Educational technology research studies have found computer and software technologies to be underutilized in U.S. classrooms. In general, many teachers have had difficulty integrating computer and software technologies into learning activities and classroom curricula because specific technologies are ill-suited to their needs, or they lack the ability to make effective use of these technologies. In the development of commercial and business applications, participatory design approaches have been applied to facilitate the direct participation of users in system analysis and design. Among the benefits of participatory design include mutual learning between users and developers, envisionment of software products and their use contexts, empowerment of users in analysis and design, grounding of design in the practices of users, and growth of users as designers and champions of technology. In the context of educational technology development, these similar consequences of participatory design may lead to more appropriate and effective education systems as well as greater capacities by teachers to apply and integrate educational systems into their teaching and classroom practices. We present a case study of a participatory design project that took place over a period of two and one half years, and in which teachers and developers engaged in the participatory analysis and design of a collaborative science learning environment. A significant aspect of the project was the development methodology we followed - Progressive Design. Progressive Design evolved as an integration of methods for participatory design, ethnography, and scenario-based design. In this dissertation, we describe the Progressive Design approach, how it was used, and its specific impacts and effects on the development of educational systems and the social and cognitive growth of teachers. / Ph. D.

Usability has long been considered an important component of an innovation (Norman, 2002), evidenced by the fact that usability research has dominated innovation design efforts for a number of years. However, recent research has shown that satisfying usability is not sufficient for the successful diffusion and adoption of an innovation (Karsh, 2004). To develop an useful innovation, one must understand the mechanisms by which people choose to adopt and use an innovation, as well as how an innovation fits different levels of a socialtechnical system (Karsh, Escoto, Beasley, & Holden,(2006). The goal of this research, therefore, was to develop an innovation analytic and design framework that would enable designers to design a more likely adopted innovation and to validate it through the design and evaluation of a fall-protection training intervention for residential roofing subcontractors. The proposed innovation analytic and design framework was based on the traditional systems-engineering process: Requirement Analysis, Prototype Development, and Summative Evaluation. Rogers’ Theory of Innovation Diffusion and Adoption, as well as Participatory Design, were utilized to obtain a holistic view of technology-adoption challenges and opportunities. The requirement analysis involved the development and use of a questionnaire and semi-structured interviews to identify the contributors of safety technology adoption in small roofing companies, as well as to understand the practices of safety technology adoption and fall-protection training. One hundred and four questionnaires from workers in North Carolina and Virginia were collected, and 29 workers received the follow-up semi-structured interview. Results showed that (1) social influence had a significant impact on the diffusion and adoption of safety technology; (2) workers’ satisfaction with existing safety performance standards/practices, as well as disengagement during available safety training, caused difficulties in implementing regular safety training; (3) management commitment and presentation of good/bad consequences of unsafe behavior were expected to facilitate the rate of adoption of safety technology. Results also identified specific recommendations for a fall-protection training intervention. The prototype development was performed by a six-member Participatory Design (PD) team in a PD workshop, who used the results of the questionnaire and semi-structured interviews to develop a training intervention. Four PD approaches (PICTIVE, Inspiration Card Workshop, Scenario Building, and Future Workshop) were employed in the development of a Personal Fall Arrest System (PFAS) as an industry-specific training intervention. This research also used summative comparative evaluation to assess the developed PFAS training intervention against a standard PFAS training intervention with respect to (1) adoption propensity, (2) expected adoption outcome, and (3) results demonstrability. Eighteen roofing workers were recruited to evaluate and compare the two interventions. The standard PFAS training intervention was developed by two experts using the safety manual published by the National Roofing Contractor Association. Results suggested that (1) the developed PFAS training intervention was more likely to be adopted and easier to diffuse among roofing subcontractors than the standard PFAS training intervention, and (2) use of the developed PFAS training intervention would better improve company's safety performance in comparison to the standard training intervention. Results of the evaluations confirmed the efficacy of the proposed innovation analytic and design framework in designing a more likely adopted innovation. / Ph. D.

