For my final year independent study project I wrote a research paper on User Involvement in system design. You can access the full paper here:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/85511803/UserInvolvement_SystemDesign.pdf
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/85511803/UserInvolvement_SystemDesign.pdf
I started by researching and exploring various User Involvement methods such as Contextual Inquiries, User Interviews, Focus Groups, Participatory Design, Co Design, Usability Testing, and so on. I then compared these various method using different parameters to understand the pros, cons and usage of each of these methods. I then assessed how Company Culture impacts User Involvement and if there are any barriers. Finally I proposed some frameworks for User Involvement taking into account the different organization cultures.