Seminar - Jenny Janhager - User involvement for innovation - Involving the “right” user for certain conditions

The School welcomes Jenny Janhager from The Royal Institute of Technology) in Stockholm, Sweden.

Wednesday 14 October 2009, 1.10 pm - 1.55 pm
Civil Engineering Lecture Theatre 3

Abstract:
In this study (which is half way through), user involvement is defined as a direct participation of the user in the design and implementation phases of product development during which the user engages in problem solving activities with the developing company, and co-creates the final product. Researchers state that user involvement can lead to new product ideas and increase new product/service success. However, critics argue that the involvement of users may limit the company to incremental solutions, since the users’ knowledge and understanding are tied to earlier experiences. Not involving the “right” user in the “right” way can also affect the product innovation in a negative way. The study to be presented is a literature review which investigates what types of users are the most beneficial to involve for various circumstances, such as product type and mode of user involvement.