Michael Liut
Publications
Reflexis: Supporting Reflexivity and Rigor in Collaborative Qualitative Analysis through Design for Deliberation
Reflexive Thematic Analysis (RTA) is a critical method for generating deep interpretive insights. Yet its core tenets, including researcher reflexivity, tangible analytical evolution, and productive disagreement, are often poorly supported by software tools that prioritize speed and consensus over interpretive depth. To address this gap, we introduce Reflexis, a collaborative workspace that centers these practices. It supports reflexivity by integrating in-situ reflection prompts, makes code evolution transparent and tangible, and scaffolds collaborative interpretation by turning differences into productive, positionality-aware dialogue. Results from our paired-analyst study (N=12) indicate that Reflexis encouraged participants toward more granular reflection and reframed disagreements as productive conversations. The evaluation also surfaced key design tensions, including a desire for higher-level, networked memos and more user control over the timing of proactive alerts. Reflexis contributes a design framework for tools that prioritize rigor and transparency to support deep, collaborative interpretation in an age of automation.
TreeWriter: AI-Assisted Hierarchical Planning and Writing for Long-Form Documents
Long documents pose many challenges to current intelligent writing systems. These include maintaining consistency across sections, sustaining efficient planning and writing as documents become more complex, and effectively providing and integrating AI assistance to the user. Existing AI co-writing tools offer either inline suggestions or limited structured planning, but rarely support the entire writing process that begins with high-level ideas and ends with polished prose, in which many layers of planning and outlining are needed. Here, we introduce TreeWriter, a hierarchical writing system that represents documents as trees and integrates contextual AI support. TreeWriter allows authors to create, save, and refine document outlines at multiple levels, facilitating drafting, understanding, and iterative editing of long documents. A built-in AI agent can dynamically load relevant content, navigate the document hierarchy, and provide context-aware editing suggestions. A within-subject study (N=12) comparing TreeWriter with Google Docs + Gemini on long-document editing and creative writing tasks shows that TreeWriter improves idea exploration/development, AI helpfulness, and perceived authorial control. A two-month field deployment (N=8) further demonstrated that hierarchical organization supports collaborative writing. Our findings highlight the potential of hierarchical, tree-structured editors with integrated AI support and provide design guidelines for future AI-assisted writing tools that balance automation with user agency.