to evaluate potential risks and accurately assess the trustworthiness of these systems. As a result, people might either overtrust or misuse the system, leading to potential harm and loss. Despite various approaches to design for trustworthiness, a socio-technical perspective is missing, neglecting users' perceptions of trustworthy factors and the multidimensional nature of trust within a socio-technical system context. The research aimed to identify and conceptualise factors that influence perceptions of the trustworthiness of socio-technical systems and contribute towards designing trustworthy technologies. During the mixed-method study, which primarily focused on qualitative data, we conducted semi-structured interviews with thirty-one participants (N=31) across two iterations. These interviews incorporated visual stimuli and were complemented by observations, with notes recorded on a pre-prepared template. Additionally, we administered a survey with a psychometric scale, scenario-based stimuli, and open-ended questions as a priming activity. Our study design enabled us to examine the degree to which participants trust in STS, explore the reasons behind their trust and identify the factors that shape their perceptions of socio-technical systems' trustworthiness. Furthermore, our methodology allowed us to conceptualise findings and develop a theory from empirical data by employing grounded theory, including open coding and memo writing. As a result of this study, we identified and conceptualised a list of factors influencing user perception of trustworthiness into the 'Socio-Technical Trustworthiness' (SoTechTrust) framework. This framework ensures the trustworthiness of socio-technical systems, aids practitioners in conveying trustworthy attributes, and empowers individuals to accurately evaluate a system's trustworthiness, thereby fostering trust in socio-technical systems.