MUO-E8012 - Design for Government, 26.02.2019-21.05.2019
Kurssiasetusten perusteella kurssi on päättynyt 21.05.2019 Etsi kursseja: MUO-E8012
Assignment 2 - Systems perspective
During A2, you will continue to collect but also to ANALYZE the information you are collecting through your PROJECT PLAN. You will take a deep dive into your project context to analyze and articulate a holistic picture of the challenges. A holistic picture includes a human perspective (individual accounts, experiences and needs), but it is also much more than that. In addition to individual people, it includes institutions, regulations, infrastructures, power relations, finances, flows and obstacles between these etc. To ‘zoom out’ while still including the human perspective, we take inspiration from systems thinking and mapping in this assignment. A systems map/model helps to reveal leverage points for intervention - it can also act both as documentation and communication.
A2 starts Tues 19 Mar and lasts 3 weeks (including the mid-review)
In A2 you will:
Learn about and apply ANALYSIS METHODS to the information you have collected
Develop a SYSTEMIC PICTURE of the context/challenge of your project, use this to reframe the project brief and articulate (1-3) specific PROBLEM(s)
Present and receive feedback from stakeholders during MID-REVIEW
ANALYSIS METHODS and SYSTEMIC PICTURE
In class, in your small groups, you will learn about and start ANALYSIS of information collected so far, including the stakeholder workshop and any interviews/observations already done. Interviews and observations take time to set-up, so you will need to be opportunistic to schedule these, and these may be spread over several weeks.
19 Mar
You will start analysis in class, but you will need to continue and update your analysis on your own, and this will be in focus again on 16 Apr. You will also need to develop within your group ways of archiving, sharing and storing documentation and analysis materials.
Analysis may be communicated in multiple forms such as:
- Key themes derived from grouping and clustering issues across multiple (primary and secondary) sources of information. A common method for doing analysis in design is “Affinity Diagramming” (see Lucero reading).
- Instances that demonstrate the themes - for example, a typical or extreme person or situation - that is detailed through quotes, photos, or other ‘rich description’. Techniques common in design such as ‘personas’ may be used, but focus should always be more on giving an detailed account of real experiences and situations rather than making stereotypes.
- SYSTEMS MAP/MODEL elaborating the wider context and holistic picture.
- Statement(s) of conclusions or problems based on these.
Between 19 Mar and 26 Mar
Throughout the course, organize your own groupwork. Carry out your group PROJECT PLAN, divide and delegate tasks within your plan. Update the research and teamwork parts of the plan. Once you have done a few interviews, review the steps and workload involved, use this to restructure and specify your plans. Now that you have tried a round of analysis, discuss the steps and workload so that you can revise your RESEARCH PLAN accordingly once you have more information that will need to be analyzed. Start to become more specific about how much and what kinds of research to be done. One of the most important skills you can learn in project work is how to delegate and how much is enough!
Before 26 Mar, read Meadows 'Why systems surprise us', chapter 4, pages 86–110.
26 Mar
10:45 Reading Circle
- Read in advance the required reading (Meadows, chapter 4, pages 86-110)
- During the 26 Mar Reading Circle, we will read more of the Meadows book in class.
Through a class Reading Circle, groupwork and tutorials, you will continue analysis, specifically through perspectives and a reading (Meadows) on SYSTEMS thinking. We will discuss the ‘Soft Systems’, approach and tools such as STEEP and CATWOE. Within each group, you should develop a systems map/model through which to communicate your analysis.
Based on your analysis and systems inspiration, formulate clear statements or conclusions about the human/systems context of the project brief. To do this, you will need to pick one part or one aspect of the brief to focus on. You will need to ‘reframe’ the general problem written in the brief to a more specific or concrete problem, or problems, in relation to your analysis.
Link to Katri's presentation: https://prezi.com/a3vspopqvtqs/systems-thinking/?utm_campaign=share&token=2de0c16e9660f69ab1bd3cde5d3bfa88e259cb858d776ced3e87664227cf814b&utm_medium=copy
Between 26 Mar and 2 Apr
Continue your research and analysis. Develop a presentation communicating your findings and using your interview/observation documentation and systems map/model.
For the mid-review presentation, each group gets 15 min to present. Suggested presentation contents:
BRIEF You do *not* need to present the original brief. Present, instead, your interpretation of or the most relevant piece for your insights. Remember that another team has the same brief, so liase with the other team beforehand.
DESCRIPTION (briefly) of your approach, be precise about the methods you have used from the start of class until Mid-Review. What data/materials is your analysis based on?
ANALYSIS This is perhaps the bulk of your presentation! What did you discover? Qualitative details, pictures, interviewee stories, personas? Systems diagram and/or 'rich picture' of relevant variables and structures, perhaps flows, obstacles and opportunities?
INSIGHTS Suggest 1-3 main insights or conclusions derived from your analysis. What is most promising to continue with? Use these to evoke stakeholder feedback!
Presentation tips:
- Divide the time among the different contents as you think appropriate
- Rehearse at least twice in advance
- Consider who should speak when and about what
- Speak clearly and slowly, this is new for many
- Consider aspects of storytelling and visualization
- Be visual in your presentation, you will not need to verbally describe and detail everything if it is on the slides, use quotes and photos, affinity diagrams, systems maps/models, rich pictures. Visuals can 'speak for themselves' to reinforce and make your verbal presentation more accessible!
- Welcome to ask questions and involve audience…
1 Apr (Mon, latest 17:00)
Upload your mid-review presentation slides in this folder. We will print and bring your slides to help in discussion and debrief.
2 Apr MID-REVIEW (link to invitation you can send your clients)
Format of Mid-Review
Project 'Artificial Intelligence'
13:00 greeting stakeholders by students and teachers
13:10-13:30 group AI1 (15+5 min) (KKV1 takes notes)
13:30-13:50 group AI2 (15+5 min) (KKV2 takes notes)
13:50-14:10 round-table discussion
Stakeholders leave
14:10 greeting stakeholders by students and teachers
14:20-14:40 group KKV1 (15+5 min) (AI1 takes notes)
14:40-15:00 group KKV2 (15+5min ) (AI2 takes notes)
15:00-15:20 table discussion
Stakeholders leave
Between 2 and 6 Apr
3 Apr (Wed, 3pm)
Each group should synthesize the notes they took for one other group at the mid review - make a precise summary. Please be constructive! Send feedback by email directly to the other group (cc Ramia).
8 Apr (Mon, 3 pm)
BLOG due
Second blog post is due - one blog per group. Use this to shortly summarize your presentation and, if you want, your thoughts afterwards. Delegate who within the supergroup will prepare the blog post - consider balancing the workload such that those with less workload preparing for the workshop take responsibility for this task. For instructions see Assignments > Group Blogs.
Between 8 and 16 Apr
There is no DfG class during the week of 9 Apr. Depending on your schedules and workload, you may continue carrying out your research plan until next class 16 Apr in which we start A3 Intervention.
Analysis and systems approaches
During A2, you will be introduced to and apply analysis methods and systems thinking techniques.
Optional readings for those less familiar with these perspectives:
Checkland and Poulter (2007) Learning for Action: A Short Definitive Account of Soft Systems Methodology.
Cuesta and Marton (2017) Systemic Design: Reflections on a case study from the Design for Government course
Lucèro (2015) Using Affinity Diagrams to Analyze Interactive Prototypes.
Jones (2015) Systems Design Principles for Complex Social Systems