Collaborating for Complexity: SIUC Synergetics

Collaborating for
Complexity
Social Design for Sustainable Innovation

Peter Jones, Ph.D.
SIUC Synergetics Symposium, April 7 2011
Copyright © 2011, Peter H. Jones

“Only our minds are able to discover the
generalized principles operating without
exception in each & every special‐
experience case which if detected &
mastered will give knowledgeable
advantage in all instances.”


Buckminster Fuller

Beyond sustainability.

First philosopher of Thrivability.

A reinvention of civilization …
Creating the very idea of the futuristic


Fuller’s technology foresight?

“You may very appropriately want to ask me how we are going to
resolve the ever‐acceleratingly dangerous impasse of world‐
opposed politicians and ideological dogmas.

I answer, it will be resolved by the computer.”

His socio‐political foresight? Spot on.
Yet his principles‐based design approaches did not account for
social complexity.

Why I’m here
Peter Jones, Ph.D.

Senior Fellow, Strategic Innovation Lab
Faculty, Strategic Foresight & Innovation
OCAD University, Toronto

Publications designdialogues.com
Transformation Dialogic Design International
Design Research Redesign, Inc.
Democratic process Globalagoras.org

Copyright © 2011, Peter H. Jones designforcare.com

The Chaos of Decision Making

Technology is the easy part. Now that we can do
anything, why aren’t we doing the right things?

Large projects – institutions, governments,
corporations – increasingly fail, big, & recover up.

Why do so many large projects fail?
We first fail to understand social complexity.


System of Systems View – Economic interdependencies


Fuller’s Fundamental Optimism

“Humanity will overcome complexity
through design science.”

But we will never overcome complexity.
We will navigate it by collaborative design.

Our problem is, we compete.
We do not (yet) collaborate well.

Design Science


Model for Sustainable Design

Nathan Shedroff, Design is the Problem Sustainable Design


Principles of Collaborative Design

Collaboration requires cohesive collective communication processes

Which (in new collaborations) evolve in a progression from:

Cooperation > Coordination > Collaboration >  Convergence

Collaboration necessary for problem types beyond Simple  / Tame:

Complicated >   Complex >  Wicked >  Chaotic


Principles of Collaborative Design
1. Complex problems are irreducible: are not resolved by analytical processes.
2. Socio‐technical complexity requires collaborative design.
Collaborative design is both a science & a design language.

3. Collaboration skills differ from design skills, and both are needed.
4. Collaboration is dialogic, entailing human biases & group dynamics.

5. Multiple perspectives are critical to ensure requisite variety in the system
to be designed.
6. Dialogic collaboration is democratic, separates process & content.
7. Complexity requires understanding, sensemaking, not problem‐solving.


Complexity & Problematizing

As problem complexity increases,
increased demand for requisite variety.

4 systems thinkers reinvented problematics:
Ozbekhan Problematique 1968
Beer Viable systems model 1972
Rittel Wicked problems 1973
Warfield Managing complexity 1974

Problem understanding, not problem solving


Ross Ashby “The quantity
of regulation that can be
achieved is bounded by the
quantity of information
that can be transmitted in
a certain channel.”

Requisite variety in group
process requires engaging
participants whose variety
of knowledge is equal or
greater than the elements
in the system to be
regulated.


Design Science

Stafford Beer’s
Syntegrity process
Synergetics + Requisite
Variety for viable
organizations.
Cybersyn center in
Allende’s think tank, 19
Chilean Center of Public Stud

Rittel, H. and Weber, M. (1973). Dilemmas in a General Theory of Planning, Policy Sciences, 4, 155‐169

Wicked Problems
Poorly‐defined, evolving, multi‐factored situations.
At least 10 properties, 7 of which require collaboration:
1. There is no definite formulation of a wicked problem.

