Metadesign or meta-design is an emerging conceptual framework aimed at defining and creating social and technical infrastructures in which new forms of collaborative design can take place. It extends the traditional notion of system design beyond the original development of a system by allowing users to become co-designers. Metadesign is grounded in the basic assumption that future uses and problems cannot be completely anticipated at design time, when a system is developed. Users, at use time, will discover mismatches between their needs and the support that an existing system can provide for them. These mismatches will lead to breakdowns that serve as potential sources of new insights, new knowledge, and new understanding.
A fundamental objective of metadesign is to create socio-technical environments that empower users to engage actively in the continuous development of systems rather than being restricted to the use of existing systems. Metadesign aims at defining and creating not only technical infrastructure but also social infrastructure in which users can participate actively as co-designers to shape and reshape the socio-technical environment through collaboration.