Participatory IT Design: Designing for Business and Workplace Realities [Hardcover]

Keld Bodker (Author), Finn Kensing (Author), Jesper Simonsen (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 17, 2004

The goal of participatory IT design is to set sensible, general, and workable guidelines for the introduction of new information technology systems into an organization. Reflecting the latest systems-development research, this book encourages a business- oriented and socially sensitive approach that takes into consideration the specific organizational context as well as first-hand knowledge of users' work practices and allows all stakeholders -- users, management, and staff -- to participate in the process. Participatory IT Design is a guide to the theory and practice of this process that can be used as a reference work by IT professionals and as a textbook for classes in information technology at introductory through advanced levels. Drawing on the work of a ten-year research program in which the authors worked with Danish and American companies, the book offers a framework for carrying out IT design projects as well as case studies that stand as examples of the process.The method presented in Participatory IT Design -- known as the MUST method, after a Danish acronym for theories and methods of initial analysis and design activities -- was developed and tested in thirteen industrial design projects for companies and organizations that included an American airline, a multinational pharmaceutical company, a national broadcasting corporation, a multinational software house, and American and Danish universities. The first part of the book introduces the concepts and guidelines on which the method is based, while the second and third parts are designed as a practical toolbox for utilizing the MUST method. Part II describes the four phases of a design project -- initiation, in-line analysis, in-depth analysis, and innovation. Part III explains the method's sixteen techniques and related representation tools, offering first an overview and then specific descriptions of each in separate sections.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This book provides an excellent argument and a repertoire of well-tested methods for an early design phase in IT systems development. Based on the authors' experiences with developing, testing, and tutoring professionals in the use and design of commercial IT systems, the book provides the reader with a solid ground for teaching and practicing participatory IT design."--Thomas Binder, Center for Design Research, School of Architecture, Copenhagen

From the Inside Flap

"This book provides an excellent argument and a repertoire of well-tested methods for an early design phase in IT systems development. Based on the authors' experiences with developing, testing, and tutoring professionals in the use and design of commercial IT systems, the book provides the reader with a solid ground for teaching and practicing participatory IT design."
--Thomas Binder, Center for Design Research, School of Architecture, Copenhagen

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 360 pages
• Publisher: The MIT Press (September 17, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 026202568X
• ISBN-13: 978-0262025683
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 7.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,871,583 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Learn about and learn to do participatory IT design, January 26, 2005

By 

Kai-Uwe Loser (Bochum, Germany) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Participatory IT Design: Designing for Business and Workplace Realities (Hardcover)

Design of IT is not just about designing interfaces or about designing software code structures. Success of information systems heavily depends on changing organization and the workplace environment. Participatory IT Design nicely bases on a wealth of examples from various projects to show the multiplicity of problems that IT-Designers have to deal with in practice.

The method (MUST) is based on principles which focus attention on several aspects of a project:
A coherent vision for change is needed -- where is this project going regarding technical, organizational and qualificational aspects...
Genuine user participation -- how to learn from and with, who know best what they need...
Firsthand experience -- get in touch with the practice...
Anchoring visions -- the vision needs a broad support from management to practitioners...
Conflicts and dilemmas -- be aware of differing views and conflicting interests - they need to be considered...

These principles, which pervade the whole book, stress personal and project management attitudes rather than classical IT-Design qualities. Like the authors, I believe that these are more important for successful projects. The process of the method is structured into five phases: Initiation, In-Line Analysis, In-Depth Analysis, Innovation. These give a guideline how to proceed during a project. Fulfilling the necessities of the project phases, the book presents a large variety of facilitating methods (techniques) which can be applied in the course of a project. Together both parts (phases and techniques) are a handbook for practitioners, supporting in application of the method.

Readers who expect a oversimplified step-by-step recipe for a project, like other method descriptions, will be disappointed, but readers having some practical experience and therefore a realistic view on how IT projects actually happen will find practical assistance for various situations with this book.