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Lucy Kimbell Innovation Insights Hub, UAL
@lixindex [email protected]
Experimentation by Design: Perspectives from research
Danish Design Centre Copenhagen, December 2017
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h"p://www.behaviouralinsights.co.uk/publica7ons/applying-‐behavioural-‐insights-‐to-‐organ-‐dona7on/
Growing visibility of ‘experimentation’ in policy
development
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Prototyping and mock-ups of concepts are one kind of
‘experimentation’ in policy development
h"ps://openpolicy.blog.gov.uk/2015/10/15/go-‐science-‐workshops-‐for-‐the-‐future-‐of-‐ageing/
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Prototyping and mock-ups of concepts originate in the culture of
the design studio
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The culture of the design studio is tied to consumer product
design
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h"p://www.samsung.com/global/galaxy/galaxystory/s6-‐inside-‐stories/ux/
Software and hardware prototyping is rooted in engineering
design which can be more formal and structured
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h"p://liveworkstudio.com/approach/
With complex systems and services, what does ‘prototyping’ look
like?
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What if anything is distinctive about ‘experimentation’ in the
culture of design? What concepts help explain it?
Abduc7on
Inven7veness
Expandable ra7onality
The studio as centre of synthesis
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Abduction
h"ps://philosophyisnotaluxury.com/2013/12/01/the-‐holis7c-‐evolu7on-‐of-‐charles-‐sanders-‐peirce/
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Abduction
“At the point of being surprised
by a surprising fact, if we
can make a guess, any guess,
we can make progress.”
C.S.Pierce cited in Hansen,
Hans. (2008). Abduc7on. In Barry,
David and Hansen, Hans (eds).
The Sage Handbook of New
Approaches in Management and
Organiza7on. p.457
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Abduction
“Something unintelligible is discovered
in the data and, on the
basis of the mental design of
a new rule, the rule is
discovered or invented and,
simultaneously, it becomes clear what
the case is.”
Reichertz, Jo. (2010). Abduc7on: The
Logic of Discovery of Grounded
Theory. Forum: Qualita7ve Social
Research. 1(13).
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Design abduction
Dorst 2015
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Abduction
Kimbell 2015
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Inventiveness is not the novelty of ideas or methods in
themselves, but in the novelty of the arrangements with other
objects and activities within which artefacts and instruments are
situated, and might be situated in the future
Celia Lury & Nina Wakeford, 2012, Inventive Methods
Inventiveness
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Learning devices Things to learn about what has to be learned or
could be learned
Hatchuel, A. (2001) “Towards design theory and expandable
rationality: The unfinished programme of Herbert Simon.” Journal of
Management and Governance, 5, 3-4, 260-273
Expandable rationality
Social interactions Understanding and designing the social
interactions of a design process is an essential part of the design
process itself
Expansions of initial concepts Unexpected designs can emerge
from the process
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The studio as a centre of synthesis
Wilkie, A. and Michael, M. (2015). The design studio as a centre
of synthesis. In Wilkie, A. Farias, I.. Studio Studies: Operations,
Topologies and Displacements. Routledge.
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Opening up possibili7es
Experimentation by design =
Expanding ini7al concepts
Using learning devices
Synthesising many diverse knowledges
and perspec7ves
Designing the social interac7ons
of the design process itself
Being ‘usefully vague’
Making a guess to move
things on
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@PolicyLabUK
A brief case study based on the first year of the Policy Lab
team in the Cabinet Office of the UK Government
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Collabora've explora'on of issues
Designing the social interac7ons
of the design process itself
Expanding ini7al concepts
Making a guess to move
things on
Being ‘usefully vague’
Synthesising many diverse knowledges
and perspec7ves
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Par'cipatory conversa'ons about future
prac'ces
Designing the social interac7ons
of the design process itself
Being ‘usefully vague’
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h"ps://openpolicy.blog.gov.uk/2015/10/15/go-‐science-‐workshops-‐for-‐the-‐future-‐of-‐ageing/
Rapid idea genera'on and model
making
Using learning devices
Expanding ini7al concepts
Making a guess to move
things on
Synthesising many diverse knowledges
and perspec7ves
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Credit: Policy Lab
Using learning devices
Expanding ini7al concepts
Involving par'cipants in an issue
in genera'ng ideas
Designing the social interac7ons
of the design process itself
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Early prototyping of mock-‐up solu'ons
with users/delivery
Using learning devices
Designing the social interac7ons
of the design process itself
Expanding ini7al concepts
Synthesising many diverse knowledges
and perspec7ves
Credit: Policy Lab
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Theory of the world/theory of
knowledge
Logic
What it does
Complexity
Focus
Cri=cal success factors
Exper=se required
Investment required
Outcomes
Abduc7ve Deduc7ve/induc7ve Uses learning
devices to build confidence in
a direc7on of travel, generates
insights (proto-‐theories), expands/opens
up new possibili7es
Uses randomised comparisons to confirm
or disprove hypothesis, informed by
exis7ng evidence/theory
Many variables and dependencies
Fewer variables and dependencies
Holis7c Specific
Selec7ng the mix of concepts,
sites and par7cipants to be
involved; leadership to create the
space for experimenta7on and respond
to what is opened up
Iden7fying the underlying theory and
research ques7ons; elec7ng the
variables and test sites; leadership
to create the space for
experimenta7on
Par7cipatory design; design research;
anthro-‐design
Experimental social science
Lower investment in 7me and
resources; possible reputa7onal risk
Higher investment in 7me and
resources; lower reputa7onal risk as
‘scien7fic’
Pausible solu7ons; insights about the
fit/lack of fit with the
site/prac7ces; new possibili7es not
previously imagined
Reliability (eg it works in other
sites) and validity (eg explicit
theories are tested using agreed
protocols) but few new insights
Early stage prototyping RCTs
Comparison of two kinds of
experimenta'on in policy development
The world results from our ac7ve
construc7on of it; we make and
interpret knowledge as social beings
The world exists ‘out there’
independent of us; general laws
exist and you can observe
reality to test them
Lucy Kimbell. 2017. Drah
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Early explora=on of issues/user contexts
generates insights and concepts that
can be refined and further
tested at scale before implementa=on
RCT
Ways to combine experimenta'on in
policy development
There are some fundamental
incompa7bili7es at the level of
theories of the world and
theories of knowledge, but different
approaches to experimenta7on rooted
in design and in RCTs can
be combined.
Explora'on to confirma'on
Parallel experimenta'on
Early stage prototyping
RCT
Refining for implementa'on
RCT
+
Running both approaches in parallel
allows new possibili=es to be
explored and developed alongside
building evidence at scale
New insights, new concepts, new
possibili'es
Prototyping
New insights, new concepts, new
possibili'es
Evidence at scale
Evidence at scale
Organia'onal learning, new possibili'es,
evidence at scale
Evidence at scale
Prototyping details of user interac=ons
with touchpoints aGer RCT builds
holis=c understanding of a solu=on
Early stage prototyping
Lucy Kimbell. 2017. Drah
Holis'c evidence for implementa'on
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Some questions
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h"p://www.samsung.com/global/galaxy/galaxystory/s6-‐inside-‐stories/ux/
What comes with the culture of ‘agile’ policy making rooted in
the ‘new spirit of capitalism’?
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Are people from design culture equipped to design the right
experiments in policy or strategic settings?
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How can large organisations develop design capacities alongside
other kinds of experimentation?
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How do organisational routines shaping professions, rewards and
competences enable or disable experimentation?
