Tried and tested methods, to shape and scope design solutions through gaming in small multidisciplinary teams. © John Knight, 2012

1. #DesignGames
THE SHAPING GAME
John Knight – Doctoral Student
Aalto University of Arts, Design and Architecture
2012
©John Knight, 2012

2. THE SHAPING GAME
The sequence of the cards is intentional– but use them in any order that
works and let me know if they help or if any changes are needed at
john.knight@aalto.fi
1. What is the problem/opportunity?
2. Are the risks known/mitigated?
3. What is possible/impossible?
4. What is fixed/changeable?
5. What is the design brief?
6. Is the future impact predictable?
7. What are the elements of design?
8. How is value created/consumed
9. What happens after design?
10. What solutions are there?
11. Is the proposed design successful?
12. What is the design rationale?
©John Knight, 2012

3. INSTRUCTIONS OF PLAY
1. Get your players, ideally 3/6 people with a good mix of skills
2. Get your design brief
3. Get your supporting research/documentation
4. Get your play space – lots of whiteboard space and stationery
5. Set your playtime – 1-3 hours ideally
6. Start with the design brief and individually come up with ideas, if you don’t have
any already
7. The take a card at a time and build on, synthesize and evaluate the ideas as group,
try pairing up and change roles to keep things moving
8. Timebox the amount of time on each card – keep the dialogue going
9. Go through all of the cards documenting new ideas and questions
10. Review the outputs and agree on a single approach
©John Knight, 2012

4. THE BRIEF CARD
What is the problem/opportunity?
Consider the following requirements:
Why is it needed?
What’s the problem/opportunity to be addressed?
What must it do?
What else could/should it do/not do?
Should it be done at all/what’s the alternative?
Do we have enough information to start?
©John Knight, 2012

5. THE RISK CARD
Are the risks known/mitigated?
Consider the following risks:
Lack of business case/rationale/need
Lack of audience/domain knowledge
Lack of insight on competition/best practice
Limited scope for improvement/design/change
Limited number of alternatives available
Over ambitious/cautious solutions/values
Unclear scope/deliverable/requirement
Are there other risks?
©John Knight, 2012

6. THE POSSIBILITIES CARD
What is possible/impossible?
Consider the following possibilities:
Client/audience needs/budget
Project scope/resources/timescales
Functional/technical/material capabilities
Design roadmap/evolution/release plans
Evolution/disruption/fixes/optimising potential
What is in scope/out of scope?
What are the hidden/obvious/ solutions?
Is there something radically different we should do?
©John Knight, 2012

7. THE BOUNDARIES CARD
What is fixed/changeable?
Consider the following boundaries:
Relevant social/personal practices/needs
Product/service/artifact/ service provision
Business model/value-chain/maintenance
Product/service/artifact family/archetype
Audience/actor/user needs/roles/profiles
Context/scenarios of use/misuse/engagement
The scope of the project/design
Are there too many constraints or too few?
©John Knight, 2012

8. THE REQUIREMENTS CARD
What is the design brief?
Are the following requirements defined:
Who - audience/user/profiles
What - use cases/scenarios of use/inputs + outputs
branding/design guidelines
Where - context of use
Why - business/personal/social drivers
Can we define them with what we know?
©John Knight, 2012

9. THE IMPACT CARD
Is the future impact predictable?
Consider the following:
What are the business/human risks/benefits?
Who + what will be affected/involved? & how?
What support/resource is needed before, during and after use
What are the best/worst potential outcomes?
How do the positive and negative impacts compare?
©John Knight, 2012

10. THE ELEMENTS CARD
What are the elements of design?
Consider the following:
Episodes – what are the key scenarios?
Artifacts – what tangibles are involved?
Places – where does it happen?
Agents – who are the main users/agents?
Do these change before and after?
©John Knight, 2012

11. THE VALUE CARD
How is value created/consumed?
Consider the following value domains:
Personal – worth to the person
Social/cultural value
Economic – financial worth
Ethical – force for good/bad
Is there different set of values to consider?
©John Knight, 2012

12. THE LIFECYCLE CARD
What happens after design?
Consider lifecycle events including:
Awareness
Expectations
Adoption
First use
Bonding
Familiarity
Habitual use
Improvisation
Attachment
Detachment
©John Knight, 2012

13. THE SOLUTIONS CARD
What are the candidate solutions?
Consider solutions in terms of the:
Best
Acceptable
Easiest
Innovative
Safe
Worst
©John Knight, 2012

14. THE SUCCESS CARD
Is the proposed design successful?
Consider the following quality criteria:
Accessibility
Usability
Delight/pleasure/fun
Peak+ebb/in the moment experience
Fit with everyday life/practice
Personal/social reward/benefit
Sustainability
Are there other relevant qualities?
©John Knight, 2012

15. THE CHECKLIST CARD
What is the design rationale?
Consider the following checkpoints:
1. At least three alternative solutions considered ideally from a
long-list
2. Design is evidence based and assumptions/risks known
3. Everything extraneous has been removed
4. Solutions meet requirements and can be measured
5. Solution is feasible and well communicated
6. A case is made for the solution
7. It’s a strong vision that everyone will buy into
©John Knight, 2012

16. john.knight@aalto.fi
@worldofknight
KIITOS!
©John Knight, 2012