A Case Study where PD Would Have Helped - Or Maybe Not?

Abstract

Advocators of participatory design (PD) and .other user centered design methods often claim that these methods solve all problems with design. We are also PD supporters, but we believe that there are certain issues that current PD methods do not address. A case study is described where it is clear that PD would solve many of the obstacles that occurred. However, the same study also illustrates that there are some issues that no current PD method handles: industrial espionage and costlbenefit discussions that increase the profit of the company devel.oping the product by not solving the users' problems. We fail to see any solutions to the problem by modifying any PD method. However, increased awareness of life cycle costs among the people who purchase products could make PD methods even more useful as well as laws that make user participation mandatory in product development.