Co-designing space that works for everyone
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This document discusses the importance of co-designing spaces through involving end users in the design process. It notes that while co-design can make projects messier, it significantly improves user satisfaction and productivity. The document outlines some of the unexpected challenges ("gorilla problems") that arose during one co-design project, and how limited resources were allocated to address them. It also discusses how to manage the emotional aspects of change by understanding the stages of reaction and tailoring communication approaches. The key message is that co-design, while complex, ultimately leads to higher morale and better outcomes through increased user involvement and control.
Co-designing space that works for everyone
- 1. Co-designing space that works for everyone Tom West Head of Operations Institute of Ageing and Chronic Disease, University of Liverpool AUA North Wales and North West Regional Mini-Conference ‘Organisational Effectiveness and Using Resources Effectively’ Friday 19th January 2018
- 2. INSTITUTE OF AGEING AND CHRONIC DISEASE One of 5 research Institute’s within the Faculty of Health and Life Sciences 90 academic research staff, 40 professional service staff and 120 PGR students ‘Benchtop to bedside’ approach taking basic science through to clinical application
- 3. Aintree Liverpool Leahurst Working across 3 sites in the Liverpool region
- 4. Where we came from
- 5. Where we’ve ended up
- 6. The William Henry Duncan Building • £40M Development (£10M ERDF funded) • 12,000 m2 total area (excluding plant) • 5,000 m2 UoL • 4,000 m2 Liverpool Bio Innovation Hub • 3,000 m2 shared, communal space
- 7. 112project meetings 75user group meetings 22Project Control Group meetings 15site visits 1,000s of emails 14 monthly updates 2 years
- 8. 112project meetings 75user group meetings 22Project Control Group meetings 15site visits 1,000s of emails 14 monthly updates 2 years 1
- 9. 1. What is ‘co-design’ and why do it? 2. If we take a co-design approach how do we manage the mess? 3. Why do people hate change, and how do we manage change without ending up hating people? 3 questions
- 10. From a users perspective is space ever truly neutral?
- 11. What thoughts or feelings spring to mind when you look at each of these images?
- 12. Space always evokes a reaction, and that reaction is different for each individual.
- 13. Even a completely ‘neutral’ white box could produce strong feelings..
- 14. I’m telling you Pete, it’s Distant Grey Shup up Greg, it’s definitely White Dove!
- 17. Oh God what have I done!? There’s another 2 hours of this and my leg’s already gone to sleep..
- 18. The use of partitions, or the layout of desks can influence people’s reaction to office space
- 19. The amount of natural light can have a strong impact on people’s experience of a space
- 20. Whether the corridors and offices are closed off or open and visible can convey unintended messages about an organisation’s transparency (or lack thereof)
- 21. Even the humble office chair can inadvertently attribute importance to one group of staff (i.e. managers) over another group
- 22. (To consciously avoid this unintended message we chose a single office chair for every office and desk in the new building)
- 23. Building design always affects the building users in all sorts of subtle ways which can easily get lost during the frenetic planning and implementation of a major project
- 24. ‘We shape our buildings; thereafter they shape us’ Winston Churchill
- 25. Designers Users Architects, planners, engineers, facilities, managers, sustainability officers Academic staff Professional Service staff PGR students Undergraduates Post docs Technicians
- 26. Designers Users Impact The design of a building or space has a high degree of impact on the eventual users of that space
- 27. Design Users Involvement However, in traditional design approaches, users often have very little involvement in the design process
- 28. High Impact + low involvement = Dissatisfaction
- 29. Userinvolvement Time Typical involvement of users in a large re-design project
- 30. Userinvolvement Time Involvement of users through a co-design approach
- 31. Userinvolvement Time What matters is not just the total number of people consulted (similar in either approach) but the quantity and quality of those interactions
- 32. This scale of consultation required for true co-design can feel like you’re about to open Pandora’s Box, or a can of worms, which is why designers are often reluctant to involve users in meaningful ways
- 33. However, major change projects are ALWAYS a can of worms. The only real question is when you decide to open the can?
- 34. Designers Users CompletionProject start Users inhabit the space long after the designers have left, so don’t wait until the snagging stage to open the can of worms
- 35. The trouble with co-design is that projects that start out like this..
- 36. Soon end up looking more like this..
- 37. Co-design is an inherently messy process that wreaks havoc with Gantt charts..
- 38. 1. What is ‘co-design’ and why do it? 2. If we take a co-design approach how do we manage the mess? Which brings us to the 2nd question
- 39. Half way through our co-design project, I received a phone call asking whether we were going to have a suitable room to undertake the dissection and subsequent storage of gorillas (Apparently zoos occasionally donate the bodies of large apes who have died of natural causes to our evolutionary gait group to study comparative anatomy, which was news to me..)
