Systemic Design — Seven principles to navigate complexity
In an increasingly complex world, designers are challenged to reconsider their mindsets, approaches and methods. At the System Mapping Academy, we are exploring how a more holistic approach can help us to navigate complexity and to design better and more sustainable solutions.
If you wake up in the morning, look out of the window, and see a rainy sky, you might see an opportunity for a cozy day with a good book. Others, though, might perceive the same outlook as a limitation of their daily outdoor activities. How we see the world is determined by the experiences we made, the circumstances we grew up in, the education we received, the paradigms our parents followed, and many more.
In the language of Systems Thinking, this lens through which we see the world is called ‚worldview’ (1). This worldview influences our opinions, decisions, and actions. If we transfer this idea of a worldview to the design practice of the last decade, it would be a pretty narrow one as the dominating and underlying paradigm that influenced us most, falls back on one single point of view: the human-centered perspective.
Beyond the human-centered perspective
We are constantly circling around user and stakeholder groups, taking them as anchor points for the development of products and services. We aim to reduce complexity, create convenient experiences, and deliver ease-of-use in order to reach higher engagement rates for our clients. This human-centered paradigm started a tremendous success story in our practice and it is one of the reasons, design has evolved from the margins of aesthetics and product design to a point where it now plays a central strategic role within many organizations.
At the same time, we find ourselves in a world that is highly connected and — due to globalization and digitalization — more complex than ever. As humans, we must face the fact that our current lifestyle increasingly destroys ecosystems, habitats of millions of animals, and with that the life of future generations. Facing intertwined challenges like climate change, migration, populism, and the extinction of countless species, the question arises, if a reductive mindset like human-centeredness is still appropriate for the decades to come.
Or how Jesse Weaver puts it boldly in his article Design won’t save the world (2), “Human-centered design is great for mops and phones, but (in its current conventional state) it won’t solve society’s biggest problems.”
To better cope with complexity and wicked problems, emerging fields like Systemic Design — which combines approaches from systems thinking and design — start to bring in a broader perspective to our practice. The focus shifts from serving humans only to pursue a more holistic approach in order to work towards the health of the greater system.
But if we step back from human-centeredness, which paradigms and which overall worldview could be guiding us in the future?
Seven principles for designing in complexity
As Systems Thinking — with its academic origin — can be hard to access and apply, the following principles are an attempt to make it more approachable. The seven principles are inspired by our own systemic practice, expert interviews, and literature (3,4,5). The principles may serve as a compass to better navigate complex challenges in the emerging field of system-driven design innovation.
1. Create space for multiple perspectives and collaboration
A system can‘t be fully understood from only one viewpoint. Working in complexity means engaging with several actors of the system and taking their experience, opinions, and perspectives into account. Involve everyone who plays an important role, start conversations, and create a space for interdisciplinary collaboration. In the end, the actors are the ones who are capable of driving sustainable positive change within the system.
2. Zoom in and out between the human and system perspective
When working in complexity you have to go beyond the focus on human needs and behaviors. Step back and zoom out of the human perspective to see the whole rather than only parts, and to get a sense for the bigger picture. Design with empathy for humans and — more importantly — for the long-term health of the overall system which they are part of.
3. Visualize complexity to uncover hidden patterns, relationships, and dynamics
Everything is interconnected, this is a fundamental rule of nature. Working in complexity means to unveil the meaningful connections, relationships, feedback loops, causes, and effects between the parts of a system. A key approach to understanding systems and their dynamics is the translation of complexity into visual artifacts and maps. This enables us to untangle dynamics, create a shared understanding between actors, and lay the ground for designing emergent system interventions.
4. Consider long-term behaviors and consequences
Working in complexity requires us to shift from a short-term view to a long-term perspective on everything we create. Look beyond the quick win and consider the consequences of your design on users, stakeholders, the environment, and the whole system over time. Be aware that many consequences may occur with delays and at unexpected places within the system. Try to anticipate those unintended consequences. The responsibility for your design is not gone with the implementation.
5. Become a systems storyteller
Working in complexity can quite easily overwhelm us. Sharing your insights from the visualizations and collaborative sense-making, it is important to create tangible narratives and draw pictures that everyone can empathize with. This enables all actors involved to create a common understanding and to further engage with the system in the long run.
6. Be humble, strive for emergence, and system health
Stay humble. There is no silver-bullet solution when it comes to complex challenges. Always seek the emergence of its parts and the interplay between various factors which together can drive the system in a positive direction. Interventions have to be context-sensitive and should not fight but make use the existing dynamics in the system. It’s not about the benefit of single actors. It’s about improving the long-term health of the system.
7. Constantly challenge your worldview
If you truly want to engage in systems innovation, you have to be aware of your worldviews and how your assumptions drive your actions. Our work affects people, natural resources, animal habitats, and the balance of entire ecosystems. At the same time, our understanding of complex issues will never be perfect. Constantly reflect on your practice, challenge your assumptions and standpoints, and be aware of the responsibility that comes with being a systemic designer. Stay curious and continuously listen and learn from the system.
As designers, we can play an important role in shaping a more sustainable future. We can develop better solutions if we can look beyond the human-centered perspective and boost it with a more systemic approach. It all starts with becoming more aware of realities which we construct and understanding the underlying dynamics and relationships in our systems. We hope that these seven principles can be a guide for your work and to start your journey towards Systemic Design — for more sustainable interventions and towards positive change.
References
(1) Goodman, Michael, (2020), Systems Thinking as a language, [Online] Retrieved April 30, 2020, from https://thesystemsthinker.com/systems-thinking-as-a-language
(2) Weaver, Jesse, (2018), Design Won’t Save the World, [Online] Retrieved April 30, 2020, from https://medium.com/@hairyelefante/design-is-not-going-to-save-the-world-8985870471a5
(3) Meadows, Donella, (2015), Thinking in Systems, Chelsea Green Publishing
(4) The Australian Prevention Partnership Centre, (2018), Systems practices you can do every day, [Online] Retrieved April 30, 2020, from https://preventioncentre.org.au/resources/learn-about-systems
(5) GK VanPatter, (2020), Rethinking Design Thinking: Making Sense of the Future That has Already Arrived, Humantific Publishing