Developmental challenges in the transition to adulthood call for a process of empowerment that supports young people in guiding themselves and building capacities toward adult commitments and roles. The purpose of this study is to investigate empowerment in emerging adulthood, aiming to develop interventions to promote college student developmental outcomes, particularly in career exploration processes. A process of theory construction generated an innovative model of developmental empowerment in the transition to adulthood. Empowerment is conceptualized as a systemic process that emerges through the ongoing interaction between individual and relational environment. Empowerment constructs include personal agency and sense of purpose (as internal experiences), and mentoring and engagement in community (as external experiences). In the first study, a survey investigated empowering experiences in college among Virginia Tech students (N= 255). The findings support the theoretical model, confirming the salience and interdependence of the four main empowerment constructs. Preliminary evidence suggests relevant connections among the empowerment constructs and outcomes such as definition of life goals and career identity. Additionally, qualitative findings offered insights about the role of mentors and community in relation to empowerment. In its second phase, the research project narrowed the focus to study how the empowerment framework may be used to support the process of career exploration in college. The final study integrates the conceptual model and findings from the first study in a participatory design-based intervention for Virginia Tech first-year students exploring career options (N=126). A series of workshops generated an extensive data collection, yielding further investigation about empowerment, definition of life goals and career identity. Qualitative and quantitative data analysis demonstrate that the intervention improved scores for agency and purpose, besides improving student career adapting responses, major decidedness, and progress in career choice. Participants also advanced self-knowledge and purpose-driven orientation, and developed personal criteria for choice of major and career. / Doctor of Philosophy / In the transition to adulthood, young people need to learn how to make autonomous decisions, guide themselves, and build capacities to commit to adult roles and responsibilities. Deciding a career and pursuing education are good examples of tasks requiring self-knowledge and empowerment in this period. In this dissertation, we present studies about empowering settings to support development in this period of life, in particular for college students. Besides presenting a model of empowerment which includes internal processes and experiences in community, we propose a series of workshops using design techniques to empower and guide students exploring career options.

Public housing provides affordable housing for low-income families. However, the physical and social conditions have deteriorated since its inception, resulting in housing environments that are isolated and disconnected from surrounding neighborhoods and often plagued by crime and violence. This study explores opportunities for enhancing residents' sense of ownership, control, and efficacy through the redesign of outdoor spaces at the Fulton public housing development in Richmond, VA. Residents participated in a design process that produced a Conceptual Landscape Master Plan based on their preferences, and a set of guidelines and recommendations for the implementation and maintenance of the proposed external spaces of the Master Plan. The study presents design objectives and criteria addressing public-private spatial delineations, public space, pedestrian and vehicular circulation, development image, and safety considerations. These objectives and criteria were used to evaluate design options and to generate two design concepts from which the residents selected appropriate design solutions for their housing development. The study concludes with the presentation of a preferred Conceptual Landscape Master Plan. The plan presents a hierarchy of public-to-private spaces, clear delineations of semi-public and semi-private spaces, and the location of active and passive public recreational spaces. It also addresses the legibility of pedestrian and vehicular access, circulation, and parking, as well as safety issues such as natural surveillance, access control, and territoriality. The participatory process guided the redesign of the Fulton public housing site, and also provided an understanding of the underlying social conditions that significantly impact the residents and their use of space. The preferred landscape design reflects the residents' needs, concerns, and wishes, and creates opportunities to foster interaction and involvement among the residents and the surrounding communities. / Master of Landscape Architecture

The current best practices of user-centered design (UCD) may not be optimal with respect to eliciting information from representative users from special populations. This research extended elicitation approaches traditional focus on user needs and context to include criteria describing obstacles users encounter. Military veterans were selected for this research effort as representative users for a use case in technology design that addresses the difficulties associated with community reintegration. This work provides several contributions to the UCD field. First, different elicitation methods were compared by the depth and breadth of design space criteria elicited. Guidelines were generated for designer use of phenomenology in practice. Obstacles were added as an important facet of design, with corresponding grammar rules for construction. Finally, an algorithm was applied as a method for generating personas. Additionally, this dissertation contributes to the field of veteran research. Some example contributions include a set of design space criteria for designers to consider when designing for veterans, and two veteran personas grounded in data procured from the analysis. This research effort was conducted in three phases: elicitation, first-cycle analysis, and second-cycle analysis. The elicitation process engaged 40 military veterans to complete an interview session and a design session. These sessions explored the lived experience of veterans as they reintegrate