Introduction to PD: old and new challenges, motivations, opportunities
Abstract
Since its beginnings, participatory design has argued that users and designers must work together if the transformative potential of new technologies is to be realised. However, since the 1970s, almost all dimensions of user-designer relations - economical, political, technical, philosophical, and practical -- have changed, and new ones have become important. In this introduction to participatory design, we examine past, present, and future challenges, motivations and opportunities for PD. We focus on three increasingly interconnected areas of socio-technical innovation -- mobile, location sensitive, and pervasive computing -- to revive, revisit and review established PD practices and to explore and shape new ones. Topics to be discussed include: ? Beyond work and the workplace: designing for work and non-work activities ? Changes in political context and motivations ? The move from 'systems' to ubiquitous computing ? Everyday innovation: designing for unanticipated use ? Methods: participatory or collaborative design? The objective of the tutorial is collaborative learning. The format reflects this by placing an emphasis on interaction around concrete examples.
