wearefuturegov.com Seniority in design UX Insider Bitesize, Bournemouth @benholliday

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Ben Holliday Twitter: @benholliday Website/blog: benholliday.com medium.com/@BenHolliday Emily Tulloh Twitter: @emilytulloh Blog: medium.com/@emilytulloh Emily is a senior designer at FutureGov and is leading our response to the climate and ecological emergency. Julian Thompson Twitter: @julesequity Website: rootedbydesign.co.uk Julian is a senior designer at FutureGov and is founder of Rooted By Design - a community of Black Designers & problem solvers.

Question: What does it mean to be a senior designer?

Question: How can design support, inspire and create change where you work?

A design state of mind

A design mindset is how we respond to our immediate surroundings and work. This means asking different types of questions, and requires a different set of responses to the challenges we face.

FROM Business/technical perspective “It works like this to maintain BAU” Complexity “We’re dealing with great complexity” We can’t change that “Absolutely not…” Needing certainty “We need certainty” Fixed assumptions “How can we prove we’re right” Closed “There’s no need to share/make work visible” TO User-focussed “It could work like this for people in the future” Simplicity “Let’s go back to first principles” We can change that “Why not…” Not knowing “Ambiguity is okay, we can learn more by doing” Changing our minds “How might we be wrong about this” Open “Collaboration connects and creates new ideas”

Why should anyone care?

Hypothesis: culture in organisations (how we think and how we do things) is shaped by collective, small actions.

What is seniority in design?

[Original Blog Post] medium.com/seniority-in-design

More focus on outcomes than process (as a way of navigating complexity). Seniority in Design

Complex (complexity) means something that consists of many different and connected/ component parts.

Service map (navigating something complex)

An outcomes based approach to complexity: - Creating simple models to communicate component parts of a bigger picture/system. - Framing challenges and priorities without being drawn into detail too early or in the wrong places. - Having a clear goal (vision/proposition) to work towards that helps us stay focussed on user-based and/or policy outcomes.

Not over-complicating (and being able to visualise and communicate clearly). Seniority in Design

Complicated is what things become when we don’t design the tools, or have the ability to create the right conversations at the right touch points.

Storyboarding

User Experience (impact) Safeguarding outcomes (impact) Organisation capabilities Data security Service/systems view

Prototyping

Asking more questions (inc. more obvious questions). Seniority in Design

Asking the right questions to frame the problem bit.ly/framing-the-problem

Being prepared to take more measured risks, and being accountable for what happens. Seniority in Design

Design is about imagining what the future could look like. Putting sticks in the ground

A big idea is better than having a big plan. People get behind ideas, and are inspired, engaged and take action because of ideas.

Creativity should not be thought of as a specialist or localised resource, but as a competence that needs to be part of the fabric of a 21st century organisation.

Being able to deconstruct your work in order to teach or coach others. Seniority in Design

First principles is about breaking something down to its most fundamental component parts, or the things that you believe are true. Then you work from there.

“…[a framework or model] is purposefully reductive. It takes things away, emphasising only a small part of a large whole, so that we can focus only on what remains. A world map is a model of earth that removes nearly everything about the planet, leaving only relative masses, names of countries and cities, and overall proximity.” Jon Kolko

Letting go of perfection. Seniority in Design

80% rule You can be reaching for high standards but getting in the way of progress.

Working with increasing levels of ambiguity. Seniority in Design

No content

Ambiguity is holding opposing/different ideas in tension at the same time.

Learning by doing is working with what you don’t know.

Find your voice to lead

Design isn’t just something you do, it’s something you have to lead e.g. how you work with other people through a process and influence change.

Design is about constraints, so this is how we should shape how we lead.

You are only as good as your feedback loops.

Self reflection. Be your own feedback loop - make time to reflect on how you lead design, and make adjustments.

Seniority in design is about having personal responsibility.

How you use your time, energy, focus

Work in the gaps around you

Thanks @benholliday benholliday.com wearefuturegov.com