2. Wicked problems have no stopping rules (you don’t know when you’re done).

3. Solutions are not True/False but Good/Bad (value judgments)

5. Every solution attempt is a one‐shot trial.  Every attempt counts significantly.

7. Every wicked problem is essentially unique.  (Nobody can claim expertise).

8. Each can be considered to be a symptom of another problem.

10.  The designer has no right to be wrong.

Hasan Ozbekhan
“We proceed from the
belief that problems have
"solutions" --although we
may not necessarily
discover these in the
case of every problem we
encounter. Christakis on Structured Dialogue:

“Given the complexity of political,
This peculiarity of our social, economic, & technological issues
perception causes us to view
of the Information age, & the strong
difficulties as things that
are clearly linkages among those issues, is it
defined &
discrete in reasonable to expect that the approach
themselves.”
for engaging people in dialogue 2500
years ago during the Golden Age of the
THE PREDICAMENT OF MANKIND: A Quest for
Structured Responses to Growing World‐wide would work today?”
Athenians
Complexities and Uncertainties

COLLABORATION SKILLS
for
COMPLEXITY
NAVIGATION


Multiple perspectives are critical
Social design requires eliciting, understanding, &
negotiating differing values, perspectives, goals
How might we
reenergize our How might we
downtown and reenergize our
Good question!
bring employers downtown and
Where do we Recent grad
back to the city? bring employers
start?
back to the city?
Conversations for
Possibility Business
owner

? Land
developers
Retiree
Families

Political
officers City planner

CONVERSATIONAL DIALOGIC

Finding common ground
Social design organizes multiple stakeholder perspectives in a
complex situation by  relational structuring of commitment.
How do we
organize our
Let’s prepare an projects so this
offer to the city. I’m in. Who else happens?
do we need on
the team?
Conversations for
Action
?
What steps can
What actions can we take as
we take that will individuals and
make the  most groups?
difference?

Management of Divergence (possibility)     & Convergence (action)

Micro‐design language for collaboration.


Collaborative skills differ from design skills


Social design requires social processes


Stakeholder Variety

Regional & Urban Planning Product Innovation

Business
Business owners
leadership
Land owners Current users
Design team Design team

Land
? developers ? Retailers

Retirees Hardware
Families engineering Product
Developers
Political
officers City planner Partners New users


What type of innovator are you?

Creative Problem Solving Profile at basadur.com

Insufficient conceptual focus

An organization
attempting to
establish new
financial products
quickly in a very
competitive
environment, but
encountering a high
percentage of
failures.


Insufficient generation!

A typical group of
managers from a
large aerospace
company serving the
aircraft, airline, and
aerospace industries
and having trouble
expanding into new
products and new
markets


Who do you want advising the board?

Many directors
have enjoyed
successful careers
due to their
implementation
skills


Complexity requires
understanding,
sensemaking,
problem‐framing,
not problem‐solving.


Simplexity ‐ Separate process & content

Simplexity process at basadur.com

WHERE DO YOU LOCATE COLLABORATIVE DESIGN?


A science & design language for collaboration.

Structured Dialogic Design
• Complex system / product planning
• Strategic management / uncertainty
• Foresight & futures scenarios
• Coordinating ideas, power & action on complex social
& ecological issues
• Understanding root forces & constraints in social
systems
• Democratic resolution of wicked problems


Generic Design Science

John Warfield
1974 The first group process using computers
Battelle used Warfield’s Interpretive Structural Modeling
(ISM) software (over phone lines, Dayton & Columbus)

Became process of Interactive Management

Aleco Christakis
Design science is democratic.

Information Age requires collaborative design
to navigate increasing complexity of situations


Christakis on Structured Dialogic Design:
“Given the complexity of political,
social, economic, & technological issues
of the Information age, & the strong
linkages among those issues, is it
reasonable to expect that the approach
for engaging people in dialogue 2500
years ago during the Golden Age of the
Athenians would work today?”

