Understanding the influence of ideology on the dynamics of sociotechnical systems through co-design activities: a case study in a cohousing community

This article concerns the importance of human values in designing and deploying sociotechnical systems. These values relate to what the system delivers versus what users expect regarding equality, democracy, or quality of work. We explore how the value system (ideology) influences stakeholders' decisions when designing the technical and social dimensions of a system in which they are involved. We focus on the thinking and reasoning processes involved in co-design situations. Through the case of a community system, we closely analyse the verbal interactions during a two-day meeting involving 9 to 12 participants. We illustrate how community ideology plays a central role in reconfiguring the system 'in action', highlighting the misunderstandings and conflicts that arise during the design process and the strategies employed by the participants to advance the project. The findings suggest that examining co-design activities can enhance our understanding of ideology's impact on system design.