User involvement in the design of human-computer interactions: Some similarities and differences between design approaches

This paper reviews user involvement in the design of human-computer interactions, as advocated by a selection of different approaches to design. The selection comprises: User-Centred Design; Participatory Design; Socio-Technical Design; Soft Systems Methodology; and Joint Application Design. The review reveals a preliminary identification of non-configurable and configurable 'attributes' of user involvement in design, and their associated 'values', which characterise the similarities and differences between the design approaches. The attributes and values are intended in the longer term to support designers to compare and contrast various design approaches and to make more informed choices about the configuration of user involvement in design practice. Requirements for future research into the better understanding and configuring of uses involvement are proposed.