Log in or create a free Rosenverse account to watch this video.
Log in Create free account100s of community videos are available to free members. Conference talks are generally available to Gold members.
Summary
In the early 1990s, the U.S. Army War College created an acronym to describe the geopolitical situation after the Cold War: VUCA. It stands for volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity, four characteristics they saw as defining the multilateral post-Cold War world. The rise of information technologies — and the internet in particular — has radically transformed our political, economic, and social reality. We are all now living in a generalized state of VUCA. We see signs of it everywhere — including the enterprise. Learn from Two Waves author Jorge Arango about how design can help organizations thrive by reducing volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity.
Key Insights
-
•
The VUCA framework—volatility, uncertainty, complexity, ambiguity—aptly describes modern organizational challenges shaped by accelerated technological change and globalization.
-
•
Design is not just about making better things; it is a distinct way of knowing that uses abductive reasoning and solution-focused strategies to tackle ill-defined problems.
-
•
Large enterprises remain trapped in Industrial Age organizational structures, making it difficult to respond effectively to network-age complexities.
-
•
Designers add the most value when engaging with the slower-changing foundational layers of organizations—purpose, strategy, and governance—not just surface UI layers.
-
•
Co-creation involving diverse stakeholders shifts design from a requirement-gathering exercise to a collaborative problem-solving practice that can transform organizational culture.
-
•
Design artifacts such as journey maps or navigation structures often act as 'macguffins'—catalysts for organizational collaboration rather than ends in themselves.
-
•
Language itself is an important design element; consciously mapping and aligning language across teams can reveal hidden misunderstandings and change organizational thinking.
-
•
The escalating pace and scale of software-driven change creates positive feedback loops, accelerating unpredictability in institutions and cultural contexts.
-
•
Design governance should be integrated into overall organizational governance, emphasizing shared responsibility rather than siloed design team ownership.
-
•
There is tension within design between being seen as a superficial craft versus a strategic discipline essential to organizational resilience and adaptation.
Notable Quotes
"Our appliances are attacking us somehow and bringing down major parts of our infrastructure."
"VUCA stands for volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity—a perfect description of the conditions we face today."
"Design is a third way of knowing, distinct from science and humanities, dealing with ill-defined problems through abductive thinking."
"Designers are the abductive organs of the institution, sensing and responding to complex challenges."
"When you bring other folks into the design process, you touch the deeper layers of the organization."
"Many design artifacts are macguffins—catalysts that make collaboration possible, but are not the real point."
"Language can be designed; mapping how different groups use the same terms reveals critical organizational misalignments."
"Design governance shouldn’t be isolated as a team’s responsibility but part of the organization’s overall governance."
"Design thinking programs often give a taste of design but don’t establish design as a sustained organizational competency."
"We as designers need to bring balance to the forces, including the best interests of the users and the organization."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"Share everything, own nothing but credit everyone."
Zariah CameronReDesigning Wellbeing for Equitable Care in the Workplace
September 23, 2024
"Ownership means belonging to the person who anticipates, observes, or monitors the prioritization process—not distributed ownership."
John Cutler Harry MaxPrioritization for designers and product managers (1st of 3 seminars) (Videoconference)
June 13, 2024
"Working in enterprise can feel like chaos with unclear directions and too much noise from new initiatives every six months."
Nick CochranGrowing in Enterprise Design through Making Connections
June 3, 2019
"Documentation helps explain the rationale and revisit decisions in the future, preventing repeated mistakes."
Deanna SmithLeading Change with Confidence: Strategies for Optimizing Your Process
September 23, 2024
"Meeting stakeholders where they are means understanding their language and prior knowledge, not just the physical location."
Magdalena ZadaraZero Hour: How to Get Far Quickly When Starting Your Digital Service Unit Late
November 16, 2022
"What gets us into trouble is not what we don’t know. It’s what we know for sure that just ain’t so."
Nova Wehman-BrownWe've Never Done This Before
June 4, 2019
"Artificial intelligence is about building human-like intelligence. This has opened up a golden opportunity for all of us to make a big impact."
Liwei DaiThe Heart and Brain of the AI Research
March 31, 2020
"My phone buzzed again. I have a job this weekend for you and your team to help on the COVID response if you’re available."
Gordon Ross12 Months of COVID-19 Design and Digital Response with the British Columbia Government
December 8, 2021
"We use design thinking to make north stars for products; I help people find their north stars."
Tutti TaygerlyMake Space to Lead
June 12, 2021