Articulating a strategic approach to face complexity in design projects

Abstract

In today’s world of global wicked problems, constraints and imperatives imposed by an external and uncertain environment render strategic action a quite complex endeavour. Since the 1990s, within community initiatives and philanthropic projects, the construct of Theory of Change has been used to address such complexity. Theory of Change can be defined as the systematic and cumulative study of the links between the activities, outcomes, and context of an intervention. The area of focus for this paper is to explore whether Theory of Change can support more strategic approaches in design. In particular, the paper examines how Theory of Change was applied to DESIGNSCAPES - a project oriented, among other things, toward offering a supporting service for all those city actors interested in using design to develop urban innovation initiatives that tackle complex issues of broad concern.

Applying Theory of Change to strategy articulation cycles in design projects: Potentials and shortcomings through the Designscapes case study

“…The project definition can be revisited and refined over time, leading to the development of the strategy. After definition and refinement, a strategy can become a key evaluation tool; outcomes can be specified and measured as indicators to assess progress and achievements along the 'change journey', and will be used to test the theory" (Simeone et al, 2019). Data collected along the way enables these assumed causal pathways to be tested.…”

“…A limited number of previous studies looked at how Theory of Change can support such processes of strategy articulation (Simeone et al, 2019). Theory of Change -a framework emerged within community initiatives and philanthropic projects in the 1990s (Anderson, 2004) -is increasingly used as a way to plan and evaluate complex social interventions .…”

Navigating Service Design Tools Using the Map of Capabilities

“…It does so by starting from a set of assumptions and hypotheses about the present (theory of problem) and then shows the theorised causal pathways between a project's objectives, its activities, and its expected outcomes and impacts. It says, 'If we take action X, then this will cause effect Y, and this will eventually lead to outcome Z' (Simeone et al 2019).…”

An Introductory Review of Methods for the Articulation of Strategy in Design

“…competitors or external factors that might affect our plans (Mintzberg, 1994) and (4) the processes for defining and implementing sets of actions that take into consideration all the above (Echevarria, 2017). Within design research, a consensus and quite ample definition of strategy emerging from a survey of literature has been characterized as about "finding a balance between ends, means and ways while keeping an eye on risks as to achieve the impact needed to address a challenge" (Simeone et al, 2019). Oftentimes, existing design research has been carried out under the rubrics of strategic design or design strategy.…”

“…a strategy for a new design product line or a strategy to use a design approach within an organization) might call for different and specific methods for strategy articulation. While acknowledging this complexity, this paper is built on two premises: (1) it specifically focuses on the initial phases of strategy articulation where the broad characterizations of strategy presented above (Rumelt, 2011;Freedman, 2013;Simeone et al, 2019) can be used, and (2) it solely examines the specific aspect of strategy articulation and, thus and deliberately, does not look into the existing rich literature in how strategy can be continuously re-articulated, fine-tuned, put at play and executed within organizations (Borja de Mozota, 2003;Cooper et al, 2011;Svengren Holm, 2011).…”