Making the Most of Makers: An Exploration of the Need for a Prototyping Tool for Companies to Engage with the Maker Movement

Makers have proven to be skilled at prototyping and therefore present a unique opportunity for companies, who seek to improve their capabilities, to learn from them. In this study, a mixed methods approach was used to understand possible benefits to both companies and makers from collaborating in prototyping, and to identify a set of design considerations to guide the future development of a tool to facilitate such collaboration.

Despite challenges to collaboration, a tool designed to help companies engage with makers in prototyping could be beneficial to both and should be developed.