User Involvement in Product and Service Development: A Literature Review
DS 81: Proceedings of NordDesign 2014, Espoo, Finland 27-29th August 2014
Year: 2014
Editor: Miko Laakso, Kalevi Ekman
Author: Tuomela, Saara; Helminen, Pia; Makinen, Samuli
Series: NordDESIGN
Institution: 1: Rapal Oy, Finland; 2: Aalto University, Finland
Section: Users in design and development
Page(s): 315-324
ISBN: 978-1-904670-58-2
Abstract
A number of papers have introduced cases where users were incorporated into product or service development processes of companies. However, this literature is scattered and there is no consensus on how knowledge is created and learning achieved with users and then transferred within the organization. This paper provides a review to the literature surrounding user involvement in product and service development. The findings of a literature review are visualized into a framework where different product and service development processes and the stages of involvement are depicted. The visualization provided is of help to academics aiming for a shared context when discussing user involvement, and to managers who deal with user involvement in their jobs. The article seeks to find a common denominator in literature so that especially the suggested timing for involvement of users can be exposed.
Keywords: User involvement, product development process, innovation