Navigating the pitfalls of systems thinking in service design
Summary
While systems thinking is all hype, a superficial application may jeopardize the value of service design practice. This talk will highlight the hidden dangers of applying systems thinking, with examples of struggles from over a decade of practice experience. To support the ongoing evolution of service design, this talk will share strategies for adopting a systemic approach that amplifies, rather than erodes, the transformative potential of the practice.
Key Insights
-
•
Mega maps and giga maps often flatten complex systems, creating overwhelming cognitive load and a false sense of total system capture.
-
•
Embodiment and emotions are systemic capacities that help understand and navigate systems beyond cognitive maps.
-
•
Small-scale actions and patterns reflect and can influence larger systemic changes, as shown by Adrian Marie Brown and Ing Duan’s work.
-
•
The obsession with 'the system level' or macro changes risks overlooking powerful small-scale systemic work.
-
•
Focusing on one next big transformation erases plurality, creativity, and the capacity for ongoing adaptation.
-
•
The concept of the 'uncommons' supports holding multiple ways of knowing and ongoing negotiation within systems.
-
•
Traditional project-based models constrain systemic work by limiting follow-up on ripple effects beyond project boundaries.
-
•
Design research programs offer a programmatic, emergent alternative to linear project management frameworks.
-
•
Reflecting critically on the internal systems within ourselves and teams is essential to avoid blind spots, like ignoring intersectional power issues.
-
•
Service design risks perpetuating professional dominance instead of stewarding and supporting existing diverse systemic shaping by many actors.
Notable Quotes
"We have this tendency that once we’ve made this big mega map, we think we’ve captured the system in its entirety."
"Blushing is an inherently systemic reaction to understanding what’s acceptable in a situation or not."
"How we are at the small scale reflects the systemic patterns at the large scale. - Adrian Marie Brown"
"We often conflate the three horizons model into an A to B story, replacing the old with the new, erasing plurality."
"Design research programs are drifting frames for design experiments guided by collective inquiry questions instead of fixed outputs."
"We need to work at the systems inside ourselves, building critical reflexivity to recognize intersecting power dynamics."
"Instead of perpetuating professional design as the dominant approach, we should support people's many ways of shaping systems."
"Systems are shaped in the mundane, the insignificant, and the extraordinary every day."
"I would rather invite designers to be method makers than method users."
"Knowing where you are and where you stand is the start of addressing colonialism in embodied practice."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"Customer obsession is actually one of our key values, which makes my job as a researcher a little bit easier."
Joanna Vodopivec Prabhas PokharelOne Research Team for All - Influence Without Authority
March 9, 2022
"I didn’t understand just how complex everything was both on the stakeholder and technology side."
Louis Rosenfeld Lashanda Hodge Senongo Akpem Chris HodowanecBecoming a Civic Designer: Making the Move from Private to Public Sector
November 17, 2022
"We are back and we are right on time. Eight o'clock on the dot."
Bria AlexanderDay 3 Welcome
September 25, 2024
"Am I getting what I wanna get out of this conference? What’s not coming and what would I still like to learn?"
Uday Gajendar Louis RosenfeldDay 2 Welcome
June 5, 2024
"Confidence is a higher burden in retail because people are giving real money; inaccessible flows cause quick abandonment."
Sam ProulxOnline Shopping: Designing an Accessible Experience
June 7, 2023
"Internal projects give new hires a safe place to learn how the organization functions without fear of breaking things."
Russ UngerOnboarding: The Ecosystem, not the Afterthought
November 7, 2017
"We could impact the end-to-end customer service and customer experience through our most underutilized asset: our store employees."
Catherine DubutBridging Physical and Digital Spaces: Approaches to Retail Service Design
March 18, 2021
"These intelligent interfaces are collaborative, proactive partners on the user’s journey."
Josh Clark Veronika KindredSentient Design: New Postures for AI-Mediated Experiences (2nd of 3 seminars)
January 29, 2025
"Designers who come out of US tech need to pivot quickly toward broader inclusion or risk being outpaced by other markets."
Dantley DavisLeadership & Diversity—A Fireside Chat with Dantley Davis
September 17, 2020
