Participatory IT Design: Designing for Business and Workplace Realities [Kõva köide]

A state-of-the-art method for introducing new information technology systems into anorganization, illustrated by case studies drawn from a ten-year research project.

The goal of participatory IT design is to set sensible, general, and workableguidelines for the introduction of new information technology systems into an organization.Reflecting the latest systems-development research, this book encourages a business- oriented andsocially sensitive approach that takes into consideration the specific organizational context aswell as first-hand knowledge of users' work practices and allows all stakeholders -- users,management, and staff -- to participate in the process. Participatory IT Design is a guide to thetheory and practice of this process that can be used as a reference work by IT professionals and asa textbook for classes in information technology at introductory through advanced levels. Drawing onthe work of a ten-year research program in which the authors worked with Danish and Americancompanies, the book offers a framework for carrying out IT design projects as well as case studiesthat stand as examples of the process.The method presented in Participatory IT Design -- known asthe MUST method, after a Danish acronym for theories and methods of initial analysis and designactivities -- was developed and tested in thirteen industrial design projects for companies andorganizations that included an American airline, a multinational pharmaceutical company, a nationalbroadcasting corporation, a multinational software house, and American and Danish universities. Thefirst part of the book introduces the concepts and guidelines on which the method is based, whilethe second and third parts are designed as a practical toolbox for utilizing the MUST method. PartII describes the four phases of a design project -- initiation, in-line analysis, in-depth analysis,and innovation. Part III explains the method's sixteen techniques and related representation tools,offering first an overview and then specific descriptions of each in separate sections.