Gigamap example by Manuela Aguirre: https://www.slideshare.net/ManuelaAguirre/policy-support-full-presentation
In this presentation you will learn about design tools and techniques to solve wicked problems, using Systems Thinking.
Systems Thinking looks at the whole of a system rather than focusing on its individual parts, to better understand complex phenomena. Systems Thinking contrasts with analytic thinking: you solve problems by going deeper, by looking at the greater whole of a system and the relations between its elements, rather than solving individual problems in a linear way via simple cause and effect explanations.
You can apply Systems Thinking principles in different situations: to understand how large organisations function and design for the enterprise (e.g. when you are trying to revamp a large intranet), but also to solve social problems and issues (e.g. unemployment with disadvantaged youth or mobility in larger cities). So basically whenever there is complexity and conflict (of interest) in your project, Systems Thinking will be helpful.
After an introduction to Systems Thinking and its core concepts, we will first explain and practice a few techniques that you as a designer can apply to better understand complex systems, for example creating a System Map and drawing Connection Circles. In the second part of the workshop, we will introduce techniques that help you shape solutions, for example using Paradoxical Thinking for ideation and writing ‘What-if’ Scenarios.
Presented at EuroIA 2015 with Koen Peters.
3. Namahn
— Human-centred design, digital
products and services
— An experienced, international,
multidisciplinary team:
17 designers, 3 staff + expert
network
Founded in 1987
— Studio in the centre of Brussels
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4. “Every design is either an element of
a system or a system itself and is part of
ensuing causal entanglements”
(Nelson and Stolterman, 2012)
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7. 7
Children spraying DDT on fields
to fight the potato beetle in East
Germany.
With the beetles gone, other
insects flourished and damaged
the crops nonetheless. DDT was
also very bad for the health of
the people using it, causing
cancer in many cases.
Example of simple, linear cause-
effect thinking. With systems
thinking you take a more
holistic view of a problem, and
try to find solutions and
measures that improve the
system as a whole.
8. What is Systems Thinking?
“Systems Thinking looks at the whole of a system rather than
focusing on its individual parts, to better understand
complex phenomena.
Systems Thinking contrasts with analytic thinking: you solve
problems by going deeper, by looking at the greater whole
of a system and the relations between its elements, rather
than solving individual problems in a linear way via simple
cause and effect explanations.”
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9. When to use systems thinking?
— “Interconnected complex problems”, with
multiple causes
No common understanding
Recurrent problem, interventions are not working
Unintentional and emergent behaviours
— Multiple stakeholders, divergent
perspectives are involved
Different views or mental models
Different benefits,
Paradoxes or seemingly conflicting ideas
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11. ‘Limits to Growth’ (1972)
— Club of Rome
— “Growth itself can cause problems and
therefore needs to be limited!”
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Systems thinking has been around for a while...
13. Standard tools for systems thinking
— System map
— Iceberg
— Causal loops; stock/flow
— Behaviour-over-time graphs
— Connection circles
— ...
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14. Standard vocabulary
— Flow (): Any changed or changing factor that could affect the
results.
— Stock (//): A quantity that accumulates over time. It delays the
effect.
— Reinforcing (R+ same, or R- opposite), balancing (B) loops
— Pattern: An event that repeats over time
— Others: dynamic equilibrium; shifting dominance; resilience...
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16. System thinker
Habits of a system thinker?
Look at the big picture
Be patient when things get confusing or
complicated
Look at things from different sides
Think about change over time; identify how
connections cause change over time
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http://watersfoundation.org/
Don’t blame; look for ways to help the
system work better
Find the keys to a system
Figure out the effect of actions
19. The problem: childhood obesity
— September 2015 is Childhood Obesity Awareness Month
in US
— Obesity has doubled in children and quadrupled in
adolescents in the past 30 years (U.S.)
— Note: overweight versus obesity. Diagnosis based on BMI
— Health effects: short and long term
— Prevention?
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25. Understand: steps
— System map: understand the system and map its
elements and relations
— User insights, through a field study
— Factors & themes, identify the patterns of human
behaviour
— System archetypes: learn to recognize typical
archetypes of system behaviour
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27. System map
What?
— A system map is a tool for understanding
the system, its structure, the interrelations
between the elements of the system and
the things that flow in the system.
Why?
— Understand the system and to identify the
intervention points.
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28.
29.
30.
31. System Map: elements
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— Boundary
— Variables: Any changed or changing
factor that could affect the results.
People (owners, actors, those affected)
Contexts (places, artefacts, activities)
Emotions, drives, perspectives
— Relations: which ones are substantially
reinforcing?
— Intervention points
32. Exercise: draw a system map for child obesity
— Define the thematic clusters and identify
the core variables
— Draw the relations (influences) between
the variables, and mark those that are
substantially reinforcing (positive or
negative)
— Identify possible leverage / intervention
points
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+
-
L
L
33. User insights
— Field study: listening to stories of (and observing) users
of the system; challenge your hypotheses!
