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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
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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?