Stanford University Stanford Computer Science Department
Abstract    |    Introduction    |    Contacts    |   
   Philosophical Perspective

History
   What is PD?
   Political Push
   Innovation
   Professionals
   The Developer

Philosophical Perspective
   Workers
   Design Philosophy

Competing
Strategies

   Expert Systems Design
   Usability Engeering
   Value Senstive Design


Worker

The history of Participatory Design is a story of workers, unions, and new technology... About workers who seek jobs that offer creativity and responsibility, unions that fight to give working men and women a better working environment, and managers who must invest in new technologies to increase productivity while remaining competitive. One issue here is that modern equipment will not work as effectively, quickly, and at as high a quality as possible without the in depth and voluntary participation of the work force. Worker participation will be possible when workers are able to understand that the new technology is something that is flexible, something that they can control, and not some outside force that controls them. Increasing worker participation will require that workers have some say in the design of the technology that will affect their work. Success in involving workers in design depends greatly on the cooperation of managers who are ever resisting changes to their authority.




Product Development
   Obstacles
   Vendor Adoption
   Product Design

In the US
   New Context
   Obstacles
   Current Use
   Recommendations

References
   Bibliography
   Conferences
   Applied PD
   Journals
   Books
   Organizations
   Academia


Abstract    |    Introduction    |    Contacts