| Abstract: | The purpose of the present study was to analyze the differences and effects of user participation in university level students' collaborative design processes. The study focused on how intended users (i.e., frequent conference-goers) participated in a product design process (designing conference bags) and how much influence these conference-goers had on students' design solutions. The data were derived from a collaborative learning environment (Future Learning Environment, FLE2), which provided a distributed database for students' and users' dialogue. The study employed qualitative content analysis of users' written messages posted on the database. The analysis indicated users' contributions to the functional, expressive and aesthetic design solutions. From the students' standpoint, it was challenging to treat contradictory information produced by users and to find optimal design solutions. |
