Participatory Design of Inter-organizational Systems: A Method Approach

Abstract

It has been claimed that to gain the most positive effects possible from the adoption of inter-organizational information systems (lOIS), major re-organizations, such as Business Process Redesign (BPR) are necessary. In this paper, a method based on participatory design for developing inter-organizational systems for public services is explored. This is in order to to ensure that traditional values of participatory design are taken into consideration in the design of the inter-organizational information systems. The method builds on the graphical notation of Quality Function Deployment (QFD) , to facilitate focus being kept on the customers' needs and to ensure that the design decision is prioritized. The participatory design working methods ensure that the need for innovation in services provided by local and national governments and the availability of modem information technology constitute the basis of the provider.