Participatory and Collaborative Design in the Creation of Applications for Societal Development

Abstract

This paper discusses the significance of participation with end users with the other stakeholders and multidisciplinary collaboration in the design process for the creation of applications for societal development. We have applied the participatory design approach in two different scenarios: (1) in the context of designing tablet apps for autistic children and (2) in the context of designing a chat room for math students. In each context, we (a) inform the design process through a background research and (b) incorporate participatory design and collaboration with stakeholders into the design and evaluation process. Presenting both cases, we intend to discuss the problems and opportunities of participatory approaches for designing applications for societal development. In conclusion, the participatory design process allows highly particular responses and reactions of stakeholders which enriches the evolutionary design process.