Towards an evolutionary understanding on the success of participatory design.
Melehat Nil Güları, Asli Böru, Julian Malins · Open Access Institutional Repository at Robert Gordon University (Robert Gordon University) · 2011
The notion of `participation, and the democratization of design' is not just a movement for social innovation but it is also a powerful methodology for the innovation of products and services. However, the complicated nature of participatory design may result in the failure of projects. The concept of participatory design is similar to climb “mount improbable”. Mount improbable is the metaphor developed by Dawkins to support Darwin’s Theory of Natural Selection [1]. He uses the term "mount improbable" to explain the development of natural objects or events, and how unlikely it is that these natural phenomena are simply a result of coincidence. The concept of climbing mount improbable could be devised to understand the innovation process in participatory design. How do innovations evolve when using participatory methods? This paper examines the user involvement in participatory design with evolutionary understanding of success of products “selection” phenomenon either natural or artificial, which is explored through the perspective of design.