- 40. People often refer to problem of ‘the elephant in the room’
- 41. But when it comes to co-design don’t worry about the elephant in the room. You can see the elephant, you know it’s there. Worry about the gorilla in the ceiling void, you never know when the ‘gorilla problem’ will strike
- 42. Other examples of unexpected ‘gorilla problems’ from our co-design project included: • The last minute need to accommodate a full scale x-ray facility within the infrastructure of the building due to a successful large equipment award • The need to construct an internal bin store to accommodate 20 industrial sized bins • The request to create a basement instead of backfilling the lower ground floor
- 43. All large scale projects start with a neat project plan (and usually a brightly coloured Gantt chart) Project plan
- 44. But these plans often don’t take into account the various problems or opportunities which will arise Problems / opportunities Project plan
- 45. Problems / opportunitiesWhen problems arise we have a finite amount of resources which we can deploy to address them – this is our ‘influence capital’ Influence capital
- 46. Problems / opportunities These resources can include any of the following: Influence capital Time Expertise Knowledge Political Capital Authority Trust Charm Present
- 47. Depending on the scale and importance of the problems or opportunities we can decide how to split up our influence capital
- 48. For example, we could divide our resources equally to attempt to address every problem, but in so doing we run the risk that we won’t apply enough influence to the most critical problems
- 49. Alternatively we could decide which are the 3 main challenges or opportunities, and choose to address just those 3
- 50. Or concentrate on an even smaller number to apply the maximum impact of our limited resouces
- 51. Storage Heating Furniture Liquid Nitrogen Colour Scheme During our project we encountered a number of ‘gorilla problems’ and had to choose which ones to apply our resources to try and address
- 52. Problems / opportunitiesResources Influence capital Time Expertise Knowledge Political Capital Authority Trust Charm Presence Thinking of a large change project that you’ve been involved in, fill in the blanks. Which resources did you employ?
- 53. The last question when considering a co-design approach is how to manage the inevitable emotional conflict which arries.
- 54. 1. What is ‘co-design’ and why do it? 2. If we take a co-design approach how do we manage the mess? 3. Why do people hate change, and how do we manage change without ending up hating people? 3 questions
- 55. “Nothing is so painful to the human mind as a great and sudden change.” Mary Shelly
- 56. Morale Time The ‘Kübler-Ross Change Curve’ is a helpful tool for thinking about the various stages of emotional adjustment people go through during a large change project
- 57. Morale Time Shock Denial Anger Depression Experiment Acceptance Performance There are 7 distinct reactions, although everyone will experience them to different degrees and at different stages of the project
- 58. Morale Time Shock Denial Anger Depression Experiment Acceptance Performance The 7 reactions can be broadly categorised into 4 distinct phases, each of which requires a different management approach
- 59. Morale Time Shock Denial Anger Depression Experiment Acceptance Performance Empathy During the first phase it’s important that staff feel listened to, that their concerns are heard and, where appropriate, validated.
- 60. Morale Time Shock Denial Anger Depression Experiment Acceptance Performance Empathy Information During the second phase it’s important that staff are given information about what’s happening as frequently as possible
- 61. Morale Time Shock Denial Anger Depression Experiment Acceptance Performance Empathy Information Structure During the third phase, as people begin to adjust to the new environment it should be clear where they fit in the new strucutre
- 62. Morale Time Shock Denial Anger Depression Experiment Acceptance Performance Empathy Information Structure Involvement During the final phase there should be multiple opportunities for staff to get involved and contribute within the new environment
- 63. Morale Time Whilst it’s impossible to eliminate the complex emotional reactions to processing change, it is possible to reduce the ‘morale dip’ through effective communication throughout the project.
- 64. A study by the University of Exeter showed that staff who are given an element of control over the design of their immediate work environment are up to 32% more productive than staff who had no control and worked in ‘lean’ minimalistic environment Involving staff in co-design is often a long and messy process, but it pays off
- 65. 3 quick rules for encouraging staff involvement in projects of any size 1. Clearly articulate the ‘fixed parameters’ i.e. those things which are not open for negotiation (timescale, floorplan, design, budget etc) 2. Step back and allow space for staff to ‘own’ their ideas and suggestions, only intervene when necessary 2. Once plans have been agreed, communicate any changes and don’t change things without explanation
- 67. Further Resources General Change management Leading Change John P. Kotter Staff motivation Drive Daniel H. Pink Teamwork The Five Dysfunctions of a Team Patrick Lencioni Improving process through learning Black Box Thinking Matthew Syed T.west@liv.ac.uk