Take Users Seriously, but Take a Deeper Look: Organizational and Technical Effects from Designing with an Intervention and Ethnographically Inspired Approach

In this paper we reflect upon part of an action oriented research project carried out over a period of 1 1/2 year in a public organization in Northern Europe. We were called upon to conduct what ended up as 3 design1 projects. Having a design approach inspired by ethnography and intervention, we did in depth analysis of current work practices carried out unstructured interviews, observation, video recording, document analysis, and the like. Also we sat up participatory analysis and design workshops. We present the setting we have worked in, the establishment of the project, the activities we carried out in one of the design projects, and some consequences our approach had on the final design. We conclude by discussing some of the organizational and technical effects the approach had on our design proposal, as well as political dilemmas we got involved in.The setting presented here represents a description of the application area of the design methods we are developing: computer support for complex work, cooperative work, administrative, managerial, and professional work. It is probably important for the relations we seek to establish with the individuals and the organization that management has stated that the purpose of the design project, where our methods are applied, is supporting the existing workforce rather than headcount reduction.