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2.2. Review of Existing Development Processes
23
Whereas user-centered design views systems only marginally as living entities that
can be evolved by users, participatory design empowers users to actively propose
and generate alternative designs themselves. The application of participatory design
is diverse and draws on fields such as user-centered design, graphic design, software
engineering, architecture, public policy, psychology, anthropology, sociology, labor
studies, communication studies, and political science.
Sitings and Workshops. Generally, there are two approaches towards participa-
tory design: meetings of developers and end-users can be either at the developers
research place or in the end-user’s environment. However, research has shown that
bringing end-users to the foreign developer’s environment brings up more general
views on things, whereas the collaboration in the user’s work context reveals more
concrete and specific work experiences
[
Pedersen and Buur 2000
]
. Applying design
practices across sites can improve learning and understanding, as di erent voices
are strengthened at di erent sites. Workshops are another common form of shar-
ing goals, strategies, and outcomes across diverse parties. In contrast to sittings,
workshops take parties out of their familiar working environment by new procedures
which are not necessarily part of the participants working practices. A well-known
workshop format for participatory design is the future workshop
[
Kensing and Mad-
sen 1991
]
. It consists of three phases: (1) Criticizing the present, (2) Envisioning the
future, (3) Implementing - moving from present to the future. This method aims at
providing new perspectives and helping to create new concepts. The general idea of
workshops is to bring together diverse participants to do common work in an atmo-
sphere that is not necessarily familiar to the participants. Thus, all participants are
out of their daily work environment. The negotiation among diverse voices leads to
the creation of new perspectives and knowledges. Both sitings and workshops are
established media to share ideas between users and developers. However, general
judgements about these approaches are di cult, as the nature of the result depends
too much of the way sitings and workshops are conducted. Our finding is that sit-
ings and workshops can be more productive if the discussion can already be centered
about a concrete concept, or even better, a graspable artifact (see Chapter 4). Also
the integration of di erent stakeholders can help broaden the perspective.
Stories can work as creativity enablers. They can allow both developer and user to
articulate their needs and proposals in another way. The overall belief is that stories
told, also by using hypermedia technology
[
Beeson and Miskelly 1998
]
, paper-pencil
and card-templates
[
Tudor et al. 1993
]
, drama acting, photographs, and games
stimulate minds and reveal issues that could have remained hidden otherwise. The
goal is to take participants out of their everyday environment and as such provide
inspiration. Another argument mentioned in literature is that stories also allow to
involve children as design partners
[
Druin 1999
]
. Stories o er a very di erent way
of presenting ideas than most users and developers do everyday. This o ers a great
opportunity for stimulation of the parties if they are willing to participate in this
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