into communities, and gathered their ideas for technology to assist with veteran reintegration. The researchers who conducted first-cycle coding focused on categorizing the most important participant statements (meaning units) using a codebook. This analysis resulted in over 3,000 meaning units. Additionally, the meaning unit corpus was subjected to systematic second-cycle analyses, using standardized linguistic structures to generate design space criteria. In total, over 6,000 design space criteria were discovered, and these criteria were synthesized to create personas using a situated data mining (SDM) algorithm. Results suggest that the interview session was crucial to elicit higher quantity and broader coverage of design space criteria. It is recommended that designers conduct and analyze interviews that focus on understanding the lived experience of users (not on their technology ideas) as part of a UCD approach. / Ph. D. / User-centered design (UCD) is a design philosophy that emphasizes the needs and other considerations of the end user of a technology when creating that technology. Current UCD practices may not be optimal with respect to obtaining information from representative users from special populations. This research extended elicitation approaches traditional focus on user needs and context to include criteria describing obstacles users encounter. Military veterans were selected for this research effort as representative users for a use case in technology design that addresses the difficulties associated with adjusting to civilian life after service and reintegrating into the civilian community. This work provides several contributions to the UCD field. First, different elicitation methods were compared by the depth and breadth of design space criteria elicited. Guidelines were generated for designer use of phenomenology (study of the lived experience of a population with a phenomenon) in practice. Obstacles were added as an important facet of design, with corresponding grammar rules for construction. Finally, an algorithm was applied as a method for generating personas, which are user profiles created to help designers understand their users. Additionally, this dissertation contributes to the field of veteran research. Some example contributions include a set of design space criteria for designers to consider when designing for veterans, and two veteran personas grounded in data procured from the analysis. This research effort was conducted in three phases: elicitation, first-cycle analysis, and second-cycle analysis. The elicitation process engaged 40 military veterans to complete an interview session and a design session. These sessions explored the lived experience of veterans as they reintegrate into communities, and gathered their ideas for technology to assist with veteran reintegration. The researchers who conducted first-cycle coding focused on categorizing the most important participant statements (meaning units) using a codebook. This analysis resulted in over 3,000 meaning units. Additionally, each meaning unit was examined in second-cycle coding. Standardized linguistic structures and syntax were applied to generate design space criteria. In total, over 6,000 design space criteria were discovered, and these criteria were synthesized to create personas using a situated data mining (SDM) algorithm. Results suggest that the interview session was crucial to elicit higher quantity and broader coverage of design space criteria. It is recommended that designers conduct and analyze interviews that focus on understanding the lived experience of users (not on their technology ideas) as part of a UCD approach.

Idag är det många företag som misslyckas med sina implementeringsprojekt av affärssystem och många forskare anser att det beror på bristande användarinvolvering. Implementeringsprojekt av affärssystem blir allt vanligare i små företag, men effekten blir dock stor om ett mindre företag misslyckas med sitt projekt. Små företags misslyckanden är oftast relaterade till finansiella och humanitära kritiska framgångsfaktorer.   Ett affärssystem kan ge ett företag en rad olika fördelar och möjligheter. Men för att ett företag ska uppnå dem krävs ett lyckat implementeringsprojekt samt att användarna omgående efter driftstart kan använda affärssystemet. Därför måste företagsledare under projektet se till en rad olika kritiska framgångsfaktorer som är relaterade till användarinvolvering. För att kunna hantera användarrelaterade kritiska framgångsfaktorer och de problem som de kan orsaka finns det angreppssätt till stöd. Ett angreppssätt vars syfte är att stödja användarinvolvering och hantera användarrelaterade problem är Participatory design (PD) och dess metod User centered design (UCD). PD och UCD bygger på att involvera användarna tidigt och ständigt under ett implementeringsprojekt och det i form av bland annat testning och utbildning. Användarinvolvering är därmed en viktig faktor vid implementeringsprojekt av affärssystem.   Syftet med studien är att göra företagsledare medvetna om vilka användarrelaterade kritiska framgångsfaktorer och problem som kan påverka ett implementeringsprojekt och dess utfall. Vi anger ett antal åtgärder, baserade på användarinvolvering, som ska stödja företagsledare att bättre och effektivare kunna förutse och hantera användarrelaterade problem vid implementeringsprojekt.   Vi har med stöd av en kvalitativ undersökning och en empirisk studie påvisat sambandet mellan områdena affärssystem, affärssystemets implementeringsprocess, användarrelaterade kritiska framgångsfaktorer och användarinvolvering. Vi har konstruerat en egen modell och tabell, 4-A Modellen och 4-A Tabellen, som illustrerar hur de olika områdena relaterar och stödjer varandra under ett affärssystems implementeringsprojekt. Vårt bidrag är ett dokument vars syfte är att stödja företagsledare vid planering innan och under ett implementeringsprojekt, främst när det gäller projektets användarinvolvering. Dokumentet ska göra företagsledare medvetna om vad bristande användarinvolvering kan leda till, samt när och hur användare bör involveras under ett implementeringsprojekt. / Today many businesses fail in their enterprise recourse planning (ERP) implementation projects and many scientists believe it is due to lack of user involvement. ERP implementation projects are becoming more common in small businesses, but the effect will be large if a small business fails in their ERP implementation projects. Small businesses failures are usually related to financial and humanitarian critical success factors.   