Standard human-centered design practices are often well-suited for well-structured problems, but fall short for considering the broader social implications of solutions to well-structured problems and for attempting to address ill-structured or so-called “wicked societal problems” (e.g., our broken healthcare system, homelessness, addiction to social media or electronic devices). Richard will review many of the common characteristics of well-structured, ill-structured, and wicked problems, and, with the workshop attendees, will discuss their implications. Then, by questioning everything about the standard design process for well-structured problems, Richard will identify common process shortcomings, present examples of projects that ignored such shortcomings as well as of projects that didn’t, and provide attendees with the opportunity to experience ways of how to address such shortcomings. Attendees will emerge better able to target social impact intentionally and better able to design for achieving that intentional social impact.

1. QUESTION
EVERYTHING
Designing more
effectively for
social impact
28 March 2018
RICHARD ANDERSON
riander@oestrategy.com
@riander
OE Strategy
www.oestrategy.com
ATX

2. Standard human-centered design practices are often well-suited for well-
structured problems, but fall short for considering the broader social
implications of solutions to well-structured problems and for attempting to
address ill-structured or so-called “wicked societal problems” (e.g., our broken
healthcare system, homelessness, addiction to social media or electronic
devices).
Richard will review many of the common characteristics of well-structured, ill-
structured, and wicked problems, and, with the workshop attendees, will
discuss their implications.
Then, by questioning everything about the standard design process for well-
structured problems, Richard will identify common process shortcomings,
present examples of projects that ignored such shortcomings as well as of
projects that didn’t, and provide attendees with the opportunity to experience
ways of how to address such shortcomings.
Attendees will emerge better able to target social impact intentionally and
better able to design for achieving that intentional social impact.
ABOUT THIS CLASS

3. WHAT IS SOCIAL IMPACT?
The effect of an activity
on the social fabric of the community
and well-being of the individuals and families.
http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/social-impact.html

6. PlayPumps were going to harness the energy of children to provide
fresh water to sub-Saharan African villages. They didn't.

7. The “reductive seduction” is not malicious,
but it can be reckless. For two reasons. First, it’s
dangerous for the people whose problems you’ve
mistakenly diagnosed as easily solvable. There is
real fallout when well-intentioned people attempt
to solve problems without acknowledging the
underlying complexity.
There are so many examples. As David Bornstein
wrote in The New York Times, over four decades of
Westerners working on clean water has led to
“billions of dollars worth of broken wells and
pumps. Many of them functioned for less than
two years.”
One classic example: in 2006, the U.S.
government, The Clinton Foundation, The Case
Foundation, and others pledged $16.4 million to
PlayPump, essentially a merry-go-round pump
that produced safe drinking water. Despite being
touted as the (fun!) answer to the developing
world’s water woes, by 2007, one-quarter of the
pumps in Zambia alone were in disrepair. It was
later estimated that children would need to “play”
for 27 hours a day to produce the water
PlayPump promised.
…Second, the reductive seduction of other
people’s problems is dangerous for the people
whose problems you’ve avoided. While thousands
of the country’s best and brightest flock to far-
flung places to ease unfamiliar suffering and
tackle foreign dysfunction, we’ve got plenty of
domestic need.

14. Is ‘standard’ HCD
adequate
for designing for
(positive) social impact?
Often: No!

15. POSTER CHILD FOR DESIGN THINKING
Stanford d.school

16. PHASES OF DESIGN

17. BASIC PROCESS FROM QUESTION TO ANSWER
https://medium.com/digital-experience-design/how-to-apply-a-design-thinking-hcd-ux-or-any-creative-process-from-scratch-b8786efbf812#.6cvmqimrf

18. HCD = iterated observation, ideation, and testing

21. https://www.codeforamerica.org/focus-areas/healthy-communities

22. https://www.codeforamerica.org/focus-areas/healthy-communities
https://youtu.be/lqTFi2U2Ebc

23. THE PROBLEM SPECTRUM
well-structured ill-structured ‘wicked’
standard HCD

24. today’s focus
well-structured ill-structured ‘wicked’
THE PROBLEM SPECTRUM

25. from Wikipedia
Rittel & Webber’s 1973 formulation of wicked problems:

26. vivifychangecatalyst.wordpress.com

27. George Aye

28. Main Projects This Year Focus on
Improving Civic Engagement

31. A FEW COMMON CHARACTERISTICS
Can’t fix, only mitigate
Can’t just throw
it out there to
see if it works
Old / legacy systems,
processes, policies, & laws
impose constraints
Risk & change aversion
Those on the inside
don’t understand the
end-to-end journey
Lots of roadblocks and
previous failures

32. How might we adjust
our approach to more
effectively design for
social impact?
must

33. A bit about
my journey

34. A bit about Richard Anderson
Usability/
Discovery
Adventures

50. vivifychangecatalyst.wordpress.com

52. Susan Wolfe
Me

56. A bit about
your journey
Introduce yourself to
someone you don’t know.
What drew you to today’s class?

57. It’s not exhaustive.
We’re not going to solve world hunger.
It’s an opportunity to explore a number of
different aspects of how we do what we do.
It also provides pointers to some
online literature for you to continue
your exploration of this topic.
TODAY’S CLASS

58. Questioning the
adequacy of
standard HCD

67. EXERCISE IN
REFRAMING

69. INNOVATING ON WEARABLES
Wearables should not be defined primarily
through their form (technological objects one
can ‘wear’) or technical functions (tracking,
nudging, reminding). We can develop more
useful insights about the role of these
technologies in our lives are when we
conceptualize wearables in terms of the
relationship they have to our bodies, social selves,
and our personal identities. Every wearable and
object holds the promise and potential to
mediate the relation to the self as an embodied
being; social relations of belonging; and
autobiographical relations.
How might we think about designing wearables if we reframe its potential:
• as a tool for discipline and control?
• as technologies of belonging?
• as autobiographical objects?

