The role of contextual conditions in systems development: The impact of design context on participation in Norwegian Welfare Services

Abstract

Human-Computer Interaction and adjacent fields agree that citizen participation is vital in designing digital public services. However, a gap remains between recommendations and how participation is facilitated in practice in the public sector. As challenges to participation remain even in the face of established design standards and best practices, contextual conditions warrant more investigation. Based on this discrepancy, we must clarify how the design context impacts participatory activities. This paper presents an exploratory case study of how designers and caseworkers seek to involve vulnerable persons in a public service project's digital solution development. We identified three interconnected contextual conditions that impact participation in the design process: 1) organizational complexity, 2) recruitment and representation, and 3) power imbalances. This paper contributes to a more nuanced understanding of the role of context as a determinant of participatory outcomes in digital public system design.