Theoretical Background

Participatory Design

The one user-centered design approach that most closely melds user-centered philosophy with the social relations model of technology is participatory design (PD). (Ehn 1988) This approach to technology design became popular in Scandinavia in the 1970s, when computerized technology was first being introduced into workplaces in such a way that it displaced workers. The strong history of Scandinavian trade unions made it possible for workers in several industries to participate in designing the new technologies they would have to use. (Namioka and Rao 1996; see also Ehn 1989, Mayer 1986, and Nygaard 1990)

This design model incorporates some principles that recognize a larger social context:

• It rejects the assumption that the goal of computerization is to "automate" the skills of human workers, instead seeing it as an attempt to give workers better tools for doing their jobs.

• It assumes that the users themselves are in the best position to determine how to improve their work and their work life.... viewing the users as the experts—the ones with the most knowledge about what they do and what they need—and the designers as technical consultants....

• It views computers and computer-based applications not in isolation, but rather in the context of a workplace—as processes rather than products. (Czyzewski et al. 1990, p. ii)

Examining the content of the four participatory design conferences held in the US (PDC 90-98) and the two main collections of participatory design articles (Schuler and Namioka 1993; Muller and Kuhn 1993) again presents a picture of the field. One pattern emerges immediately: a large percentage of the presenters are Scandinavian. This probably means two things: American researchers are interested in maintaining a connection with international researchers by acknowledging the roots of the field, and PD has had a difficult time taking hold in the US. This is not surprising, given that the capitalist economy in this country offers minimal support for worker participation in decision-making or control of the workplace.

Participatory design began to take off in the United States shortly before 1990, the date of the first Participatory Design Conference. (Namioka and Schuler 1990) However, in the United States, PD has been adopted due to pragmatism rather than politics. (Greenbaum 1993) "These pragmatic reasons include strategic market advantage, reduced training and maintenance time for the introduction of new software systems in the workplace, and reduced development and maintenance time in updating and creating new systems." (Namioka and Rao 1996) Although participatory design in theory extends its view to the political nature of technology, in practice it still focuses on pragmatic workplace concerns.

Overview | Sociopolitical Technology |
User-Centered Design | Participatory Design | Engaging Community

Contents | Introduction | Background | Methods | Description | Conclusion | References