In the Beginning ... - Principles and the B-FORE Model for participatory ergonomics and design

Abstract

Despite user involvement, the problems of acceptance and sustainability of systems design still remains. The thousands of methods of traditional, user-centred or co-operative design supports the view, that the problem solving isn’t the problem, but the problem is the mutual understanding of the problem. The presented work analyse design experiences, derive principles in participatory design practices and develop a model - not of design stages but of the roles, tasks and processes in the interactions of designers and users. Result is a structure of four principles: simplicity, confrontation, character of games and overview. The developed B-fore model shows the importance of reciprocal changes of the processes ,,show- recognise“ and ,,explain-understand“. This lead to a co-operation of interpretations before (‘B-fore’) the co-operation in actions of problem solving begins.