The Principle of Genuine User Participation

"The principle of genuine user participation calls for the active participation in the project group's efforts by representatives of staff members who are directly affected. There are both pragmatic and political arguments for such user participation.

The pragmatic arguments rest on the need for mutual learning between users and IT designers: IT designers need knowledge about the work environment that make up the design project's object field, and users need knowledge about technological options. That end is most effectively attained by organizing activities that enable the two groups to learn from one another. Such a mutual learning process also supports developing a shared understanding of the problems that the design project aims to solve and helps anchor the proposed solutions in the business organization. It is our experience that users can contribute innovative and constructive suggestions for change when they have the right conditions for doing so."