Co-design, Not Redesign

July 22, 2014

Session Notes: An Event Apart D.C. 2014

Kevin M. Hoffman - @kevinmhoffman

Collaboration is important.

File sharing and repositories are not collaboration.

Collaboration happens when the whole is greater than the sume.

Real-time meetings can lead to collaboration.


Anyone adding value is collaboration Have a means for anyone be have the opportunity to add value

Working alone and then showing a concept is not co-designing

When there is a disagreement over a piece of content or design element: - Who needs it? - What will they do with it?

Design the Meetings Design the Agenda

Great meetings start with clear objectives.

Plan meetings around decisions, not people.

Divergent Thinking - Make lists - Open discussions - Many perspectives - Suspend judgement

Convergent Thinking - Prioritize - Summarize - Agree - Use judgement

People need to be heard before they can listen.

Always make ideas before you take ideas.

2 ways to design meetings

  1. Plan outcomes
  2. Give room for ideas to breathe

Hypothesis (2 parts) 1. Problem Statement 2. Problem Exploration

Allowed client in on the ground floor of the process and created a test they signed off on before the design stage.

Handle these meetings with a facilitator - Is neutral - Doesn't evaluate or contribute ideas - Coordinates/manages the process - Selects questions and activities - Sufficient domain knowledge including technology, content, workflow & culture - Conducts one-on-one interviews BEFORE the meeting

I had to stop using meetings for research.

Give people access to the visual experience of being a designer. We don't just think in words and speech, we're visual.

Public Recording - Draw or write where everyone can see - Summarize and synthesize - Prepare visuals ahead of time

Critical ideas are lost if you don't use visuals.

2 ways to provide access to process

  1. Neutral, informed facilitation
  2. Use visuals for conflicts, concepts, agendas, and decisions

Transparency About Risks

Shorter and measurable experiments focus on results.

Metrics are strategy sign posts

Transparency about Outcomes

There is power in data, but it's becomes even more powerful as it is shared. Teams become more influential.

Facebook ran experiments and told know one, and it has caused a lot of backlash. Etsy does similar experiments, but they're completely transparent about what they're doing and what they're measuring.

2 Aspects of Transparency

  1. Focuses interest
  2. Changes culture

3 Building Blocks of Co-Design

  1. Designed Meetings
  2. Access to Process
  3. Transparency About Risks & Outcomes

You are a guide for doing this better.

Be deliberate. Play together.