Systems Thinking in Design: Why is it important? — Part 2
Welcome to the second article of Systems Thinking in Design, a publication by Somia CX.
In this second part, we will take you deeper through our discoveries about the evolution of the design approach and how it’s related to design thinking and systems thinking that need to be incorporated in this dynamic world.
Constant change is real
We deal with constant changes in needs and behaviour on products’ usage and services and how it affects different levels: the organisation and the business side. We often prioritise creating valuable and delightful products for the users, as well as developing a usable and desirable experience to accommodate the response to the frequent demands.
As changes continue to happen, interdependencies between tangible and intangible are frequently found. Not just in products but also in larger systems like businesses, social and governmental, just to name a few. Using the design thinking process we prioritise user and business needs to build services and products. However, adjusting and expanding the mindset is also essential as we work and build the system.
“How do we evolve from being user experience experts to system-level decision-making enablers for our teams? How do we build systems that improve and consider experiences beyond the direct end users? We need to level up. We can do that by using not just design thinking but systems thinking as well. – Toroglu and Mulvey
From sustainability, privacy and ethics, then to accessibility and inclusivity which are related to physical or digital contexts, these are bodies of knowledge that develop organically and need to merge and be managed. It may seem complex but embracing the interconnection and continuously learning from one another are the main ingredients to incorporate systems thinking and design thinking.
A trace back to the evolution of the design approach
Before we go further, let’s learn about the evolving mindset of design that continuously shifts over time. Pordehnad categorises the evolution into three stages and embraces the fundamental shifts that change the way we perceive what designers should be held accountable for.
1. First Generation of Design
This method relies on the idea that professionals (designers, crafters, experts) are those who hold the knowledge that is critical to the design but users are unable to access it. The professionals are responsible for developing a design that is visually informed on particular documents and separates the working process from users or other parties.
Let’s get back to the car example from the Part 1 article,
Car operating systems consist of assembled tires, wires, and other parts that connect each other and need to work properly together. The professionals (designers, engineers or experts who hold the knowledge) work individually, only developing the operating system design or the interior and exterior parts. Then provide the technical drawings and blueprints to other parties who translate the design into the whole physical system. The feedback from end users is considered but discreet from the design development.
2. Second Generation of Design
Over time, designers acknowledged the importance of collaboration across disciplines and expertise. There’s a standard practice for designers to grasp information and input from different stakeholders, including the end users. Studies from different perspectives such as ethnographic involve and add rich value to the recommendations. We may use certain methods to immerse in the users’ perspective and its environment. This design thinking approach that is regularly applied seems to start inter-corporate with particular aspects of systems thinking.
For instance, let’s get back to the Dental Healthcare for Children project,
The early approach that we use to get a deeper understanding of the experience of dental visits from children’s point of view is ‘Fly on the Wall’. We learned that visiting a dentist’s clinic is not comfortable for children as they are unfamiliar with the environment and its surroundings.
Children tend to have unpleasant dental experiences, as the first visit is usually to fix their teeth problems. As we dig deeper into the children’s dental care system, parents also play an important role in the system. Furthermore, some other bigger entities and stakeholders intertwine with the system and we need to deep dive into the stakeholders’ heads to capture the interconnected parts within the the system.
Although the stakeholders are involved and share their individual experiences, the designers and researchers need to diligently interpret and analyse what the stakeholders think. Aligning with the entire organisation is essential to prevent any missing stakeholder group.
“This approach still has its risks, however. Even though there are many perspectives involved in parts of the design process, the stakeholders give input solely from their individual experiences and never see how it fits into the whole system.” — Pourdehnad
Alongside getting into the stakeholders’ minds, gathering and connecting the information between one part and the other, some unintended consequences may still occur if some parts of the system are not considered.
Embracing the complexity of interconnected systems, and being able to switch between the holistic and multiple entities within the system, designers need to continuously evolve and start looking at the problem from a new perspective.
3. Third Generation of Design
This approach is continuously developed in a purposeful consideration through a systems thinking lens. Stakeholders are not just a source of information about the organisation but also as the designer who plays a key role in generating the concept.
A challenging process may occur as the system tends to be dynamic, thus we need to understand the story being told between the system parts. Through an interactive process between groups or other stakeholders, we may find diverse beliefs, values and perspectives that need to be accommodated by the design facilitator.
Applying systems thinking in design means we are able to switch our perspective between zooming in and out continuously, both from holistic and user points of view. Understanding a holistic view affects how we see entities within and beyond the system of design.
“..Complexity will be the new constant for designers.. To respond we need to take the dual approach of looking at problems from the bottom-up and top-down. Systems thinking will more and more become a necessary extension to our design thinking practice.” — Toroglu and Mulvey
This approach allows us to connect and integrate across parts to consider the purpose of the system. The intention is to see the whole system and understand the interdependent parts, therefore through a collaboration process, we are able to facilitate the system’s desired purpose.
Design Thinking vs. Systems Thinking and How Can It Work Harmoniously
Design thinking mindset focuses on the users’ side and problem-solving, allowing us to be flexible in identifying and understanding the problem to provide experiences based on the bottom-up.
Using systems thinking in design can flip the perspective to understand the bigger impact of a solution that can affect the whole system based on a top-down holistic perspective.
Blending both mindsets into our practice can create new value with a larger impact on our work. This not only will navigate the complexity but also creativity in imagining to cover the dynamic changes.
How can we apply Systems Thinking to our design practice?
When we apply systems thinking to projects, we learn about tools and frameworks that are used in the whole process, such as mapping the whole system to capture the interconnectedness and analysing the underlying problems.
How do the tools and framework apply? How to incorporate design thinking and systems thinking through the tools and framework?
Stay curious for the next article!
Thank you for reading!
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