Transforming Contexts: UC DAAP talk, May 8, 2009

Design Research  for large-scale sensemaking Transforming the Context. Peter Jones, PH.D. Redesign Research designdialogues.com

DESIGN THINKING HAS EVOLVED IN JUST 10 YEARS FROM things TO experiences TO transformations

DESIGN RESEARCH has largely been missing from DESIGN THINKING

OBJECT OF DESIGN RESEARCH Understand the human, social, activity, technological & cognitive factors in a domain we intend to design for.

WE ARE TALKING IN NEW WAYS CREATING A NEW LANGUAGE FOR DESIGN &  TRANSFORMATION.

We Write about …. 

We Journal about … 

We Tweet about …. 

YET WE NEED A COMMON  DESIGN LANGUAGE  FOR  TRANSFORMATION  SUFFICIENT TO THE CONTEXT. 

WHAT DO WE REALLY MEAN BY transformation ?

Is this what we mean?

Is this what we mean? Greeks & Turks in Cyprus healing their 50 year old dividing line

Is this what we mean? Obama campaign’s radically effective social media strategy

Bottom-up urban makeover?

TRANSFORMATION Transforma*on occurs in the world as an outcome of  projects we can control and events we cannot.   We only set the stage and hope the play takes over.  &  “MATTERS OF CONCERN” Philosopher Bruno Latour suggests a change of design focus from “matters of fact” to “matters of concern.”

MATTERS OF CONCERN Transforma*on addresses the need for profound inten*onal  change created by and for:  Organiza*ons    & their workforces  Social problems   & the communi*es impacted by them  Infrastructures   & communi*es  Systems    & ci*zens concerned with them  Environments    & ecosystems 

HOW DO WE  DESIGN & RESEARCH  FOR    transforma)on ? 

DESIGN RESEARCH LAGS DESIGN.  It always does.  Yes, but what about …        The rise of ethnography in design ?  Mixed methods in user experience?  Blending of ﬁeld & lab methods?  IDEO, Maya, nForm – Method cards? 

Topography of Design Research. Liz Sanders, Design Research in 2006. Design Research Quarterly. 

THESE METHODS ALL STILL ADDRESS      FROM   things      TO     experiences.      NOT   transforma)ons 

WHY IS CONTEXT CRITICAL?  In transformaSon, the risks are  extremely high if we intervene  (DESIGN) without understanding the  domain, the situaSon, the world being  designed for.    Sensemaking  Making  diﬀerences 

Where is context? INSTRUMENTAL CONTEXT 22

What we “see,” What we decide, How we validate knowledge, Almost entirely dependent on contexts. 

Questions by context How do I make sense of this ﬁeld?  Where are the next opportuni*es?  What are the unexpected challenges?  Who is emerging as new compe**on?  How do I make sense of this organizaSon?  How do we enhance performance?  Are we aligned to strategy — or not?  What can we do MUCH beSer here? How?  How do I make sense of this process?  What new ideas are innova*ve?  What can we learn from the whole ac*vity?  How do people collaborate here?  How do I make sense of this project?  How can you help me achieve?  How are my aspira*ons met in life?  What are the gaps and bridges to my goals?  How do I make sense of this thing?  How do I interact with this thing?  What other tools do I need?  How much *me do I have before I leave?  24

How Where  When  & Why  Do we ask these quesSons?  Can we make sense before we  make things? 

Complexity by context. TransformaSonal Change  MulS‐organizaSonal complexity  Strategic CooperaSon  Methods must  Months – Years duraSon  suﬃce the variety in  a context to aﬀord  Leading and Belonging  understanding.  Complexity NavigaSon   MulSdisciplinary CollaboraSon  Weeks – Months duraSon  PracSces  Professional development  Learning and Engagement  Week – Month duraSon  Work AcSvity   Learning & Doing Tasks  Decisions and Risks  Day – Week duraSon  SituaSonal  Interpersonal  Immediate duraSon  26

Methods are merely reflections of our perspective on inquiry. They are choices about how we  plan to observe & communicate. 

