Insights on Collaborative Design Research: A Scoping Review

This article proposes a deep dive into the definitions and distinctive features of collaborative design to encourage a more precise use of the expression among design researchers and practitioners. Using a scoping review process, the article uses 75 peer-reviewed publications to find answers that identify and categorize its most fundamental features. Detailed keyword searches led to the emergence of more than 40 distinctive features. We use the activity theory framework to support the analysis of such a large amount of information. After presenting in detail the main features of collaborative design, the discussion presents three contradictions that may have hindered our collective interpretation of that team dynamic, and isolated research results from impacting authentic work practices.