Participatory design is an approach that involves stakeholders in the design process to better understand their needs. It is not a single method, but rather a philosophy of including users' perspectives. The document outlines several participatory design methods including activities to narrate experiences, create ideas, and prioritize solutions. Examples of each type of activity are provided, such as journey mapping and prototyping for narration, and card sorting for prioritization. The benefits of participatory design are discussed as leading to better outcomes. Finally, the document walks through planning and facilitating a sample participatory design session using love letters, collages, and creating magic objects.

1. Jennifer Briselli
Managing Director, Experience Design
@jbriselli
jbriselli@madpow.com
Participatory Design
Engaging your audience directly in the design process

2.
What is Participatory Design?
Why might you use these this approach in your own practice as educators or
designers?
What are some methods and activities, and how do you choose when to
use what activities?
What does it look like?
Overview

3. What it is:
An approach to design that invites all stakeholders (e.g. end users, employees,
partners, customers, citizens, consumers, teachers, students…) into the design
process as a means of better understanding, meeting, and sometimes
preempting their needs.
What it is not:
• A way to “make your users do your job for you”
• A single prescriptive method or tool
• A rigidly defined process
• (see also: co-design, co-creation, co-production, collaborative design…)
What is Participatory Design?

7. Design Process

8. Image: Bruce Hanington
Design Methods

9. Participatory design methods, especially generative or “making” activities,
provide a design language for non designers (future users) to imagine and
express their own ideas for how they want to live, work, and play in the
future. (Sanders 1999)
In other words: it leads to better designs & outcomes
Why it’s useful

10. Generative methods uncover latent needs.
Image: Liz Sanders

11. Framing: Identifying goals, objective, key questions or hypotheses
Planning: Choosing/creating activities that help answer or define these goals
Facilitating: Ensuring that participation is valuable & productive
Analyzing: Making sense of it to identify actionable insights
How to do it

12. Users
Challenges & Goals
Questions
Assumptions & Hypotheses
Framing

13. Where: office, school, home, outdoors…
Who & how many: large group, small group, individual…
Observation methods: notes, video, photo, artifacts
Materials: depends on activities…
Planning the activities

15. Be prepared
Be yourself
Be flexible & adaptive
Be reflective
Be warm & friendly
Facilitating the activities

16. Cull: cut irrelevant or incomplete information
Normalize: get everything into a common format
• excel, transcripts, grids, post-its
Review: follow your instinct… analysis is as much art as science.
Document: for your own and others’ benefit!
Analyzing the outcomes

17. Analysis
Image: Frog

18. Three general categories
Narrate: Participants help us understand their needs via storytelling
Create: Participants generate ideas and create prototypes of products,
services, or experiences (these can be very realistic or completely unrealistic)
• Sometimes users help create the actual, real solutions we’ll develop
• Sometimes users create fantasy items that give designers more direction
Prioritize: Participants make connections and judgments that help us
understand the value of potential design solutions
Choosing activities & methods

19. Telling stories helps participants express more detailed and emotionally
resonant experiences. These activites are intended to elicit memories and
help build empathy and understanding.
Examples:
• Journey mapping
• Love letter/breakup letter
• Collaging
• Empathy mapping
• Knowledge hunting
‘Narrate’ activities

22. Participants can provide a lot of insight when provided tools and
opportunities to design without constraints or expectations.
Examples:
• Magic screen/button/object
• Interface toolkit
• Physical prototyping
• Fill in the blank
• Ideal workflow
• Ecosystem mapping
‘Create’ activities

27. These activities help participants and designers evaluate and understand the
value of existing experiences or potential future design solutions.
Examples:
• Card sorting
• Channel sorting
• Value ranking
• Storyboard/narrative
• Bodystorming/gamestorming
‘Prioritize’ activities

30. Framing:
Identify goals/challenges & create prompts for participants
Planning:
We’ll try three activities today:
• Love letter/breakup letter
• Collage
• Magic object
Facilitating: Take turns making/observing/sharing
Analyzing: (not today)
Wrap up: Sharing & discussion
Let’s try it

31. First,
Let’s identify some goals or challenges
(then we’ll form groups)

32. Next,
Let’s plan the activities

33. Love letter/breakup letter
This method provides insights about perceptions by eliciting feelings of
appreciation, frustration, or aversion based on past experiences.
How:
Participants are asked to spend 5-10 minutes writing a love letter, breakup
letter, or combination, to an organization, object, or other entity.
Participants are encouraged to be completely honest, think of past
experiences as they write, and write from the heart. Participants are then
asked to read their letters out loud.
Materials:
paper, writing utensils

34. Collage
This activity helps members’ express their experiences and needs in a way
words can sometimes fail to describe. Participants will also put themselves at
the center of the map, which allows us to understand how members’ conceive
of their own agency (or lack thereof
How:
Participants are provided a prompt and asked to spend 20-30 minutes creating
a collage that describes their feelings about the prompt. Participants are then
asked to share and discuss their collage. Facilitators may ask participants to
elaborate to better elucidate examples and opportunities.
Materials:
paper, images, glue sticks, writing utensils, post-its,

35. Magic Object
Providing members with materials that allow them to engage in a making
process can provide insights about potential design solutions as well as
uncover latent needs.
How:
Participants are provided building materials and a prompt, and asked to
spend 20-30 minutes creating the objects.
Participants are then asked to share and briefly discuss their creations.
Facilitators may ask members to elaborate on aspects of their explanation
where appropriate to elucidate examples and opportunities.
Materials:
Paper, images, glue sticks, writing utensils, post-its,

36. In groups:
Create a prompt for each of the activities:
Activity 1: Love letter/breakup letter
Ex: “Write a love letter or break up letter to your desk chair.”
Activity 2: Collage
Ex: “What does the health care landscape look like to you right now?”
Activity 3: Magic Object
Ex: “Use the items provided to create any kind of tool, service, or magic
button that would make the classroom experience better for you.”

37. Now,
Let’s try the activities

38. Love letter/breakup letter (10 min)
This method provides insights about perceptions by eliciting feelings of
appreciation, frustration, or aversion based on past experiences.
How:
Participants are asked to spend 5-10 minutes writing a love letter, breakup
letter, or combination, to an organization, object, or other entity.
Participants are encouraged to be completely honest, think of past
experiences as they write, and write from the heart. Participants are then
asked to read their letters out loud.
Materials:
paper, writing utensils

39. Collage (15 min)
This activity helps members’ express their experiences and needs in a way
words can sometimes fail to describe. Participants will also put themselves at
the center of the map, which allows us to understand how members’ conceive
of their own agency (or lack thereof
How:
Participants are provided a prompt and asked to spend 20-30 minutes creating
a collage that describes their feelings about the prompt. Participants are then
asked to share and discuss their collage. Facilitators may ask participants to
elaborate to better elucidate examples and opportunities.
Materials:
paper, images, glue sticks, writing utensils, post-its,

40. Magic Object (20 min)
Providing members with materials that allow them to engage in a making
process can provide insights about potential design solutions as well as
uncover latent needs.
How:
Participants are provided building materials and a prompt, and asked to
spend 20-30 minutes creating the objects.
Participants are then asked to share and briefly discuss their creations.
Facilitators may ask members to elaborate on aspects of their explanation
where appropriate to elucidate examples and opportunities.
Materials:
Paper, images, glue sticks, writing utensils, post-its,

41. Discussion
What did you think about as a participant?
What did you see/hear/think while
observing others as participants?