Participatory Design (PD) is a design methodology in which the future users of a design participate as co-designers in the design process. It is a value-centered design approach because of its commitment to the democratic and collective... more
Participatory Design (PD) is a design methodology in which the future users of a design participate as co-designers in the design process. It is a value-centered design approach because of its commitment to the democratic and collective shaping of a better future. This chapter builds forth on the Scandinavian Participatory Design tradition. We discuss why the design process is as important as the final result, the product, or service. The creative application of Participatory Design methods facilitates a design process in which values emerge and become inscribed in a prototype. We present PD’s guiding principles: equalizing power relations, democratic practices, situation- based action, mutual learning, tools and techniques, and alternative visions about technology. In addition, we discuss some value practices and design methods informed by our PD projects in health care and the public sector. We maintain that Participatory Design increases the chance that the final result of a design process represents the values of the future users.
Machine ethics is a key challenge in times when digital systems play an increasing role in people’s lives. At the core of machine ethics is the handling of personal data and the security of machine operations. Yet, privacy and security... more
Machine ethics is a key challenge in times when digital systems play an increasing role in people’s lives. At the core of machine ethics is the handling of personal data and the security of machine operations. Yet, privacy and security engineering are a challenge in today’s business world where personal data markets, corporate deadlines and a lack of perfectionism frame the context in which engineers need to work. Besides these organizational and market challenges, each engineer has his or her specific view on the importance of these values that can foster or inhibit taking them into consideration. We present the results of an empirical study of 124 engineers based on the Theory of Planned Behavior and Jonas’ Principle of Responsibility to understand the drivers and impediments of ethical system development as far as privacy and security engineering are concerned. We find that many engineers find the two values important, but do not enjoy working on them. We also find that many struggle with the organizational environment: They face a lack of time and autonomy that is necessary for building ethical systems, even at this basic level. Organizations’ privacy and security norms are often too weak or even oppose value-based design, putting engineers in conflict with their organizations. Our data indicate that it is largely engineers’ individually perceived responsibility as well as a few character traitsthat make a positive difference to ethical system development.
