1. Peter Jones, PhD
OCAD University, Toronto
Royal College of Art, April 29, 2015
Systemic Design
Systems as Theory for Complex
Design

2. Practices
Redesign redesignresearch.com
Dialogic Design designwithdialogue.com
Publications
Papers / Blog designdialogues.com
Research sLab.ocad.ca
Healthcare designforcare.com
Products
Consult Series
ScienceDirect
Cdling.com
Discount code @ designforcare.com
DFCFRIENDS
Peter Jones, Ph.D
Associate Professor, OCADU
Strategic Foresight & Innovation
Managing partner, Redesign Network

3. Movements in Design Thinking
June 2009
Core Argument – Systems
thinking had failed in its aims
to transform management.
After 30 years, today’s leaders
do not show systemic thinking
in domains that matter.
Promising movement toward
“design thinking” should learn
from Systems Thinking here.
Coda: Dr. Collopy now leads
Case Western’s new school of
Design & Innovation at
Weatherhead
Oct 15-17: Flourish & Prosper
Global Forum for BAWB

4. Movements in Systems Thinking?
Fall 2009
Core Argument –
Systems thinking did
not fail, it never had a
chance. Could design
be better b/c method ?
Yes, today’s leaders
aren’t systems thinkers
Management as
practiced is not
systemic or design
oriented. We are
teaching theory they
can’t use.
Coda: We now teach
systemic design & lead
student research with
social, visual methods

5. 5
Where do design & systems thinking intersect?
Based on R. Horn, 2004, Adapted with permission.

6. Peter Jones, PhD
OCAD University, Toronto
Institute for 21st Century Agoras
ISSS 2014 July 31, 2014
Systemic Design Principles
for
Complex Social Systems

7. 7
Hugh Dubberly & Harold Nelson
argue that design processes are
embodiments of systems thinking.
Banathy (& Gharajedaghi)
advocate a designing
orientation to social systems
as designing.

8. Some context.
• Systems science has preferred theories for system description
(explanation), prediction (control), & intervention (change).
• Contributions of modern design disciplines - industrial,
information, service design – to systems are marginal, so far.
• “Design” is problem solving, or a process of system design.
• Social systems design as a template for design thinking in
complex socially-constructed domains.
• Which are (now) everything – social, services, networks.

9. Ill-defined, evolving, multi-factored situations.
At least 10 properties, among them:
1. There is no definite formulation of a wicked problem.
2. Wicked problems have no stopping rules (you don’t know when you’re done).
3. Solutions are not True/False but Good/Bad (value judgments)
4. There is no immediate and no ultimate test of a solution to a wicked problem.
5. Every attempt to solve counts (one shot op)
6. Wicked problems do not have an enumerable set of potential solutions.
7. Every wicked problem is essentially unique.
8. Every wicked problem can be considered to be a symptom of another [wicked]
problem.
(Real) Wicked Problems
Rittel and Weber. (1973). Dilemmas in a general theory of
planning. Policy Sciences, 4, 155-169.

15. 15 Global Challenges of the Millennium Project

16. Hasan Ozbekhan, Toward a General Theory of Planning, 1967

17. Christakis on Structured Dialogue:
“Given the complexity of political,
social, economic, & technological issues
of the Information age, & the strong
linkages among those issues, is it
reasonable to expect that the approach
for engaging people in dialogue 2500
years ago during the Golden Age of the
Athenians would work today?”
“We proceed from the belief
that problems have
"solutions" --although we
may not necessarily discover
these in the case of every
problem we encounter.
This peculiarity of our
perception causes us to view
difficulties as things that
are clearly defined &
discrete in themselves.
It also leads us to believe
that to solve a problem it
is sufficient to observe &
manipulate it in its own
terms by applying an
external problem-solving
technique to it.
THE PREDICAMENT OF MANKIND: A Quest for Structured Responses to Growing World-wide Complexities and Uncertainties
Hasan Özbekhan

18. Compatible philosophies, different generations.
Generation: First Second Third Fourth
Philosophy Rational
1960’s
Pragmatic
1970’s
Phenomenological
1980’s
Generative
2000’s
Methods Movement
from craft to
standardized
methods
Instrumentality,
Methods
customized to
context
Design research and
stakeholder
methods
Design cognition
Generative,
empathic &
transdisciplinary
Authors
& trends
Simon, Fuller
Design
Science,
Planning
Rittel, Jones
Wicked problems,
Evolution
Schon, Don Norman
User-centered &
Participatory Design
Reflective action
Dubberly, Sanders
Generative Design
Service Design
Systemic design
Systems
influences
Sciences,
OR
Cybernetics
Natural systems
System dynamics
Systems
engineering
System dynamics
Social systems
Soft systems
Complexity
Socio-ecological
Dialogic
Participatory

19. Design thinking deals well with complexity.
Design must become more systemic –
for complex concerns.
Complex domains have > stakeholders
Design 1.0 Craft design, Advertising
Design 2.0 Industrial, Products, Web
Design 3.0 Organizational & institutional
Design 4.0 Distributed social systems
Mixed stakeholders

