Code Design: the role of boundary objects in research analysis

In times of rapid social, economic, environmental and technological
change designers can play a valuable role by applying their creativity to catalyse
innovative solutions to address complex problems. As they do so, it becomes
apparent they need to ask fundamental questions about what they make, how they
make it, and who for. The mindsets and postures of designers often go unnoticed
and unacknowledged, but they profoundly influence what is identified as a problem
and how it is framed and addressed. This paper draws upon a research project titled
‘CO/DEsign’, which explores the application of agile co-design methods in an
endeavour to understand and identify the most appropriate approach for rigorous
analysis. The ‘CO/DEsign’ project argues that, while it is important to draw upon
other disciplines and borrow methods such as thematic analysis, further methods
should be developed that better represent and support designers and their
approaches.