1. Purpose: Cohesion is essential to the success of multiparty Information System Development (ISD) projects that involve team members from different disciplinary and organisational backgrounds. In this paper, we investigate how participatory design tools can be used to facilitate cohesion between diverse stakeholders during the design of IT solutions.
2. Methodology: This paper describes findings from the nine-month ethnographic study of a multiparty ISD project in the connected health domain.
3. Findings: The findings suggest that participatory design tools provided a canvas for team members to explore the antenatal pathway, technical considerations of the solution, and the needs of different stakeholders.
4. Research implications / limitations: Building on O’Raghallaigh et al. (2016), we offer reflections on why participatory design tools can be effective in expediting and overcoming knowledge boundaries during ISD practice. We also discuss limitations associated with the participatory design tool.
5. Practical implications: Recent survey results around the usability of the IT platform suggest that the team were successful in delivering a design which met the diverse needs of users. The participatory design exercises carried out played an important role in this achievement.
6. Social implications: Participatory design also became a key means of fostering greater degrees of openness in light of the constraints faced around gaining access to expectant mothers.
7. Originality/value: We suggests that participatory design can help generate cohesion between stakeholders and build empathy with users who may affect or be affected by an IT solution.
Keywords: Participatory design, journey mapping, IT management, cohesion, information systems development, ethnography.