Methods by context. TransformaSonal Systemic Change  MulS‐organizaSonal complexity  Strategic CooperaSon  I  Months – Years duraSon  Methods by  OrganizaSonal Change  context  Complexity NavigaSon   MulSdisciplinary CollaboraSon  Weeks – Months duraSon  O  PracSces  Professional development  Learning and Engagement  Week – Month duraSon  Work AcSvity   Learning & Doing Tasks  Decisions and Risks  W  Day – Week duraSon  Human Centered Research  Interpersonal  H Immediate duraSon  28

So how might we scale Thinking Observing Designing Between contexts ? 

Consider the context of design practice. NextD           D1.0            D2.0            D3.0            D4.0 

Copyright 2009 

33  Copyright 2009 

Copyright 2009 

What does this mean? How do we adapt designing? How do we adapt design research? Understand  Implement  Problem  & Sustain  Formulate  SoluSon 

Sensemaking Changemaking “Strange” making Sensemaking D1 D2 D3 D4                      OBJECTS    PRODUCTS/SERVICES        ORGANIZATIONS                      PROBLEM SYSTEMS  Increased complexity requires that more of the design engagement is spent sensemaking   Cannot design or act unSl we understand what dynamic systems we’re changing  Tools for sensemaking diﬀer as problem complexity increases:    Ashby’s Law of Requisite Variety: Variety of the transforming system must match  the variety of  possible condi*ons of the changed system. 

D3 and D4 are Wicked Problems  Sensemaking Changemaking “Strange” making Sensemaking D1 D2 D3 D4                OBJECTS          PRODUCTS/SERVICES        ORGANIZATIONS                      PROBLEM SYSTEMS  Wicked Problems (Rijel and Webber, 1973) are ill‐deﬁned, evolving, mulS‐factored situaSons  There is no deﬁnite formula*on of a wicked problem.  Wicked problems have no stopping rules (you don’t know when you’re done).  There is no immediate and no ul*mate test of a solu*on to a wicked problem.  Wicked problems do not have an enumerable set of poten*al solu*ons.  Every wicked problem is essen*ally unique.  Every wicked problem can be considered to be a symptom of another [wicked] problem. 

By now it should be no surprise that we need new ways of sensemaking. We need contextual methods & ways of creating knowledge … For design.

FOR EXAMPLE, HEALTHCARE

Where do we locate healthcare? CONTEXT of SERVICE 40

How people make sense.  IdenSty    Profession, Roles, Individual  diﬀerences, Pre‐understanding,  Membership, Social networks  Making Sense of their Situa)on  What’s  next?  Experience  Bridge to goals  Cogni*on  Goals  Emo*on  Aspira*on  Desire  Outcomes  Percep*on  Learning  Goals  Help  Sensa*on  Decisions  Values  Constraints & gaps  Understanding What’s really  important to our  Cultural belonging  customers?  Past horizon, Culture,  Tradi*ons, Na*onality,  Values, Societal norms    Human sensemaker  Making sense of our situaSon 

D1.0 We’ve all heard about EMRs & the millions they will save on care $. VA’s VistA system is free, to any health provider in the world. This is how it looks at a VA clinic.

Today’s EMR systems are so bad … D1.0 Good D1.0 only would make a huge difference. “Though nobody can give me the specifics, it is rumored that our contract with Epic (and all EMR vendors) includes language forbidding screen sharing. I honestly think they do this to protect what they consider to be trade secrets as if these screens are wonderful works of innovation! It's kind of sad when you think about it. I have shown Epic and McKesson apps to about a half dozen UX pros here in town. Without fail their first reaction is to laugh. Every single one. They can't help it. When I was interviewing at _____ and they showed me their OR charting app, I laughed. Though we could argue for a methodological approach to evaluating the UI of these apps, maybe just getting past the quot;laugh testquot; would be a good start.”

What kind of problem is the integrated workflow of EMR? D2.0 Service, system, or organization? Today it is treated as system (D2.0) 2  4  Paper  EMR  EMR  1  EMR  EMR  Online  3 

Research Methods for D2.0 systems D2.0 Such a wide range that most UX researchers do not consider that they are not generalizable to all problems.

How does the organization change to D3.0 fully integrate the new EMR? Are people still expected to conform to the dictates of poorly designed data services & user interfaces? What is possible for a large healthcare system if we re-framed the EMR design problem as truly organizational?