An ERP system can give a business a number of advantages and opportunities. But it requires a successful implementation project to achieve them and also that user immediately after start-up can use the ERP. Therefore, the manager during the implementation project needs to ensure a range of critical success factors that are related to user involvement. There are a number of approaches to manage user-related critical success factors and the problems they cause. An approach which aims to support user involvement and manage user-related problems is Participatory Design (PD) and its method User centered design (UCD). PD and UCD are based on involving the users early and continuously during the ERP implementation process and that in the form of testing and training. User Involvement is therefore an important factor in ERP implementation projects.   The aim of the study is to make managers more aware of the user-related critical success factors and issues that can affect an ERP implementation projects outcome. We foresee a number of measures, based on user involvement, which will support managers to better and more efficient anticipate and manage user-related problems in ERP implementation projects.   Supported by a qualitative and an empirical study, we have demonstrated the relationship between the areas ERP, ERP implementation process, user-related critical success factors and user involvement. We have constructed our own model and table, the 4-A Model and the 4-A Table, that illustrates how the different areas influences and support each other in an ERP implementation project. Our contribution is a document whose purpose is to support managers when planning a project’s user involvement, before and during an ERP implementation project. The document will make manager aware of what the lack of user involvement can lead to, but also when and how the users should involve in an ERP implementation project.

The Swedish Sea Rescue Society (SSRS) is a non-profit organization that performs sea rescue operations around Sweden’s coast line and lakes. In their sea rescue work, they came up with an idea that could be used to prevent accidents that are caused by harsh weather. According to Trafikverket, two out of three accidents at sea can be related to bad weather. Today, the SSRS have a weather application that you can download and note the weather where the different national weather stations are located. The data for this application is gathered from SMHI and YR.no. The SSRS wants to complement this data with their own weather measurements from specific places in e.g. the archipelago. To be able to do this they want to develop a portable and self-sufficient weather station. The weather station will be overseen by the SSRS rescue personnel, who will transporting and installing the weather station onto specific place. The weather station shall express the SSRS design profile, blend into the environment, and be easy to transport and install. The SSRS doesn’t have any prior products of that sort, and through a market study of competing or similar products / ideas, it became clear that this product would be innovative. By studying the environment which the weather station will be placed and faced with, and who the different users are and their requirements, a requirement framework was established which the end result would need to fulfil.  Through different methods and analysis of what people from different background think and feel about the archipelago, a joint view of what the archipelago associates with was established in order for the weather station to be designed to t into the desired environment. Studies and innovation around technical functions that the weather station should be able to perform, have led to different design restrictions in order for the weather station to be able to work. The end result of the project is a concept of a self-sufficient and portable weather station, making it possible to be transported and installed by one person. The design of the weather station has been made to make it blend into the environment and up close be able to identify as a product of the SSRS. The design has also been made to be user friendly for those handling it. / Svenska Sjöräddningssällskapet (SSRS) är en ideell organisation som utför sjöräddningar runt Sveriges kuster och insjöar. I deras sjöräddningsarbete, har de kommit på en produktidé för att förebygga olyckor orsakade av oväder. Tra kverket har noterat från deras statistik att två av tre olyckor på sjön kan kopplas till dåligt väder. SSRS har idag en väderapplikation som man kan ladda ner och notera vädret omkring där de nationella väderstationer är placerade. Informationen till applikationen baseras på data hämtad från SMHI och YR.no. SSRS upplever att de vill komplettera denna information med egna vädermätningar från specifika platser i exempelvis skärgården. För att kunna göra detta behövs en portabel, självförsörjande väderstation. Väderstationen skall hanteras av SSRS räddningspersonal som transporterar ut och installerar väderstationen på de specifika platserna. Denna väderstation ska då uttrycka SSRS designprofil, smälta in i naturen, och vara lätt att transportera och montera. SSRS har inte någon tidigare liknande produkt, och genom marknadsundersökning konstaterades att denna produkt är mycket innovativ. Genom att studera miljön som väderstationen kommer placeras i och utsätta för, samt vilka de olika användarna är och deras krav på produkten, kunde ett ramverk skapas inom vilket projektets resultat skulle uppfylla. Genom olika metoder och analyser av vad personer med olika bakgrund tycker och tänker om skärgården, kunde en gemensam bild skapas i där väderstationen har samma uttryck. Studier och innovation kring tekniska funktioner som väderstationen skulle kunna utföra, har lett till designrestriktioner för att väderstationen ska kunna fungera. Slutresultatet av projektet är ett koncept på en självförsörjande portabel väderstation, vars funktioner gör det möjligt för en person att transportera och installera stationen. Formgivningen av väderstationen har skapats för att få den att smälta in i naturen, och på nära håll kunna identi eras som en produkt från SSRS. Designen av väderstationen har även gjorts användarvänlig för att förenkla hanteringen av den.

