PD Politics and Prospects

PO has, since its origins, been concerned not just with improving the techniques of systems development, but also with political issues. In particular, an important goal has been to contribute to the democratization of social relations, in workplaces and beyond. How this is to be pursued varies considerably by location and is a matter for vigourous debate. The session culminates the conference by addressing this wider political character of PO practices and theory. How can we better understand the relationship between PD as a political project and as a cluster of techniques? How does PD relate to contemporary political movements, both organizationally focused (e.g. TQM and business process reengineering) as well as those more broadly societal (e.g. labour, feminism, promotion of the 'information superhighway')? When does the rhetoric of participation thwart rather than advance workplace democratization? How should developers act when 'authentic' participation is infeasible? The orientation of the session is explore where PO should now be headed.