How do you deal with uncertainty and ambiguity in strategic design processes and outcomes?

In strategic consulting this practice of clarifying can include articulating a massive transformative purpose or the big picture change you're seeking to create or support in the world. From this space of purpose, design values and unique value propositions follow from the shared purpose of a team or endeavor. Strategic and ethical frameworks can then be applied to confirm that a path, purpose and process all match.

efining your purpose and values provides a strong foundation to navigate uncertainty and ambiguity. Having a clear sense of purpose and values acts as a compass, guiding your decisions and actions even when the path is not clear. This helps maintain focus and alignment throughout the strategic design process. Professional Experience: In a project to develop a new educational platform, we faced significant ambiguity regarding the best approach to cater to diverse learning styles. By defining our purpose to create an inclusive and accessible educational tool, and upholding values of equity and user-centric design, we were able to make consistent decisions aligned with our core mission, even when specific details were uncertain.

Engaging with stakeholders is very important. Having 1:1 interviews with each key stakeholder can help in many ways, from building relationships to understanding the project's historical context and any work done before. One of the biggest tasks of stakeholder interviews is to get all the assumptions people have in their heads. Ideally, after the interviews, there will be some synthesis of these assumptions where all stakeholders come together to review. Getting everyone to agree on assumptions and goals in that meeting can help alleviate undue issues as the project gets closer to execution.

To ensure successful design strategy execution, involve team members in decision-making and value their input. Encourage collaboration through tools like shared documents, communication platforms, and regular team meetings. Teamwork enhances strategy success by incorporating diverse perspectives and insights, leading to greater ownership and commitment. Keep everyone informed by sharing strategy and progress regularly with the team, stakeholders, and customers.

How do you communicate and share strategic design results that involve uncertainty and ambiguity? . Acknowledge Uncertainty: Be upfront about areas where outcomes are uncertain, framing them as opportunities for learning and further exploration. . Focus on Potential Scenarios: Use scenario planning to present multiple future possibilities, explaining how each approach could impact the project. . Emphasize Continuous Learning: Highlight the importance of iteration, showing how testing and feedback loops will refine the design based on evolving data. Transparency is key. Ensure stakeholders understand that ambiguity is part of innovation, and outline clear next steps for mitigating uncertainty as the project progresses.

Finding quick, easy and affordable ways to test ideas is essential to designing strategy (or anything else!) This kind of rapid prototyping takes the risk out of trying something new, by enabling you to see how it will work in a safe environment. The cheapest and most intuitive way to test ideas is with stories. Take your idea and play it out like a movie in your head. Sketch out how it will work in a storyboard. Get a couple of people to explore different versions through improv or roleplay. Or just tell it to someone as a future story to get their feedback. Using stories as a rapid prototyping tool costs nothing yet can save you from making costly assumptions and mistakes down the road.