Evolution of End User Participation in IT Projects

This chapter is aimed at presenting a review of evolutionary design paradigms, which determine the end user’s role in IT (Information Technology) projects across recent decades. This review covers different perspectives starting from technology-oriented sequential software development lifecycles, through user-centred approaches, ending finally in contemporary service design approaches supported by e-business and social media. Finally, the chapter discusses the need for “soft skills” required from the designers who wish to apply the service-relevant perspective to their IT projects. Conclusions cover novelty aspects of the designer-user interaction in service-relevant design paradigms and the impact of new design paradigms on human creativity and innovation.