Traditional approaches to systems design result in technologies that typically fail to integrate well with existing worker capabilities in the workplace. New systems that automate job tasks and decrease the amount of skills required by workers to complete job tasks have neither promoted worker productivity nor better quality products. Alternatively, Participatory Design is one approach to systems design that attempts to balance the needs of workers and what can be accomplished through the use of technology.

Participatory Design is a distinctly Scandinavian approach, first introduced in the 1970s, by academics and practitioners who were concerned about the impact of new technologies on the health and rights of workers. Participatory Design emphasizes democracy in the workplace and user involvement in all stages of the design process. Rejecting the assumption that the goal of computerization is to automate the skills of human workers, Participatory Design asserts that computerization should instead provide workers with tools that enhance their ability to perform their tasks.

This report reviews the historical and theoretical context of Participatory Design. A critical analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of Participatory Design as an approach to systems design is presented along with a discussion of the migration of the concept to the United States.