Dialogic Design

Methodology for addressing root causes of wicked problems
• Based on scientific & design principles

Consensus among very disparate stakeholders
• All decisions are collected through inclusive voting

Elicits root causes AND interconnections
• Grounded in systems science, visually describes system

Strategic AND Democratic
• Exacting method for equality & autonomy in engagement


Dialogic Design Science: 7 Axioms

1. Complexity Axiom: Observational variety is respected when engaging
stakeholders, ensuring cognitive limitations are not violated while striving
for comprehensiveness (John Warfield).  (Magical number 3,    +/‐ 0)

2. Engagement Axiom: Designing social systems without the authentic
engagement of the stakeholders is unethical, and results in inferior plans
that are not implementable (Hasan Ozbekhan).   (Normative planning)

3. Investment Axiom: Stakeholders must make personal investments of
trust & commitment to be effective in discovering shared understanding
& collaborative solutions (Tom Flanagan).   (Dialogic principle)

4. Plus four others, including: Reconciliation of Power Axiom


Dialogic Design Principles: 7 Laws

1. Requisite Variety an appreciation of the diversity of
perspectives and stakeholders is essential in managing
complex situations. (Ashby)

2. Requisite Parsimony Structured dialogue is needed to avoid
the cognitive overload of stakeholder/designers. (Warfield)

3. Requisite Saliency … observations can only be understood by
comparisons in an organized set of observations. (Boulding)


7 Laws

4. Requisite Meaning … & wisdom are produced in a dialogue only
when observers search for relationships of similarity, priority, influence,
etc, within a set of observations. (Peirce)

5. Requisite Autonomy & Authenticity … protect the autonomy and
authenticity of each observer in drawing distinctions. (Tsivacou)

6. Requisite Evolution of Observations … learning occurs in dialogue
as people search for relationships in a set of observations. (Dye)

7. Requisite Action … action plans must be designed in authentic
engagement of those whose futures influenced by the change (Laouris)


Collaboration is a human process.

Co-Laboratory
Webscope
Co-located, onsite Screen share
Cogniscope
Teleconference Mixed locations
12-30+ participants ISM method software
Wiki support Wiki + teleconference
Print media & real-time display
Mixed media & online display
Facilitator-managed

Democratic across power & stakeholders.
• Cyprus Reunification Dialogues (2001 – 2011)
EU project for Israeli‐Palestinian dialogues (2011)

• Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) Initiative:   48 stakeholders & 10 observers
from 38 organizations on CKD outcomes, resulting in action plan.

• Transnational indigenous Leaders Dialogue on Globalization:   40
Indigenous leaders from Americas and New Zealand & experts (2004)

• FDA Good Practices Review dialogues (1995‐1999)

• Schering‐Plough Drug Development Action Planning (1992‐1994).

• Alternative Energy Future Planning, Northwest Energy Alliance (2001).


Collaborative Design ‐ not just teamwork
• Collective sensemaking Collaboration is necessary to resolve
any complex situation as multiple perspectives are critical.

• Complexity navigation methods We need better methods. The
same tools – Facilitation, Brainstorming ‐ yield only the same results.

• Collaborative design skills Must be developed for a new
generation of social design of systems, organizations, communities.

• Social design is cultural & human. Unlike tech skills, we do not
change quickly. Requires diffusion into culture to change habits.


Thank you

“I am not a political revolutionary, I am design science revolutionary.”

“The self‐sufficient enterprise is becoming anachronistic. Each organization is
part of a matrix of merging and evolving ideas and opportunities. …
Leading companies focus less on positioning and more on patterns of people
and institutions they work with ‐ or against.” James Brian Quinn, 2002

Peter Jones, Ph.D.
Senior Fellow, Strategic Innovation Lab
Faculty, Strategic Foresight and Innovation, OCAD University

designdialogues.com dialogicdesignllc.com globalagoras.org


Collaborating for Complexity: SIUC Synergetics

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