May 2012
6 posts
1 tag
Situation: Lack of context
“There’s a lot going on behind the scenes here…”
Teams do not have insight into the organizational, business, or operational context surrounding a project. Context is crucial to the success of a design project because it allows designers to gauge what approach, process, and solution will be the best fit. Context establishes constraints, not only for the project, but for...
1 tag
Situation: Excluded from planning
“It’s a shame she’s not in the meeting. All these action items are for her.”
The people responsible for delivering and executing are not included in the planning process.
The effect: Project teams spend more time reconciling plans (or easing the anxiety of the producers) than necessary.
The challenge: Collaborative environments tend to favor the path of least resistance,...
1 tag
Situation: Poorly planned presentation or...
“I hate to put you on the spot, but…”
Project stakeholders do not understand the design work because the design team hasn’t assembled a meaningful narrative. Designers may have been asked to present concepts without sufficient notice, or the design team neglected to anticipate questions from the stakeholders.
The effect: Progress on the design work may be held back until...
1 tag
Situation: No Time to Design
“Just get some rough ideas down by tomorrow, OK?”
Forces outside the design team establish an unreasonable schedule for producing design ideas.
The effect: Designers confronted with this situation will resent the project team if forced to prepare outputs without sufficient time. If they comply with the unreasonable request, they may find themselves committed to a design concept that...
1 tag
Situation: False Consensus
“I think we all agree here.”
The team comes to some agreement (on direction or approach, for example) but doesn’t really understand the underlying assumptions or the downstream implications. If they understood those, they might not agree.
The effect: A false consensus may move the project forward, leading to more challenging conflicts later when the underlying assumptions come...
1 tag
Pattern: Small Victory
Do a small project (a pilot or proof of concept) to help other teams or organizations understand the value or the purpose of a larger program. Like the “Make it Real” pattern, by doing a pilot project, the team has an opportunity to experience the execution of a particular strategy or direction. By implementing at a small scale, the team can extract lessons learned to set them up for a...
