Designing a group decision-making tool under Living Lab project mode: The case of ConsensUs

This research work aims at presenting the design of a decision support tool in Living Lab project mode. Based on a methodological framework implementing 5 iterative steps (Planning, Exploration, Co-design, Experimentation and Evaluation) as well as on the concept of Boundary Objects (BO), this study deployed the web application ConsensUs. This tool is based on the AHP multi-criteria decision-making method and allows a group of decision makers to perform several rounds of negotiation in order to build a collective decision, leading to a consensus. Several prototypes of this tool were tested in working sessions using user-centered design and living lab approaches, and involving both academic experts and students as future users of the tool. The added value of this work is a test of the Living Lab approach to designing this type of tool and also to provide stakeholders with a tool to facilitate their decision making.