20. 10 Shared Design Principles
Design Principle Design Methodologies
1. Idealization Iteration
2. Appreciating Complexity Sensemaking
3. Purpose finding Saliency - Meaning-making
4. Boundary framing Provocation and strange-making
5. Requisite variety Multiple perspectives
6. Feedback coordination Modeling
7. System ordering Structuring
8. Generative emergence Future projection
9. Continuous adaptation Multiple reasoning modes
10. Self-organizing Co-creation
Guidance for complex systems design from
systems, cybernetic & complexity principles.
Foundation for practitioners to enhance
engagement and evolve better practices.
Elicited from systems theories, but not new.
Lead to net new frameworks for design in:
Patient-centred healthcare systems
Sustainable business models
Organizational governance
“The primary aim the two systems of thought share today is enabling organized high-
leverage action in increasingly complex and systemic problems as design situations.”

21. Design methods associated with principles
Principle Design Methods
1. Idealization Framing, Iteration, Backcasting
2. Appreciating Complexity Sensemaking, System sketching
3. Purpose finding Inquiry (5 Whys), Prototyping
4. Boundary framing Critical probes, Strange-making
5. Requisite variety Co-creation, Function analysis
6. Feedback coordination Modeling, Interactive Testing
7. System ordering Structuring, Pattern making
8. Generative emergence Future creation,
9. Continuous adaptation Multiple reasoning modes
10. Self-organizing Co-creation, Facilitated design modes
We might also observe design of: Time (4), Space (3), Information (3)

22. Mapping Systems Principles to Design Models
• Discovery and orientation
• Definition and concept formation
• Optimization and planning
• Evaluation and measurement
Model drawn in part from
Evenson and Dubberly, 2010
Four universal patterns across 50
innovation processes
van Patter and Pastor (2013)

23. Mapping Systems Principles to Design

24. 10 Shared Design Principles
Principle Design Methodologies
1. Idealization (time) Framing, Iteration

25. Design Principle Design Methodologies
2. Appreciating Complexity Sensemaking

26. 3. Purpose finding Saliency - Meaning-making

27. 4. Boundary framing Provocation and strange-making
All people are health-seekers
A health-seeking journey occurs over a lifetime, a continuity that
proceeds through youth, adulthood, & older age.

28. Design Principle Design Methodologies
5. Requisite variety Multiple perspectives

29. Design Principle Design Methodologies
6. Feedback coordination Modeling

30. 7. System ordering Structuring

31. 8. Generative emergence Future projection

32. Design Principle Design Methodologies
9. Continuous adaptation Multiple reasoning modes

33. Design Principle Design Methodologies
10. Self-organizing Co-creation

34. Rheinfrank, J. and Evenson, S.
From Winograd, Terry. 1996. Bringing design to software. New York: Addison-Wesley.
Design Languages
for Systems Methods
Rheinfrank, J. and Evenson, S.
From Winograd, Terry. 1996. Bringing design to software.

35. “Though a handful design thinkers have made some
substantial contributions to systems thinking in general,
hardly anybody has developed a systems practice from
within design, specially informed by design thinking
and design practice. This is remarkable when we
compare us with other fields where proprietary
adaptations of systems perspectives are normal.”
Birger Sevaldson, Oslo School Of Architecture & Design
Giga-Mapping: Visualisation For Complexity & Systems Thinking In Design
Nordic Design Research Conference 2011
why has Systems Thinking ignored Design?
Questions & Discussion

36. Emerging Educational Movements
• OCAD University, Toronto
Master of Design in Strategic Foresight & Innovation
Understanding Systems & Systemic Design
• Oslo School of Architecture & Design
MDes & PhD, Systems-Oriented Design
• Curriculum & faculty workshop exchanges
• Cooperative research (e.g. Design Literacy)
• Core methods training:
GIGAmapping, Dialogic Design

37. Strategic Innovation Lab slab.ocadu.ca

38. Systemic Design Course
• Systems theory & methods to design systemic interventions,
process & services for social and business innovation.
• Understanding natural, sociotechnical & human systems for
system change, long-range innovation, and foresight.
• Two sections:
1) Understanding system thinking concepts & tools for
expressing models & mapping
2) Social systems methods for socially-responsive design
& innovations expressed as service or social systems
• Seminar format with lecture, dialogue, simulations, visual
modeling, team projects, case study & studio work.

39. GIGAMap + System Mapping

40. GIGAMap =
System mapping + Innovation Research

41. Exemplary GIGAMaps

42. Structured Dialogic Design SM
• Two week workshop as participants in SDD
Triggering Question framed for strategic foresight:
What are the most critical continuous challenges facing humanity
over the next 20 years?
• Formulating & analyzing the global problematique.
Employ Ozbekhan’s 49 CCPs from the Predicament
• Reflective approach to method education:
Students reflect & evaluate during points in process
• Structuring of influence map to produce a new view of the
problematique.

43. SDD as experienced by participants
Expresses the 5 Churchman inquiring systems
Shared inquiry with disciplined democratic process

44. Influence map – Problematique of 49 CCPs
Generated by Cogniscope II & redrawn

45. Relating Systems Thinking to Design 4
systemic-design.net