Comparison of Participative Design Experience in UK and Kenya

Abstract

An application of the concept of technological frames is presented as a way to understand the co-configuration of people, culture and technology. It shows how technological frames can be used to solve the problems that arise when the producers of a system come from a very different cultural and technological environment from the intended users of the system. This concept is proposed as an analysis framework whose purpose is twofold: to be used in the evaluation of how the context and local culture shape the utility and usability of interactive systems, both in their development and also once they are deployed to their actual contexts of use and to understand the dynamics of technical and interpersonal communication in communities of practice. This is illustrated with a case study about the ongoing research in the participative development of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) artefacts for a wireless and web based knowledge based system for Kenyan farming communities.