— Perspective interviews
— Personas
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34. e.g. Listening to stories
— Ask them to tell you how the problem
started and evolved
Increase and decrease
Triggers and underlying causes
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“What happened?” “What caused it?” “Why? Is there an underlying cause (or drive)?” ...
35. Exercise: system map (2)
— Review your draft version of the system map
Variables you missed out on
Connections you didn’t see at first
New leverage points
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38. Factors and themes
What?
— Factors are the elements contributing to a
particular result or situation.
Themes are the drivers of the patterns of
human behaviour.
Why?
— You want to explore the contributing factors
and find patterns and themes behind them.
This will help you to create a response to
the problem situation.
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41. Archetypes of systems behaviour (Peter Senge)
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— Reinforcing loops
Limits to growth
Success to the successful
Attractiveness principle
Accidental adversaries
Tragedy of the commons
Growth and underinvestment
— Balancing loops
Indecision
Fixes that fail (policy resistance)
Escalation
Shifting the burden
Drifting goals
Addiction
42. “Drifting goals”
— A system has a tendency, when it becomes
clear that a goal can not be reached, to
become less ambitious and lower the goal to a
more achievable level.
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goal actual result gap
43. “Shifting the burden”
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— The tendency to focus on a symptomatic, short-
term solution rather than addressing the root cause
(because it is quicker & cheaper). By dealing with
the symptoms at regular intervals, the pressure
lowers to solve the more fundamental, underlying
root cause.
symptoms symptomatic, short-term solutions
pressure to find fundamental solutions
44. “Success to the successful”
— Allocate resources and reward the better
performing party; those who underperform
are punished and in this way further pushed
down.
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results of A results of B
45. “Tragedy of the commons”
— When there is a commonly shared resource in a system,
every user benefits directly from its use, but shares the
costs of its abuse with everyone else. The consequence
is overuse of the resource, eroding it until it becomes
unavailable to everyone.
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result
activity A activity B
46. Child obesity?
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— Reinforcing loops
Limits to growth
Success to the successful
Attractiveness principle
Accidental adversaries
Tragedy of the commons
Growth and underinvestment
— Balancing loops
Indecision
Fixes that fail (policy resistance)
Escalation
Shifting the burden
Drifting goals
Addiction
49. Explore steps
— Design challenge: define the design challenge you want
to tackle
— Ideation: use the paradox cards to ideate on how your
intervention would be
— ‘To be’ experience, concept
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51. Formulating the design challenge
What?
— A design challenge is a (re-)formulation of your problem based on
all the insights that you have gathered. You decide what you want
to focus on, and you formulate what you wish to design in a single,
clear sentence.
Why?
— Set the scope – define the problem(s)/challenge(s) to solve in the
next phases.
How to choose?
— Impact? Accomplishable? How concrete can your solution be?
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52. Exercise: design challenge
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— Phrase your design challenge(s) as
following:
“How can we obtain this result [what],
for these persons [who], to achieve
this long time goal [why]”
— Define the emotional (soft) and
rational (hard) requirements or
objectives that must be met.
54. Paradoxical thinking
What?
— Process of consciously bringing together
the paradoxical sides of a problem to
achieve solutions for the whole.
Why?
— Generates unusual viewpoints, leading to
a better and broader understanding of
the true nature of a particular problem
or opportunity.
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55. “The opposite of a fact is falsehood,
but the opposite of one profound truth
may very well be another profound truth.”
(Niels Bohr)
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56. Applied to the child obesity case...
— Short versus long term (= time)
— Global versus local (= presence)
— Playful versus serious (= attitude)
— Easy-going versus disciplined (= culture)
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57. Exercise: paradoxical thinking
— Choose the paradoxes. Pick those cards that are linked with
your challenge or could inspire your solution.
— Ideate on the extremes
(first separately, then combined)
— Find solutions for both
extremes combined
— Draw or write your ideas
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60. Define steps
Plan the route you need to take in order to reach the
renewed system concept.
Define what is minimally needed and what could be an
interesting pilot.
Map the transition towards the desired future state by
planning all the design interventions and clarify how they
will help to reach that future state.
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62. Transition map
What?
— Map the transition towards the desired goal by adding all the
design interventions and how they will help reach that
specific goal.
Why?
— This helps you structure and helps you plan the interventions
in the system.
— E.g. if you want to teach kids better eating habits you can
start by having more fruit around first before you continue
rethinking the food offerings at school.
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63. Transition map - steps
STEP 1
— Gather and list all your design interventions
— Group the interventions per theme
— Map the interventions in time by using the timeframe
from the roadmap
STEP 2
— Identify the gaps in your transition map, and add new
ideas/interventions to fill in these gaps
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65. References
— Peter Senge: “The Fifth Discipline”
(systems archetypes)
— Donella H. Meadows: “Thinking in Systems”
— http://systemic-design.net/
— Papers
Peter Jones: Systemic Design Principles for Complex Social Systems
http://www.academia.edu/5063638/Systemic_Design_Principles_for_Complex_Social
_Systems
Philippe Vandenbroek: Working with Wicked Problems
http://www.kbs-frb.be/publication.aspx?id=303257&langtype=1033
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