What are some of the ways we make D3.0 sense of the organizational context for the EMR intervention? R3.0  AcSvity‐Centered Design  Understanding  Ethnography  Ac*vity analysis  Lifecycle modeling  Genera)ng  concepts  Ideal ac*vity scenarios   Par*cipatory design  Organiza)onal research  User needs analysis  Evalua)on  Total user experience evalua*on  Compara*ve best prac*ces  Program evalua*on 

Scaling to the problem system, the situation is (always) socially distributed . D3.0 D4.0 Here framed as Transforming Care. Often requires we design to lifecycles. No known                Symptoms  ConﬁrmaSon                   In the OR                 Chronic Illness  Illness                & Exam   (Now PaSent)                  & Hospital                 Management  Referral  Inter‐ ConSnuity  Primary  Tests  venSon  Care  Drugs  consult  Learning  Self‐ EvaluaSng  Undergoing  Self‐ about  evaluaSon  treatment  Care  care  CondiSon  Health  Personal  Becoming  The Sharp End  Everyday health   Consumer  Diagnosis  very PaSent   of Care   “Living with”  

Researching all contexts in one problem D3.0 D4.0 Healthcare Professions  Constraints, Structures, Rules,  Inst. drivers, Mission  Standards  Medical Disciplines: Emergency, Clinical,    Specialty, Pediatric, Medical, Surgical, …  InsStuSonal Context:   Hospital & Unit  AcSvity: Pa*ent Care,   Inhibitors  Enablers  Admin, Educa*on  Tasks w/ EMR Admit, Prep, Surgery,  Post‐op, Diagnos*cs, Therapy, …  Info Services: EMR System,  Intranet, Internet, Library, ...  InformaSon ArSfact: EMR Data,  Chart, Care Plan, Notes, ...  Scheduling, Admin  PaSent  Mo*va*ons, Needs, Career 

What design research methods are D3.0 D4.0 considered when we frame a situation as a D4.0 problem? In this frame, we see a fusion of research & design method. Large-scale sensemaking requires the diversity & participation of stakeholders to the problem. We do not “do design” as usual. We step into the realm of 3rd Phase Science (G. de Zeeuw, 2001). We interact with what we observe, we change ourselves as we intervene.

Sensemaking Changemaking Communities Org leaders Action teams Process leads Project Teams Funders Individual Stakeholders & User s Institutions Everyone Community leaders “Strange” making Sensemaking                       OBJECTS      SERVICES           ORGANIZATIONS                      PROBLEM SYSTEMS  D1 D2 D3 D4 1. As problem complexity increases, we lose ability to understand factors influencing design. 2. Increasing the probability that we design the wrong THING or intervention. 3. Higher probability that we miss critical interactions among factors and stakeholders Requiring us to collaborate, early, with all necessary stakeholders of the problem.

Sensemaking Changemaking Humanistic Social values New situational ethics User Patient lifeworld Practice values Instrumental Experience Equality / Justice Customer focus Care “Strange” making Sensemaking                       OBJECTS      SERVICES           ORGANIZATIONS                      PROBLEM SYSTEMS  D1 D2 D3 D4 Finally, we cannot just treat the context shift as a problem of scale Or a problem of design process, or of methodology. We must understand & design to the normative values differences that require a clear centering for each context.

Back to Transformation … What are WE able to change, when Change is owned by stakeholders?

A Topography of Design Research.   Dialogic Design Liz Sanders (2006) Design Research Quarterly. 

A Topography of Dialogic CollaboraSve Design Methods.   Strategic Structured   Dialogic Design  CharreSes  Scenario building   Simplex  Visual   Sensemaking  Democratic Town Hall sessions  Future Search  World Café   Open Space  Generative Socra*c inquiry  Nominal Group  User co‐design  Technique  Brainstorming  Open Guided Structured

As we scale up problem context We must scale ourselves up also - new perspectives, new skills, networks Before we can help those who want to create lasting positive transformation.

Thank you. Questions, dialogue? redesignresearch.com designdialogues.com nextexts.com

Transforming Contexts: UC DAAP talk, May 8, 2009

by Peter Jones on May 14, 2009

Accessibility

Categories

Tags

Upload Details

Usage Rights

2 Embeds 181

Statistics

Transforming Contexts: UC DAAP talk, May 8, 2009 — Presentation Transcript

http://designdialogues.com	179
http://www.melodiesinmarketing.com	2