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Participatory Design and Design for Values

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Book cover Handbook of Ethics, Values, and Technological Design

Abstract

Participatory Design (PD) is a design methodology in which the future users of a design participate as co-designers in the design process. It is a value-centered design approach because of its commitment to the democratic and collective shaping of a better future. This chapter builds forth on the Scandinavian Participatory Design tradition. We discuss why the design process is as important as the final result, the product, or service. The creative application of Participatory Design methods facilitates a design process in which values emerge and become inscribed in a prototype. We present PD’s guiding principles: equalizing power relations, democratic practices, situation-based action, mutual learning, tools and techniques, and alternative visions about technology. In addition, we discuss some value practices and design methods informed by our PD projects in health care and the public sector. We maintain that Participatory Design increases the chance that the final result of a design process represents the values of the future users.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    We use the term Scandinavian Participatory Design (PD) to refer to the early years of the Participatory Design tradition in the Scandinavian countries and Participatory Design (PD) to refer to the design tradition in general. Several PD researchers cited in this chapter use or have used different terms to refer to the early years of the Participatory Design tradition, such as user-centered systems design, systems development, and cooperative design.

  2. 2.

    1975–1980

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Informatics, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway

    Maja van der Velden

  2. Department of Informatics, Linnaeus University, Växjö, Sweden

    Christina Mörtberg

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  1. Maja van der Velden
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  2. Christina Mörtberg
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Correspondence to Maja van der Velden .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Ethics and Philosophy of Technology, Delft University of Technology, Delft, The Netherlands

    Jeroen van den Hoven

  2. Department of Ethics and Philosophy of Technology, Delft University of Technology, Delft, The Netherlands

    Pieter E. Vermaas

  3. Department of Ethics and Philosophy of Technology, Delft University of Technology, Delft, The Netherlands

    Ibo van de Poel

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van der Velden, M., Mörtberg, C. (2015). Participatory Design and Design for Values. In: van den Hoven, J., Vermaas, P., van de Poel, I. (eds) Handbook of Ethics, Values, and Technological Design. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6970-0_33

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