Why is this so hard? Understanding the challenges that inhibit design in your organization

WHY IS THIS SO HARD? Understanding the challenges that inhibit design

Adam Connor [email protected]

@adamconnor

Magga Dora [email protected]

@maggadora

[email protected]@adamconnor

[email protected]@maggadora

#madpow

THE CHALLENGE

Design is gaining momentum



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Organizational Shifts

• Designers centralized or decentralized

• i.e. each team hires their own designers vs one central group of designers that does work for the whole organization

• Chief Design/Experience Officers

• Innovation Centers

• Centers of excellence

THE CHALLENGE

What they’ve tried



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Building volume and skills

• Lots of hiring

• Training / Bootcamps

Building shared resources

• Design Systems / Pattern libraries

Process changes

• Design thinking

• Agile / Lean /…

THE CHALLENGE

What they’ve tried



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All of these efforts make sense, and they’re all effective to some extent.

Yet we still find and hear frustrations around getting design to "stick.”

THE CHALLENGE

What we also see with our clients



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• Have not (accurately) identified the aspects of their organization that support or contradict design

• Are trying to make changes and don’t consider the implications for the rest of the organization

• Are trying to make changes at too large a scale

• Are trying to change people/units faster than they’re able to

THE CHALLENGE

Why doesn’t this work?



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• Belief gap

• Behavior gap

• Influence gap

THE CHALLENGE

Three gaps

THEBELIEFGAP

Design is more than just roles, tools and activities.

Behind those roles, activities and tools are beliefs about what we’re trying to do and why.

THE BELIEF GAP

Design is more than just roles, tools and activities.

Behind those roles, activities and tools are beliefs about what we’re trying to do and why.

THE BELIEF GAP

Beliefs

THE BELIEF GAP

The Culture Model

Beliefs

Values

THE BELIEF GAP

The Culture Model

Beliefs

Values

Behaviors

THE BELIEF GAP

The Culture Model

Beliefs

Values

Behaviors

Rituals

THE BELIEF GAP

The Culture Model

Beliefs

Values

Behaviors

Rituals

Artifacts

THE BELIEF GAP

The Culture Model

Beliefs

Values

Behaviors

Rituals

Artifacts

THE BELIEF GAP

The Culture Model

• Inflexibility: People’s understanding of design lacks a connection to the “why” behind it.

• Conflict: There are beliefs work counter to those inherent in design.

THE BELIEF GAP

How It Presents

• Assess the culture, or more specifically the underlying beliefs currently influencing your org.

• Make sure you’re clear on the beliefs that you’re trying to infuse. Can you clearly articulate them?

THE BELIEF GAP

Addressing The Gap

If the gap lies in inflexibility and people not understanding the beliefs behind the techniques and tools they’re using…

• As you introduce process, techniques, tools etc. include discussion about the thinking and reasoning behind them.

• Expose people to a variety of tools. Find opportunities for them to try them all and give them chances to think through and choose on their own.

• Provide additional support, not oversight, as teams work to use new tools and techniques on their own.

THE BELIEF GAP

Addressing The Gap

If the gap lies in conflicting beliefs…

• Take stock of how far apart they are. Are they counter to each other? Or are they competing?

• Work to understand the conflicting view and the value in it.

• Determine if you’re alone in recognizing and wanting to address the conflict.

• You can rarely change beliefs directly. Beliefs are built over time based on experiences.

THE BELIEF GAP

Addressing The Gap

THEBEHAVIORGAP



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We’re trying to establish new patterns of behaviors

– new ways that teams will explore opportunities and make decisions.

The same over-focus on process, activities, tools, etc. that can lead to gaps in the beliefs behind these behaviors can lead to a gap in the behaviors themselves.

THE BEHAVIOR GAP



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People understand the process (the activities, techniques, tools, etc.) they could/should use – but revert to how they’ve always done things.

THE BEHAVIOR GAP

How It Presents



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THE BEHAVIOR GAP

Key Behaviors

Design (Thinking)How does the company leverage design and design techniques?



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THE BEHAVIOR GAP

Key Behaviors

CollaborationHow well do teams collaborate on efforts (across departments, products, etc.)?



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THE BEHAVIOR GAP

Key Behaviors

Leadership & VisionHas a shared, clear vision for the product, service, or organization been established and communicated?



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THE BEHAVIOR GAP

Key Behaviors

Product* ManagementHow well do teams/managers make decisions in alignment with the vision/strategy?



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THE BEHAVIOR GAP

Key Behaviors

ProductionHow capable is the organization of creating the products/services that they’ve envisioned?



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THE BEHAVIOR GAP

Key Behaviors

LearningHow able is the organization to continuously learn more about their users and use new insights to make decisions?



