It’s Complicated – Designing in The Age Of Emergence Slides from the NUX7 talk by Christina Wodtke, Friday 19th October 2018. 2018.nuxconf.uk / nuxuk.org Synopsis The problem with unexpected consequences is that they are unexpected. The time of “move fast and break things” is over, as we have broken everything from hearts to democracy. It’s time for designers, along with their partners – engineers and business – to embrace a new long term approach to bringing change into the world, that focuses less on disruption and more on evolution. In this talk, Christina will explore various approaches to designing more robust and compassionate change.

1. It's Complicated
Designing in the Age of Emergence
Christina Wodtke
Lecturer, Stanford University

4. Pop Quiz

6. Cynefin
framework

7. Obvious
Sense-Categorize-Respond

8. Pattern Libraries

9. Literature
Review

10. Comparitve
Analysis

11. Don’t do this Do This
Mocking endless arguments is fun

12. Crowdsource
• Write down five things you want to learn
• Find someone sitting near you who knows something about that
topic
• Plan to meet at the break.

13. Complicated
Sense Analyze Respond

15. Dan roam
Dan Roam

16. Model Everything!
Five SIX models for making sense

17. Scott Bernatino

18. Maps, Models,
Canvases

19. “VISUAL MODELS ARE ALL ABOUT
MEANING THROUGH SPATIAL
ARRANGEMENT”
- STEPHEN P ANDERSON

20. 01
Christina Wodtke
DAVE GRAY
ILLUSTRATION MODEL

21. Mind Maps
What’s in the system

23. I feel like drawing slows me down
to give me thinking time.
-Andrew Reid

24. ANDREW REID,
GAME DESIGNER
MIND MAPS FOR
GAME DESIGN

25. Concept Maps
What are the relationships

26. DUBBERLY DESIGN OFFICE

27. System Maps
Understand existing structures

28. Microwave system model
http://sce.uhcl.edu/whiteta/sdp/createSystemModel.html

29. From Stone Librande’s One Page Designs

30. Mental Models
Understand the Customer’s
Point of View

33. Mental Model,
organized by task
Company OR
Competitor Offerings

34. Concept Models
Visual Explanations

35. 01
Christina Wodtke
• Sunni Brown
• Doodle Revolution

36. ELEMENTS & RELATIONSHIPS
(Systems, a la Brown)

37. Explain a new idea
Chris Crawford

38. Bubble Diagram

39. PROCESSES

40. Today Team explains their offering

42. Andrew Reid

43. COMPARISONS

45. Uncovering the Secrets of Mammoth Island

46. 01
Christina Wodtke
• 2x2’s are ALL about
comparisons!

49. MODELING AS THINKING

50. 01
Christina Wodtke
Kitten Farming concept by Daniel
Cook, CCO of Spryfox

51. Robin Hunicke

52. Stone Librande

53. Stone Librande

54. CANVASES AS MAPS FOR THE
COMPLEX

56. Dave gray

58. Complex Probe Sense Respond

59. Interconnectedness Shift from a linear, structured
worldview to a dynamic, chaotic,
interconnected array of
relationships and feedback
loops.

60. How to Map
Fishbone Diagram

61. Causality
Is really about being able to
decipher the way things influence
each other
How one thing results in another
thing in a dynamic and
constantly evolving system.
This leafs to a deeper
perspective on agency,
feedback loops, connections &
relationships.

65. Emergence
We use this term to describe the
outcome of things interacting
together
Emergence is the outcome of
the synergies of the parts. It’s
about non-linearity and self-
organization.

66. What are some examples of
emergence?

67. How to Map
Emergence:
Iceberg model

68. How to Map Emergence: Stocks and flows

69. Design for Complexity
and Emergence

70. MDA:
Mechanics,
Dynamics,
Aesthetics

71. CAMP
Context, Archicture, Mechanics, Poetics

72. What do you think of when
you think of writing?

73. 75
Word is about power, control, precision

74. 76
OmmWriter
Beauty, peace, zen
OmmWriter plays soft chimes, setting a mood
of “the artist’s way”

75. 77
IAwriter’s poetics invokes Hemmingway and
Wolfe.
Serious, typewritten, the labor of words

76. Evaluating

79. Chaotic
Act Sense Respond

80. B=f(P+E)
Lewin’s equation

82. Let’s Talk

83. Thank
You
@cwodtke | me@cwodtke.com
www.cwodtke.com
CHRISTINA WODTKE

84. Appendix

85. HOW FANCY SHOULD THEY BE?

86. Stephen p anderson

87. Bill Verplank

88. 01
Christina Wodtke
• A simple model you
can draw on a
whiteboard becomes
a meme.
• Is this why Lean
Startup is huge?

