Participatory design at a psychiatric daycenter: potentials and problems

This paper discusses a system development project, based on a participatory approach, which engaged clients at a psychiatric daycenter. The goal was to develop a computer based presentation of the center and thereby to investigate the possibility of enabling the users of the daycenter to formulate their requirements for such a system. The paper discusses the potentials and problems in establishing a common ground to work from and conclude that while there are specific benefits of engaging psychiatric clients in design projects, especially in connection with feelings of ownership, there are also pit-falls of which we should be aware. Particularly, the importance of understanding the different roles that participants acquire in a design process is stressed.