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THE BEHAVIOR GAP

Key Behaviors

ExperienceHow is the team managing and coordinating experiences for their products and services?



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Just as before we need to take stock of the behaviors we’re trying to establish and those that our teams are exhibiting and determine:

• Have you provided the right support needed for the behaviors we’re after?

• Are there additional behaviors we haven’t accounted for?

• Are their behaviors that conflict those we’re after?

How do we change behavior?

THE BEHAVIOR GAP

Addressing The Gap



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THE BEHAVIOR GAP

Capability

Motivation

Opportunity

Behavior

COM-BModelForUnderstandingBehavior– Michie etal

Addressing The Gap



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Just like when we design for experiences, we can’t force a behavior to happen. So what can we change?

THE BEHAVIOR GAP

Addressing The Gap

Beliefs

Values

Behaviors

Rituals

Artifacts



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Just like when we design for experiences, we can’t force a behavior to happen. So what can we change?

THE BEHAVIOR GAP

Addressing The Gap

Beliefs

Values

Behaviors

Rituals

ArtifactsSkills & Knowledge

Tools & Materials

Structure & Roles

Communication & Language

Environment

Policies & Processes

Incentives & Metrics

These are our levers. We can “pull” on these things in combinations to drive the behaviors we seek and – over time – grow and reinforce the beliefs behind them.



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THE BEHAVIOR GAP

Addressing The Gap

Capability

Motivation

Opportunity

Behavior

COM-BModelForUnderstandingBehavior– Michie etal

Skills & KnowledgeTools & Materials

Communication & Language

Structure & RolesPolicies & Processes

Environment

Incentives & Metrics Structure & Roles

THEINFLUENCEGAP



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Identifythepeopleyoucangetonboard

Understandyourabilitytoinfluencethesepeople

Communicatebasedonwhattheyarereadytohear

INFLUENCE GAP

Influence



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Notaligningchangeeffortsandinformationwithalevelthatotherscanunderstandandacton.

Notidentifyingpartnersandaudiencesforourchangeeffortsinwaysthatbuildmomentum.

INFLUENCE GAP

How it presents



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Con-templation

Preparation

Action

Maintenance

Relapse

Pre-contemplation

INFLUENCE GAP

Model of change



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Con-templation

Preparation

Action

Maintenance

Relapse

Pre-contemplation

INFLUENCE GAP

Model of change



#madpow

Con-templation

Preparation

Action

Maintenance

Relapse

Pre-contemplation

INFLUENCE GAP

Model of change



#madpow

Con-templation

Preparation

Action

Maintenance

Relapse

Pre-contemplation

INFLUENCE GAP

Model of change



#madpow

Con-templation

Preparation

Action

Maintenance

Relapse

Pre-contemplation

INFLUENCE GAP

Model of change



#madpow

Con-templation

Preparation

Action

Maintenance

Relapse

Pre-contemplation

INFLUENCE GAP

Model of change



#madpow

Con-templation

Preparation

Action

Maintenance

Relapse

Pre-contemplation

INFLUENCE GAP

Model of change



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Con-templation

Preparation

Action

Maintenance

Relapse

Pre-contemplation

INFLUENCE GAP

Model of change

Create awarenessand change in

values and beliefs

Persuade andmotivate

Educate

Facilitate

Reinforce change,reminder communications

Identify what causes old

behavior to remerge

• Everybodycaninfluenceculture

DIRECT INFLUENCE

PARTIAL INFLUENCE

VIRAL INFLUENCE



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Bybuildingthismapandlisteningforwherepeopleareinthechangemodel,wecanunderstand• Whowecaninfluence

• Howweformalizethemessagetothem

• Whentoincludethem

Armedwiththatinformationyoucanhaveastrategyforward.

INFLUENCE GAP

Addressing the gap



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Nomatterwhatyourpositionis,youhavetheabilitytoinfluencethebehaviors(andbyextension,beliefs)ofthosearoundyou.

Thesimplestwaytobeginistolookforopportunitiestobuildtrustandaskquestions.

INFLUENCE GAP

Everybody can influence culture



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• DesignDOEShavemoreattentiononitthaneverbefore.

• Wehaveawidevarietyoftacticsforstrengtheningdesigncapacitywithinourorganizations.

• Byunderstandingcultureandhowchangeisadoptedwecanbetterunderstand:• Howtotocombinetactics• Whentousethem• Andwhotousethemwith

• Wecanapproachoureffortsaswewouldadesignchallenge.

CLOSING

In Summary

ANY QUESTIONS? Adam Connor [email protected]@aconnor

Magga Dora Ragnarsdottir

[email protected]

@maggadora