ADDC 2018 - Ricardo Vazquez: Wicked Problems

Big or small, problems are all around us. Unlike ‘tame’ problems – which can be solved using traditional problem solving methods – wicked problems are a beast of its own. These problems are reactive, they are multi-threaded, and they are never-ending. Having coined the term in 1969, Horst Rittel and Melvin Webber sought out to address the crisis of public confidence in experts and planners at a time of rising affluence and inequality. After more than forty years, wicked problems are as relevant as they were then.

In this workshop, we will delve into the history, properties, and approaches to solving a wicked problem. Through our time together, we will come to the conclusion that in order to create unprecedented outcomes, we must take into consideration our qualities, necessities, and opportunities, coupled with an appreciation of how they are interrelated. The opportunity to analyze, question, and invent is afforded to any creative individual who understands the full system in which they operate. We will discuss the concept of the adjacent possible as a model for explaining how ideas develop and innovations are envisioned. Through the model of the adjacent possible, we will learn of some of history’s most innovative advances.

Moving past the conceptual rhythm of wicked problems, we will discuss and share real case-studies of how 3 organizations/individuals solved a wicked problem in their own domain. Through the lens of Integrative Thinking, we will discuss how to take a design thinking approach to solving hard problems. During the latter part of the lecture, we will uncover the common thread these three approaches have: all of these thinkers possess empathy and observation at their core. Design empathy unlocks the creative capacity for innovation. For us designers, tackling wicked problems as if they were design problems – even though they are outside of the traditional realm of design – leads to outcomes that are not only functional but emotionally meaningful.

Get ready to spend some time uncovering the power of design thinking, and how you can best apply this thinking to solve some of your world’s most wicked problems.

More about the talk, authors & slides: https://addconf.com/2018/schedule/design-workshop-wicked-problems/
Read about the conference: https://addconf.com

