Embedding expert users in the interaction design process: a case study

This paper describes an approach to interaction design that evolved from having a group of expert users as clients to being a participatory interaction design project. It presents a case study of the design and development of an application with three-dimensional interaction that enables the search, display and filtering of email data beyond the standard functionalities available in conventional email software. We describe how one of the expert users adopted the role of ‘embedded researcher’ while working as part of a team of interaction designers outside of the users' organisational environment. We discovered that having such an embedded user was beneficial in fostering input from other users as well as encouraging them to adopt and use the end-product.