Failure of Design Thinking: Getting caught up in method
I can understand why people need methods, because methods are the means by which we know what to do, the steps, the procedure, the way of doing design. The most bothersome point of methods is that they are often discussed in absence of a deeper understanding of the socio-technical aspects of "doing design". A method is merely technical, the sociological is the human. And so, I argue the designer behind the method needs much more attention if we are to proudly point to outstanding applications of design thinking. By what means might we understand this designer behind the method? I think of this in two ways:
· The level of designer competence; and
· Adaptability of the designer
The level of a designer’s competence can be defined as the level one attains as a result of practicing design over the course of time. A word of caution it does not suggest that by simply doing design for a long time you achieve mastery but rather one must be applied for a period to truly master the art of design. A rule of thumb 10 years takes you into mastery.
The adaptability of the designer is what I think ensures that over time the designer is more likely to become a master and visionary. The adaptability of a designer is her ability to constantly seek frustrating design situations where she knows not what to do, and she experiences a “felt difficulty” (Dewey’s reference to what it means to learn) and to assemble different people to generate new ways of thinking, and to develop deeper applications of design methods, and seek to modify and evolve design methods to meet the challenge.
When designers have a high level of competence and play in the designer adaptability corridor, methods are applied for the right purpose and delivered with discernible credibility and quality.
The goal of design is to move beyond methods and look at the designers behind the methods so that what we do, is create real value through design, not superficial design thinking method application.
BBus (P.Admin & Bus. Mgmt), GradCertPM, GAICD Retired from full time work but still passionate about supporting others
6 年Callum MacSween
Strategic design | International development
6 年This is really nicely put Nina. For me, I've been thinking about that gap between the tools/methods (techne) to the actual thinking/making in context, and refering to Aristotle's translation of different types of knowledge through to action (techne, episteme, phronesis, becomes poiesis, theoria, praxis). This includes practical ethics/vision/reflection, so it's not just thinking and making, but also judgement about how to do what is worth doing.
Driving energy innovation and disruption to make the world a more sustainable place
6 年Totally agree. As Ericsson and Robert Pool discuss in their book Peak, two factors contribute to mastery: hours of repetition, yes, but more important, what Ericsson coined deliberate practice. Individuals who progress the most meticulously assess outcomes, solicit feedback based on known standards of excellence, and strive to correct tiny flaws that the feedback has uncovered.”