Participation in design is a primary right of all potentially affected by a design project. We have discussed some obstacles to participation and proposed computational support systems as vehicles for extending the scope of participation as it is practiced, when it is practiced. We have concentrated on some issues that pertain to architectural design and urban planning and their implication to the design of computational support tools.
Our approach is radically different from early ideas about computational support of participation which might be described as a means for the elimination of experts from design. Our approach is based on providing participants with communication facilities and information about past experiences that they can themselves explore and organize. Our approach is meant to facilitate learning and growth. We have presented a computer tool n-dim that integrates facilities ranging from unstructured to structured representation of information, communication, and design tools integration, and illustrated its use in a hypothetical design case.
In the example, we have demonstrated how n-dim can be used to educate prospective participants about participation. Such education consists of explaining the conceptual issues involved in participation and the process of participation, in addition to providing background on projects relevant to the project presently conceived. We have briefly noted how a collaboration can take place between participants to arrive at consensus during participation. This collaboration can involve diverse aspects such as discussing the issues of the preliminary design or designing the layout of the building with the aid of computational tools.
There are evidently many issues that need to be addressed in future (participatory) research; they all relate to the management of vast amount of information and its usability for future participants. We plan to tackle these issues and others that are uncovered through participatory activities in which n-dim is used in design activities. The information accumulated from participation projects using n-dim and participants' feedback could be used to study and further understand participation. In the long run, evidence that supports the utility of n-dim in facilitating participation can only come from using it in participation projects. This, in turn, would give feedback and insight on the further development of n-dim as a tool for participation.
From the perspective of developing computer tools, participation serves three purposes. First, it is required for developing a usable tool. Second, it is needed for testing the tool. Third, it is required for collecting data on people participating in various design scenarios, thereby gaining a better understanding on the issues involved. Furthermore, based on this view, we have provided the beginnings of a specification for computer tools to support participation, including briefly outlining the functionality of its prototype.
We are currently pursuing several projects with industrial affiliates to test these ideas following the deployment of n-dim in these affiliates' sites. In addition, in the fall of 1993 n-dim will be used in a senior-level software engineering course which features a team-based approach driven by the use-case methodology developed by Jacobson [69]. With our affiliates, we intend to study and model the evolution of n-dim as it takes place through the cycles of implementation, use, and evaluation. We (now n-dim developers as well as users) can then trace this evolution to its sources in different participatory activities, thereby studying participation as we design.
Acknowledgments
This research has been supported in part by the Engineering Design Research Center, a National Science Foundation Engineering Research Center. The views expressed here do not represent any position of the Software Engineering Institute.