Speculative design in GovernmentAPDIG, House of Lords

Intro to Lab & our approach

What is Policy Lab?

We are a creative space where policy teams can develop the skills and knowledge to develop policy in a more open, digital and user-centred way.

No physical office, “pop up” concept; we go to the policy makers.

@PolicyLabUK

Design ethnographyCustomer journey mappingService safarisPersonasCo-designRapid prototypingExperience prototypingData visualisationStoryboardingService blueprints

Tools & Techniques

Design ethnography

Tools & TechniquesDiscover: User’s experience

Sankey diagram

Tools & TechniquesDiscover: Data science

People who self-describe as being long term sick or disabled

Y1 Y2 Y3 Y4

Rapid prototyping

Tools & TechniquesDevelop: Prototype

Where we are

On the edge

We experiment here. If they work we bring them into government and then try to increase their use in departments…

Probably, plausible, possible, preferable

Speculative Design“It is always about trying to pin the future down. This is something we are absolutely not interested in… In our view, it is a pointless activity. What we are interested in, though, is the idea of possible futures and using them as tools to better understand the present and to discuss the kind of future people want, and of course, ones people don’t want.”

Dunne & Raby (2013) Speculative Everything

Gaming Internet of Things objects to re-gain control

Speculative DesignExample 1Uninvited guests, Superflux

Synthetic biology foraging devices

Speculative DesignExample 2Design for an overpopulated planetDunne & Raby

30 year break clauses in family relations

Speculative DesignExample 3When we all live to 150, Jaemin Paik

algorithmic facial detection for shopping

Speculative DesignExample 4Belief Systems, Bernt Hopfengaertner

algorithmic facial detection for shopping

Speculative DesignSpeculative designA natural progression?

1. Requires abductive reasoning. Jump out to new alternatives and test your way back

2. Requires multi-disciplinary teams. Reach out to bring in new perspectives

3. Requires physical things. Make the thing, make it ambiguous and get multiple responses.

Dave Snowden, Cognitive Edge

Speculative DesignAbductive reasoningA natural progression?

http://cognitive-edge.com/resources/videos/

Speculative DesignSpeculative designChallenges for Government

1. Need to relate to evidence and possible paths to the future. This is not fantasy.

2. Need to set expectation that this is not prediction.

3. Need to have time to step back, imagine and follow things through to the logical conclusion.

Speculative design for GovernmentAPDIG, House of Lords