Participant stakeholder evaluation as a design process

Abstract

This paper discusses participant stakeholder evaluation and its use in designing an evaluative protocol for inter-firm development and sharing of web-based learning modules. Participant stakeholder evaluation involves participants as researchers who design and evaluate evaluative protocols. It has a strong link with participatory action research and collaborative inquiry methods where the line is blurred between “the researcher” and “the researched.” Participatory evaluation methods were used as a method in support of system design to help define features of learning modules, define content, and to enhance usability and effectiveness in work contexts. Preliminary results strongly suggest that these techniques are successful in uncovering usability issues during the process of design, were instrumental in helping define an architecture for learning modules, help to increase user acceptance, and inform company strategy