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perspective. Soft systems have always had a close tie to the way design-
ers work. Peter Checkland, one of the SSM pioneers, said the following
in his book Systems Thinking, Systems Practice:
i s rationale lies in the fact that the complexity of human affairs is t
always a complexity of multiple interacting relationships; and pictures
are a better medium than linear prose for expressing relationships. Pic-
tures can be taken in as a whole and help to encourage holistic rather
than reductionist thinking about a situation
Design’s tradition of visualization and sketching fit very well with
SSM’s tendency toward visualization from the perspective of an actor
within the system. In the networked world the designer’s ability to
understand, explore, and explain complex interactions between people
and machines, and machines to machines, becomes even more import-
ant. SSM gives us a starting point to understand how to reframe com-
plex situations through a process that begins by embedding oneself
into the situation, expressing what you observe and understand that
situation to be, and then creating diagrams that express that under-
standing. Once the system is visualized it can be compared to observed
reality to understand which definition fits best in the given context and
what actions one should take to affect the system, described in SSM as
feasible and desirable changes. The use of visual tools helps the design-
ers and stakeholders build the same mental model, rather than the
ambiguity of individual conceptions.
Tools like this one become a primary piece of the twenty-first cen-
tury designer’s kit. Making sense of and expressing complex systems
of relationships, communication, and feedback lay the foundation for
good design decisions when dealing with complex networks, invisible
interfaces, and nuanced interactions.
New Tools for a New Craft
Although much of the core design process is fundamentally the same
as it was 30 years ago—beginning with exploratory methods includ-
ing research and sketching, moving through models and prototypes of
different fidelities toward a final product—the types of problems we’re
trying to solve and the tools we need to explore those solutions con-
tinue to change and evolve. New types of products require new types of
nandana
(Nandana)
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