Nya komplexa IT-system som erbjuder möjligheter för verksamheter och företag utvecklas runt oss hela tiden. Gränsen mellan människa och teknologi har blivit allt suddigare och människor identifierar sig med teknologi som fungerar som en resurs för dem. För att ett system ska ge så stor nytta som möjligt för en stor mängd människor inom olika verksamheter, behövs en förstahands förståelse för hur verksamheten och individerna i den fungerar. Detta för att sedan kunna implementera ett nytt, eller utveckla ett befintligt system, som passar behoven hos de som ska använda systemet. När traditionella arbetssätt digitaliseras för mer effektivitet i verksamheten, blir framgångsrik implementering otroligt viktigt för att digitaliseringen verkligen ska möjliggöra en resurs för anställda. Syftet med detta arbete är att få en förstahands förståelse av en situation och kontext där det traditionella arbetssättet kompletteras och delvis byts ut mot en digital version, en digital arbetsplats. Genom enkäter, intervjuer och workshops kunde beteendemönster identifieras och därmed tydliggöra användarnas attityd och relation till teknologi och den digitala arbetsplatsen, både individuellt och i grupp. Utifrån användarinformationen sammanställdes två olika ITidentiteter. Sammanställningen av användare och deras relation till IT bidrog till ökad förståelse för de anställdas inställning till den digitala arbetsplatsen, samt möjlig utveckling av denna för att passa olika verksamheter och anställda bättre. / New advanced IT-systems that offer better possibilities for organisations, are constantly being developed around us. The line between Man and Technology has become more unclear, to the extent that humans can identify themselves with resourceful IT. If a system is going to be useful for a larger amount of people within organisations - A first-hand knowledge of the context is needed, to then be able to successfully implement, or develop a system that is suitable for the users’ needs. When a traditional workplace is to be digitalised for a more efficient way of working, implementation is very important if the system is to be a resource for the users. The aim of this study is therefore to get firsthand knowledge about the context, where the traditional way of working is to be complemented or partially replaced by a digital version. Through surveys, interviews and workshops, patterns of behavior were identified and therefore 5 clarified the users’ attitude and relationship to technology- both individually and in groups. From the user research, two IT-identities were compiled. These IT-identities contributed to a better understanding of the staff attitudes towards the digital workplace, and possible development to suit many different employees and organisations.

More and more people are using the internet to access various societal functions. In recent years, municipalities and private enterprises have increasingly begun to explore and develop internet-based services to support public health in general and to disseminate health information in particular. This compilation thesis consists of four articles that explore and provide different perspectives on the design and implementation of new online youth counselling services for public organisations and social services, working with counselling and health information for young people. Ethnographic methods, and materials from two empirical settings, have been used to investigate how aspects of design and participation can serve to empower both potential young users and counsellors as stakeholders in the design projects. An important secondary focus is how mechanisms of empowerment play out in the design of online counselling services targeting young people. The notion of empowerment is addressed in terms of empowerment through design, focusing on normative expectations regarding young people as users of online youth counselling, as well as how to work with norms and norm-critical perspectives in the design and development of user interfaces. Another aspect of empowerment concerns participation, here seeking an increased understanding of the processes, practices and shifting roles involved in engaging professionals and young users as participants in a design project. In order to address these interrelated areas of inquiry, an eclectic theoretical and methodological approach has been used to study design in practice. An ethnomethodological approach unpacks how the participants relate to and reflect upon the design projects under study, highlighting aspects of empowerment and user agency. In addition, a sociocultural perspective on communities of practice and participation is used to increase the understanding of what it means to be a participant in participatory design projects. The findings show how embedded social norms and values have implications for users’ identities as presented in the digital design of online youth counselling services. The findings also reveal ways in which user empowerment is facilitated but also restricted by the design of youth counselling e-services, including not only the designed multimodal features of such services, but also the norms that guide usage. The studies also address the outcomes of technological change and the implementation of sociotechnical systems and services for the professionals involved in design projects. Here the studies provide knowledge about the forms of practical reasoning the counsellors engage in when anticipating work-related issues associated with the new technology and how they might deal with potential challenges. Finally, the findings show how participation in a design project may enable the development of new forms of communities of practice in which the participants and their roles and participation status change as the organisation changes.