89. 01
Christina Wodtke
• Determine the GOAL: how will the model be used, by
whom? What is the job of the model? To change minds,
explain a concept, simplify complexity?
• INVENTORY THE CONCEPTS: brainstorm many parts
of your concept. Keep adding more in the margins as
you go.
• INSPECT THE CONCEPTS: are there many concepts
hiding in one? Do you really understand each idea?
• Determine the RELATIONSHIPS: how do the concepts
interact?
•  Decision point: do i understand the ideas and what
i’m trying to communicate?
• Test: ask yourself if the model “feels” right.
• If yes, then continue.

90. 01
Christina Wodtke
• Elements of a model
• By Stephen P Anderson

91. 01
Christina Wodtke
• Elements of a model
• By Stephen P Anderson

92. WHO IS BOUBA AND WHO IS KIKA?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bouba/kiki_effect

93. PAST AND FUTURE?
TVERSKY, B Visualizing Thought https://mechanism.ucsd.edu/teaching/F12/cs200/Readings/tversky.visualizingthought.2010.pdf

94. Flow Ventures: Competitive Analysis for Startups: The Goal

95. Metaphor
• “looking up” “Looking forward to”
• “feeling down” “Down in the dumps”
• “Maladroit” “Sinister”
• “ON the road to peace” “doorway to success” “Life in the
fast lane” “take it to the next level” Level up”

97. 01
Christina WodtkeDave gray
• What should I draw?
• Consider the elements

98. 01
Christina WodtkeDave gray | http://www.xplaner.com/visual-thinking-school/
• What should I draw?
• Consider the purpose

99. Metaphor
Deck by Christina Wodtke

100. Richard Saul
Wurman

101. Which direction is the future?

102. Which direction is good?

103. Metaphor is fundamental
to how we think
- George Lakoff &
Mark Johnson
Metaphors We Live By

104. Micro Metaphors
• Embedded in our language
• Rooted in our world view
• Shaping our perceptions

105. More is up/
Good is up
• I’m feeling up. That boosted
my spirits.
• I’m feeling down.
• Get up. Wake up. She rises
early.
• He’s at the peak of health.
• He’s under the weather.
• I am on top of the situation.
He is under my power.
• My income rose last year.

106. Future is forward, past is back
• In the weeks ahead of us…
• That’s all behind us…
• I’m looking forward to seeing him.
• Back to the good old days
See also
http://blog.nearfuturelaboratory.com/2010/09/26/representations-

110. “Any time you see
signs or labels added
to a device, it is an
indication of
bad design.”
Don Norman

111. The conduit metaphor
• The conduit metaphor
• Ideas are objects
• Linguistic expressions are containers
• Communication is sending

112. The conduit metaphor (cont’d)
• It’s difficult to put my ideas into words.
• It’s hard to get that idea across to him
• You’re reasons came through to us.
• His words carry little meaning.
• Your words seem hollow.
• The idea is buried in terribly dense paragraphs.

113. Argument is War
• Your claims are indefensible
• He attacked every weak point in my argument
• Her criticisms were right on target
• I demolished his argument.
• I’ve never won an argument with her.
• You disagree? Okay, shoot!
• If you use that strategy, she’ll wipe you out.
• He shot down all of my arguments.

114. Mundo Metaphors

115. pie

118. Macro
Metaphor

120. Southwest Airlines 1995

121. Find the
metaphors
on your
computer
2 Minutes
List on paper

122. Redesign
computer
as a
kitchen
5 Minutes
Draw in
sketchbook

123. Share with
table
10 minutes
(divide time
fairly)