Looking beyond the product: design research in industrial and academic collaboration
Katja Battarbee, Tuuli Mattelmäki, Salu Ylirisku, Milvi Soosalu, Heikki Salo · 2005
This paper presents an example of design research work done in collaboration between university and corporate partners to develop new tools and practices for conducting user-centred design work. The presented case study, which focuses on mobile clinical collaboration, is one of the seven case studies in a project called Luotain – Design for User Experience - project, funded by Finnish technology agency TEKES and the participating companies. The paper explores the issues related to the facilitation of the inter-organisational design collaboration and involvement of users in product concept design. We discuss how the process, the collaboration practices and the applied tools supported a reflective team research process. We also discuss the close connection of strategic value and project success in such collaborations between academia and the industry.