Master of Science / Department of Apparel, Textiles & Interior Design / Sherry J. Haar and Kim Y. Hiller Connell / Many sustainable garments do not engage wide consumer interest, nor encourage eco-conscious purchasing. Meanwhile, mass consumption of unsustainable apparel contributes to environmental degradation (Black, 2008). However, Niinimäki (2010) suggests that engaging consumers in the design and development of environmentally sustainable products could improve the balance between environmental design decisions and functional, aesthetic, and emotional qualities (Lamb & Kallal, 1992). The purpose of this practice-based research was to (a) identify apparel and environmental attitudes and consumption behaviors of potential sustainable apparel consumers, (b) generate sustainable apparel design concept and product through use of participatory design methods, and (c) evaluate the sustainable concept, product, and participatory method. The sample was 10 female university students. Consumer data was collected through an online (i.e., Facebook) ethnographic journal and a focus group. Qualitative analysis generated the target market’s ideal apparel characteristics and ideal environmental apparel characteristics as apparel offering versatility and variety within their existing wardrobes; elements expressive of their personalities; simple and inexpensive maintenance; organic or recycled materials; and less textile waste at disposal. Additionally, it was determined that participants had low knowledge of the apparel and textile industry and its environmental impacts. Generation of sustainable apparel design ideas occurred through a second focus group session. Analysis of the focus group data, combined with the researcher’s tacit sustainable design knowledge, formed a design concept. The sustainable apparel design concept was comprised of three characteristics reflective of the target market’s ideals and design suggestions: be versatile through various temperatures; social settings, and environments; be convertible through temporary adjustment of functional and aesthetic elements; and be transitional allowing the garment to be layered for greater thermal insulation without detracting from the appearance. The sustainable apparel concept was an application of the pre-existing Design for User Interaction sustainable design strategy. The sustainable apparel design concept was then applied to the development of an outerwear garment and presented to the participants and mentors as a digital sketch. The design addressed the sustainable design concept through interchangeable envelope-style shell layers, an insertable thermal core layer, a buttoned closure at the hemline and interconnecting button points for added alignment between layers. In this garment, the researcher applied participants’ suggestions of style, materials, and inclusion of a core layer. Following sketch refinement, two prototypes were constructed. The first prototype consisted of a thermal core layer and outer coat layer. Due to challenges with the core layer fabric, the second prototype modified the core layer material and style. Additionally, in the second prototype, the shell was made sleeveless and both a bolero style jacket and lining were added. Dual button fasteners connected the layers. During the third focus group session, participants evaluated the design concept, second garment prototype, and the participatory design methods. Participants noted that the design concept provided increased ease of garment care (which could potentially increase the frequency of laundering); ease of garment storage; and increased versatility through varying temperatures. Participants’ suggestions for prototype refinement included the addition of a kick-pleat and reduction of button alignment points. Prototype development did not reach completion during this study. Further refinement of the garment’s pattern and fit, implementation of additional aesthetic/functional elements, and development of an intuitive transformation are necessary. Participant evaluation of participatory methods and study participation were the use of Facebook as an online ethnographic journal made daily participation easy and allowed the researcher to become familiar with their personalities, increasing their comfort at later stages of the research. Participants felt their suggestions were evident in the garment prototype and were as involved as their experience and knowledge allowed. The only participant suggestion regarding the participatory design experience was the addition of updates informing participants of the design progress between focus group sessions. Though the concept and resulting garment were not exceedingly original, participants were pleased with the fruition of their ideas. This finding indicates a willingness to participate in the design process, supportive of participatory design.