Participative Design was developed in 1971 by Fred and Merrelyn Emery. They developed the method as a faster and more acceptable alternative to the Socio-Technical Systems (STS) approach, where a multi-functional task force redesigns the organisation, usually taking a whole year to do so. A design created in such a way tends to be flawed, because it is based on an incomplete assessment of reality. Also, workers do not have ownership of the design, and this generates resistance to change. And, perhaps most significantly, the organisation’s underlying power structure remains intact.
Whereas STS is based on what the Emerys call the ‘bureaucratic design principle’, Participative Design reflects the ‘democratic design principle’. This says that (1) those who have to do the work are in the best position to design the way in which it is structured, (2) effectiveness is greatly improved when teams take responsibility for controlling their own work, and (3) the organisation increases its flexibility and responsiveness when people are capable of performing multiple functions and tasks.
