Summary
Many designers are recognizing the limitations of the design thinking process and acknowledge the need for systems thinking. In this talk, the audience will learn key concepts of systems thinking, as well as prompts that help them get started on their systems thinking journey. Sheryl will share frameworks that designers can take action with in order to incorporate systems thinking in their day-to-day decision-making.
Key Insights
-
•
Traditional design thinking often fails to consider systemic harm and wider societal impacts beyond individual users.
-
•
Optimizing for ease of use or delight, like infinite scroll, can lead to negative outcomes for humanity.
-
•
User-centered design can unintentionally reinforce existing power structures and business incentives that do not benefit users.
-
•
Systems thinking requires viewing problems as interconnected, adaptive, and dynamic rather than purely mechanical or component-based.
-
•
Cloud problems represent complex, changing systems that cannot be solved by breaking them into isolated parts like clock problems.
-
•
Making the invisible visible, such as through the iceberg model or STEEP framework, helps reveal root causes beyond visible symptoms.
-
•
Today's problems often stem from solutions applied in the past, sometimes creating harmful feedback loops like the Cobra effect.
-
•
Diverse and empowered stakeholder participation, especially including lived experts, enriches understanding and improves design outcomes.
-
•
Multi-finality means problems usually have multiple valid interventions, including non-design solutions like policy or business model changes.
-
•
Teaching systems thinking benefits from engaging students in mapping exercises and exploring unintended consequences through tools like the futures wheel.
Notable Quotes
"Optimizing something for ease of use does not mean best for the user or humanity."
"The user-centered design process does not acknowledge nor address potential harm."
"Designers are in the system not outside of it."
"People who understand the problem best are set up to do the best work."
"Today's problems come from yesterday's solutions."
"There will not be a singular solution or intervention; rather, there'll be multiple types of interventions."
"The future is already here, it’s just not very evenly distributed."
"Freedom dreaming is dreaming about a system that is free from today’s oppression."
"Cloud problems can’t be taken apart; they’re nebulous, adaptive, and dynamic."
"Multi-finality means there is no one way that a problem can be solved."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"When teams lose a sense of agency, they act strange, cutting corners and racing to get something out the door."
Standardizing Product Merits for Leaders, Designers, and Everyone
June 15, 2018
"The only people who can effectively map a space are those who work and understand that space intimately."
Simon WardleyMaps and Topographical Intelligence (Videoconference)
January 31, 2019
"The Reflexive Compass helps us discern bias patterns early, take accountability, and measure impact."
Sandra CamachoCreating More Bias-Proof Designs
January 22, 2025
"Appealing to stakeholders’ best interests helps build trust and rapport."
Darian DavisLessons from a Toxic Work Relationship
January 8, 2024
"Timely engagement helps stakeholders make faster, more informed decisions that lead to better business and product outcomes."
Fisayo Osilaja[Demo] The AI edge: From researcher to strategist
June 4, 2024
"Craft cultivates customer satisfaction, loyalty, and even forgiveness when functional issues arise."
Uday GajendarThe Wicked Craft of Enterprise UX
May 13, 2015
"Trust is often underestimated but is critical when designers face public critique and feedback."
Davis Neable Guy SegalHow to Drive a Design Project When you Don’t Have a Design Team
June 10, 2021
"Launching a design system is not a sprint, there’s no end, it’s always a continuous process."
Eniola OluwoleLessons From the DesignOps Journey of the World's Largest Travel Site
October 24, 2019
"Most of us in design are very process-oriented, but traditional devops tools are task and issue-centric, making collaboration hard."
Aurobinda Pradhan Shashank DeshpandeIntroduction to Collaborative DesignOps using Cubyts
September 9, 2022