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Participatory Design

Tasks set
As far as techniques are concerned Participatory Design follows the tradition of User Centred Design; it distinguishes itself, however, by means of its democratic approach.

• Everyone involved in the product development (product managers, marketing experts, sales representatives, designers) meet with users. With equal rights all participants support their interests and requirements concerning the product.

Our goal in the developmental process is bringing together the wishes and ideas of all participants.

• Feedback will be sought continually thus improving the "usable design."
• The workshops become forums for important aspects from the users' perspective.

Method
Test sessions are conducted with individuals or groups; these encounters are characterised by their informal atmosphere:

• The participants are asked not only to verbalise their opinions and wishes, but also to translate them into practice immediately by using different "tools" (paper, pencils, glue) and visual stimuli (illustrations, phrases, etc.).
• The results will then be presented and discussed.
• In a creative and productive atmosphere the product will be further developed jointly. As a result, persons responsible for the product will be sensitised to the users' needs

Associated methods are: and use cases, paper prototyping, and design testing. field observations, the development of personas and use cases, paper prototyping and design testsing.

Process phase

• Conception

Sample
The sample size varies depending on the number of target groups. Test sessions may involve individual respondents or groups.

4 to 5 persons per target group should be invited to test sessions that focus on individuals; if test sessions examine groups, one test session per target group is suitable. The optimum number of participants comprises 5 to 7 respondents per group.

Timing
Depending on the sample size and the complexity of the object under investigation the study may span 1,5 to 5 weeks.

Download fact sheet Participatory Design

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