Transcript

1. WICKED PROBLEMS Ricardo Vazquez 1
2. Problems are all around us • None of us here are foreign to problems, big or small. • Wicked problems are a little bit different. • Unlike 'tame' problems – which can be always be solved – wicked problems are just plain hard. Ricardo Vazquez 2
3. Wicked Problems • Reactive. • Never-ending • Multi-threaded • The parameters of the problem itself is often half the challenge. Ricardo Vazquez 3
4. Horst Rittel Melvin Webber Ricardo Vazquez 4
5. DILEMMAS IN GENERAL THEORY OF PLANNING Ricardo Vazquez 5
6. PROPERTIES OF WICKED PROBLEMS Ricardo Vazquez 6
7. 1. There is no definitive formulation for a wicked problem Ricardo Vazquez 7
8. In order to anticipate all questions, knowledge of all conceivable solutions is required — Rittel and Webber Ricardo Vazquez 8
9. 2. Wicked Problems have no stopping rule Ricardo Vazquez 9
10. 3. Every wicked problem is essentially unique Ricardo Vazquez 10
11. Part of the art of dealing with wicked problems is the art of not knowing too early which type of solution to apply — Rittel and Webber Ricardo Vazquez 11
12. 4. Wicked problem can be treated as a symptom of another problem Ricardo Vazquez 12
13. Ricardo Vazquez 13
14. Ricardo Vazquez 14
15. Ricardo Vazquez 15
16. Ricardo Vazquez 16
17. The higher the level of a problem's formulation, the broader and more general it becomes: and the more difficult it becomes to do something about it. — Rittel and Webber Ricardo Vazquez 17
18. How can we fix global warming? Ricardo Vazquez 18
19. How do we provide healthcare to developing countries? Ricardo Vazquez 19
20. What do we do when oil resources run out? Ricardo Vazquez 20
21. How can we solve income inequality? Ricardo Vazquez 21
22. How do we successfully address obesity? Ricardo Vazquez 22
23. THE SILHOUETTE OF OUR PROBLEMS Ricardo Vazquez 23
24. QUALITIES NECCESITIES OPPORTUNITIES Ricardo Vazquez 24
25. GRACEFUL RETHINKING Ricardo Vazquez 25
26. THE ADJACENT POSSIBLE Ricardo Vazquez 26
27. STEVEN JOHNSON Ricardo Vazquez 27
28. STUART KAUFMAN Ricardo Vazquez 28
29. Adjacent Possible: A label for fundamental atomic commbinations required for biological development. Ricardo Vazquez 29
30. Evolution occurs one step at a time Ricardo Vazquez 30
31. Ricardo Vazquez 31
32. THE DEVELOPMENT OF IDEAS Ricardo Vazquez 32
33. Adjacent Possible • Our collective ideas advance with the same limitation. • Most advancements are logical – smaller phone, more powerful computer. • Some ideas, however, come out of nowhere. • And they are actually quite easy to spot out. Ricardo Vazquez 33
34. 1955: TELEVISION Ricardo Vazquez 34
35. 1969: MOON LANDING Ricardo Vazquez 35
36. 1903: FLYING Ricardo Vazquez 36
37. 2007: THE SMARTPHONE Ricardo Vazquez 37
38. Ricardo Vazquez 38
39. [Reassess] the objectives of the work in light of new opportunities. — Frank Chimero Ricardo Vazquez 39
40. How can horses be better? Ricardo Vazquez 40
41. Why are horses important? Ricardo Vazquez 41
42. • We need to iterate on how we answer our needs, and not necessarily on the way our old solutions have taken shape. • Wicked problems are just this. We can begin to solve them by always asking the Why. Ricardo Vazquez 42
43. THE PURPOSE OF WICKEDNESS Ricardo Vazquez 43
44. Pull, don't push. Ricardo Vazquez 44
45. ASSESS THE EDGES OF THE ADJACENT POSSIBLE Ricardo Vazquez 45
46. Case Study Ricardo Vazquez 46
47. WALMART Ricardo Vazquez 47
48. ELECTRICITY Ricardo Vazquez 48
49. 19.1 MILLION METRIC TONS Ricardo Vazquez 49
50. HOUSTON, WE HAVE A PROBLEM Ricardo Vazquez 50
51. 1. BUSINESS AS USUAL Ricardo Vazquez 51
52. 2. LEADERSHIP Ricardo Vazquez 52
53. 3. COMPROMISE Ricardo Vazquez 53
54. CHALLENGE Ricardo Vazquez 54
55. 1. Boost low prices 2. Fix the PR problem 3. Help the environment Ricardo Vazquez 55
56. They did it. Ricardo Vazquez 56
57. But how? Ricardo Vazquez 57
58. SUSTAINABLE VALUE NETWORK Ricardo Vazquez 58
59. 1. Enforced sustainability standards 2. Stopped buying from those who didn't meet standards 3. Pushed suppliers to reduce packaging, increase use of recycled material Ricardo Vazquez 59
60. INTEGRATIVE THINKING Ricardo Vazquez 60
61. DECOMPOSITION Ricardo Vazquez 61
62. DR. VICTORIA HALE Ricardo Vazquez 62
63. BIG PHARMA Ricardo Vazquez 63
64. Ricardo Vazquez 64
65. PUBLIC HEALTH Ricardo Vazquez 65
66. 1. Public health model cannot afford development of drugs 2. Big Pharma is too expensive to be used in cases where patients cannot pay Ricardo Vazquez 66
67. OBVIOUS COMPROMISE Ricardo Vazquez 67
68. DECOMPOSITION 1. Drugs developed by Big Pharma would never go to market 2. Orphan drugs might treat related diseases serendipitously 3. Take compounds and apply them to diseases in the developing world 4. Test and deliver drugs using a public health approach Ricardo Vazquez 68
