Rethinking iterative design: A case study of a design team’s handling of user representations

In design practice, iterative approaches are widely used as a type of organization that aims to facilitate user-oriented design by soliciting user feedback before or after product launch. However, despite their widespread use, iterative approaches do neither automatically nor in themselves lead to productive user involvement. The article presents a case study that contributes to an in-depth understanding of iterative design in practice. We followed a design team for a year to investigate how an iterative organization of the design work configured the possibilities for user involvement, enabling some kinds of user feedback at specific moments, while inhibiting others. We also point to key issues that appeared to escape the designer-user interactions that were set up by the iterative approach. All in all, this article offers a case study and a conceptual framework, shedding light on both intended and unintended consequences of how an iterative design approach unfolds in practice.