70. Questioning the
goal of
reducing friction

71. A COMMON GOAL: REDUCING FRICTION

72. Poor design creates friction. … Whenever friction
occurs, someone becomes frustrated.

75. INTENTIONALLY DESIGNING FRICTION BACK INTO THE EXPERIENCE
Design for skill building
Design for self-reflection
Design for collisions
Design for confrontation
http://99u.adobe.com/videos/55963/steve-selzer-designing-for-friction

77. https://uxplanet.org/when-friction-in-design-is-good-for-ux-e2dd82cfab67

78. http://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Publication%20Files/11-091.pdf

79. EXERCISE IN
CONSIDERING
THE ROLE OF
FRICTION

80. CONSIDERING FOOD WASTE
What are some ways to change behavior by:
• reducing friction?
• adding friction?
https://foodsaving.weebly.com/food-waste-in-hong-kong.html

81. Questioning the
adequacy of
not considering
the entire ecosystem

88. https://il2cl4cblwb3ixgve3g3x9zk-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Impact-gaps-Canvas-Systems-copy.pdf

89. https://vimeo.com/193582920

91. http://www.dubberly.com/articles/connecting-things.html

92. EXERCISE IN
CONSIDERING
THE ECOSYSTEM

93. EXPLORING THE HEALTHCARE ECOSYSTEM
One of the biggest internal shifts in the healthcare industry in the recent past has been and
continues to be the systemic move from “fee-for-service” care to “value-based” care.
Practically speaking, “fee-for-service” was an easier revenue and innovation model to
understand. Things cost what they cost, and businesses were reimbursed for procedures
based in part on the number of them performed. The path from product to outcome was
clear—making the measurement of effectiveness straightforward. In the value-based world,
success is tied more closely to outcomes—how much a patient’s health has improved. As a
result of this shift, many medical device companies find themselves stuck at key points in
the innovation process, grappling with defining “What is the value? Who evaluates the
value? And, “How do we measure it?”
https://thrivethinking.com/2017/04/10/healthcare-innovation-seize-opportunity/
Identify the key stakeholders in the ecosystem and then:
• map the relationship between the entities (as you understand it today)
• speculate on the beliefs and values that each entity presently holds
Fee for service Fee for outcomes

94. EXPLORING THE FOOD SUPPLY ECOSYSTEM
Identify the key stakeholders in the ecosystem and then:
• map the relationship between the entities (as you understand it today)
• speculate on the beliefs and values that each entity presently holds
http://www.epd.gov.hk/epd/english/environmentinhk/waste/prob_solutions/food_waste_challenge.html

95. Questioning the
adequacy of
typical exploration of
design ramifications

107. Every day as designers, we are contributing to creating a new world
– one filled with international social networks, virtual personal
assistants, and self-driving car fleets. In lieu of a long history of
shared culture with these technologies, we need new stories and
mythologies to address the societal implications of these
transformations.

111. Questioning the
adequacy of
typical design research

116. not just “the neediest residents”

119. George Aye

129. How can design researchers avoid this?

132. EXERCISE IN
RECOGNIZING
YOUR OWN BIASES

133. ACKNOWLEDGING YOUR BIASES
“In 2011, team members from Design Impact (DI) and Tarsadia Foundation (Tarsadia) discussed
design’s role in addressing critical human needs.
“…designers often build relationships with outside organizations in order to take on social impact
projects. While these relationships may include business and government partners, more often that
not, designers work with non-profit organizations in some capacity.
We went on to discuss a critical gap at the intersection of the design and non-profit worlds; namely a
lack of understanding between each group for the other’s processes and models for change. These
two disciplines often speak different ‘languages,’ work at different speeds, and operate under
different incentives. This communication issue is a key factor that can hinder productive
collaboration. The DI and Tarsadia team identified a common goal: support productive
collaboration between designers and organizations working to address critical human needs.”
https://www.d-impact.org//wp-content/uploads/2015/06/guide_final.2.pdf
For each of the primary entities in your ecosystem:
• identify your personal beliefs and biases that could come into play
• explore how you might work to get around these

134. Questioning the
adequacy of
fast-paced, lean work

138. GOOB vs. time to generate ideas
MVP vs. big picture
Scientific test & measure vs. empathetic
Speed vs. slow, conscious design

141. Questioning the
adequacy of
project-framed
engagements

145. Questioning the
adequacy of
typical commercial goals

150. LOOK TO MODELS OF SHARED VALUE
SOCIAL VALUE
CORPORATE VALUE

151. REFRAMING THE WHY

154. Questioning the
adequacy of
designing for user
goals & feelings

158. QUESTION
EVERYTHING

159. A few
key takeaways

160. GENERAL PRINCIPLES
Fall in love with
the problem
Consider the
whole system
Establish long-term
relationships
Be creative Follow-through
Reframe the problem
Change must
be sustainable

161. https://www.wickedproblems.com/1_ryan_hubbard.php

162. Getting started
with designing for
social impact

163. QUESTION
EVERYTHING
Designing more
effectively for
social impact
28 March 2018
RICHARD ANDERSON
riander@oestrategy.com
@riander
OE Strategy
www.oestrategy.com
ATX

172. http://designthinking-socialup.eu/en/about

175. QUESTION
EVERYTHING
Thoughts?
Questions?
Many thanks.
RICHARD ANDERSON
riander@oestrategy.com
@riander
OE Strategy
www.oestrategy.com
ATX