Abstract

Participation in design is caught between two tendencies: (1) traditional design where experts hold tight to their expertise and authority and (2) participation itself taken to the extreme preventing timely decisions and thereby stalling work. This paper articulates this power/authority versus inefficiency dimension at various levels. Some implications to computer tool design as well as the new potential for participation that computer tools may provide are outlined. Keywords Defining Participatory Design, Methods for Participatory Design, Constraints on Participatory Design, Theories of Design. Introduction Participatory design has been discussed, off and on, at least since 1971 (Cross, 1972). However, the still prevalent view of the design process is that active involvement of the user is not only not required, it is to be avoided. According to this view, the argument goes, design professionals know what is best when it comes to design (Broadbent and Ward, 1969). Even, as in the ...

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