69. BIG PHARMA vs. PUBLIC HEALTH Ricardo Vazquez 69
70. DOUBLE-DOWN INTEGRATION Ricardo Vazquez 70
71. Ricardo Vazquez 71
72. HIDDEN GEM INTEGRATION Ricardo Vazquez 72
73. TADDY BLECHER Ricardo Vazquez 73
74. A UNIVERSITY Ricardo Vazquez 74
75. APPROACHES Ricardo Vazquez 75
76. CREATE A TRADITIONAL UNIVERSITY Ricardo Vazquez 76
77. EMBRACE DISTANCE LEARNING Ricardo Vazquez 77
78. • Virtual classrooms • Less powerful learning environment for students in need of mentoring or support. Ricardo Vazquez 78
79. HIGHEST QUALITY EDUCATION FOR THE LOWEST PRICE Ricardo Vazquez 79
80. SENSE OF COMMUNITY AND SUPPORT Ricardo Vazquez 80
81. ECONOMIES OF SCALE Ricardo Vazquez 81
82. COST PER STUDENT Ricardo Vazquez 82
83. • $50 in the 1st year • Students come to central campus in Johannesburg • Work-study within the university • Direct connection to corporate community Ricardo Vazquez 83
84. • After graduation, students are expected to give back to the school Ricardo Vazquez 84
85. FIND THE HIDDEN GEM Ricardo Vazquez 85
86. THE COMMON THREAD Ricardo Vazquez 86
87. EMPATHY OBSERVATION Ricardo Vazquez 87
88. WICKED PROBLEMS Ricardo Vazquez 88
89. DESIGN PROBLEMS Ricardo Vazquez 89
90. EMOTIONALLY MEANINGFUL Ricardo Vazquez 90
91. Thinking and feeling, rigorously and deeply. — Battarbee, Fulton Suri, Gibbs Howard Ricardo Vazquez 91
92. DESIGN THINKING Ricardo Vazquez 92
93. Ricardo Vazquez 93
94. Ricardo Vazquez 94
95. Ricardo Vazquez 95
96. UNDERSTAND THE WHY Ricardo Vazquez 96
97. PETER SENGE Ricardo Vazquez 97
98. The images, assumptions, and stories we carry in our minds about ourselves, other people [...] and every aspect of the world — Peter Senge Ricardo Vazquez 98
99. WE MADE IT TO THE END! Ricardo Vazquez 99
100. Ricardo Vazquez 100
101. EMPATHY Ricardo Vazquez 101
102. EMPATHY FRAMING Ricardo Vazquez 102
103. EMPATHY FRAMING THE ADJACENT POSSIBLE Ricardo Vazquez 103
104. EMPATHY FRAMING THE ADJACENT POSSIBLE INTEGRATIVE THINKING Ricardo Vazquez 104
105. THANK YOU ... and now, and activity! Ricardo Vazquez 105
106. Q&A Ricardo Vazquez 106
107. BE KIND REWIND Ricardo Vazquez 107
108. 1991 Ricardo Vazquez 108
109. Ricardo Vazquez 109
110. Ricardo Vazquez 110
111. YOUR STORE HAS A PROBLEM Ricardo Vazquez 111
112. 30% DON'T BOTHER Ricardo Vazquez 112
113. • Incentives • Penalties • 'Be Kind, Rewind' reminders • Rewinding machines at the store Ricardo Vazquez 113
114. Non-negotiable conditions 1. 100% customer accountability 2. No additional burden to customer 3. Extremely low cost – pennies per tape at most 4. Easy to implement Ricardo Vazquez 114
115. EMPATHY MAP Ricardo Vazquez 115
116. Empathy Map Canvas Designed for: Designed by: Date: Version: WHO are we empathizing with? What do they need to DO? What do they need to do differently? What job(s) do they want or need to get done? What decision(s) do they need to make? How will we know they were successful? Who is the person we want to understand? What is the situation they are in? What is their role in the situation? GOAL What do they SEE? What do they SAY? What do they DO? What do they HEAR? What do they THINK and FEEL? What do they see in the marketplace? What do they see in their immediate environment? What do they see others saying and doing? What are they watching and reading? What have we heard them say? What can we imagine them saying? What do they do today? What behavior have we observed? What can we imagine them doing? What are they hearing others say? What are they hearing from friends? What are they hearing from colleagues? What are they hearing second-hand? © 2017 Dave Gray, xplane.com Last updated on 16 July 2017. Download a copy of this canvas at http://gamestorming.com/empathy-map/ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 PAINS GAINS What are their fears, frustrations, and anxieties? What are their wants, needs, hopes and dreams? What other thoughts and feelings might motivate their behavior? Ricardo Vazquez 116
117. 40 MIN, THEN WE MOVE ON GROUPS OF 5 THINKERS Ricardo Vazquez 117
118. 20 MIN, THEN WE DEBRIEF GROUPS OF 5 THINKERS Ricardo Vazquez 118
119. DEBRIEF Ricardo Vazquez 119
120. THIS IS A TRUE STORY Ricardo Vazquez 120
121. Let's hear some of your ideas Ricardo Vazquez 121
122. THE LEAP OF SOLUTIONS Ricardo Vazquez 122
123. ROOT CAUSE ANALYSIS Ricardo Vazquez 123
124. YOU WERE MAKING AN ASSUMPTION Ricardo Vazquez 124
125. THE SOLUTION Ricardo Vazquez 125
126. NO ADDITIONAL BURDEN Ricardo Vazquez 126
127. WHEN Ricardo Vazquez 127
128. ... if we observed first, and designed second, we wouldn't need most of the things we build. — Ben Hamilton-Baillie Ricardo Vazquez 128
129. THANK YOU @iamrvazquez Ricardo Vazquez 129