Organisational ambivalence in creating innovative interactions

This paper explores the adoption process of user-participative interaction design tools in manufacturing organisations in which they have not historically been used in the development of consumer product interfaces. Three case studies are presented describing the adoption of userparticipative design tools at different stages of implementation. The studies reveal an interesting ambivalence towards innovation. There is willingness within design groups to adopt new design tools and motivation to produce novel and innovative products from them. Manufacturers are also willing to sponsor innovative product development methods and products but problems occur at the interface between the design group and other functionally related or dependent groups. The paper concludes by suggesting that a broad contextual frame of inquiry is required, where a deeper organisational understanding of the design and manufacture decision making should form an integral part of interaction design research.