d i s t u r b s r e l a t i o n s c r e a t i n g t h a t i s l a r g e e n o u g h g a i n s f r a m e s p o s s i b i l i t i e s f o r m u s t b e s h a r e d t h r o u g h
t h a t f a i l s m a y l e a d t o n e w m a y p r o m p t a n e w m a y c r e a t e a m u l t i p l i e r e f f e c t l e a d i n g t o m o r e m o t i v a t e s p o s s e s s
m u s t b e p r o v e d t h r o u g h
h e l p s i m p r o v e
r e d u c e s r i s k , e n c o u r a g i n g r e f o r m s r e l a t i o n s c r e a t i n g a l l d e l i v e r i n e v i t a b l y l e a d t o i f s t r o n g ,r a i s e c a l l s f o r e f f i c i e n c y , d a n g e r o u s l y r e d u c i n g b e n e f i t f r o m ( i n c r e a s e e f f i c i e n c y b y ) s h a r i n g s k i l l s wi t h i n a a g r e e s o n & i s s h a p e d b y m a i n t a i n s r e l a t i o n s h i p t o
conventioncontext
(environment)
innovationcommunity commuconventioncontext
may fail to recognizeeach faces
i s i m b a l a n c e i n r e l a t i o n s a m o n g
p o s e l o n g - t e r m t h r e a t s t o a n y
c r e a t e s n e w
i s b a l a n c e i n r e l a t i o n s a m o n g
p r e s e r v e s s t a t u s q u o b y r e s i s t i n g
i s a m e a s u r e o f p r o p e n s i t y f o r
aidsrequirescomes fromdrive
pressure
(external)
decay
(internal)
change
(disturbance)
misfit
(pain)
recognition
(definition)
insight
(seeing opportunity)
preparation
(immersion)(a bit of luck)
articulation
(prototyping)
demonstration
(testing)
evaluates
adoption
(counter-change)
fit
(gain)
leads to newis reflected as increased
variety
(experiences)
actionsartifactsbeliefs
may lead tomay lead to
valueindividualsinnovation
a model of
i n c r e a s e s t h e l i k e l i h o o d o f
DubberlyDesignOfficepreparedthisconceptmapasaprojectoftheInstitutefortheCreativeProcessattheAlbertaCollegeofArtandDesign.TheInstituteexiststofocusandorganizeactivities,enterprises,andinitiativesofACADwithregardtothecultivationofdialogue,research,andspecialprojectsthatdirectlyaddress thenatureofthecreativeprocessanddesignthinking.ACADisaleadingcentreforeducationandresearch,andacatalystforcreativeinquiryandculturaldevelopment.Pleasesendcommentsaboutthismodeltoicp@acad.ca
Acknowledgements
WritinganddesignbyHughDubberly,NathanFelde,andPaulPangaroAdditionaldesignbySeanDurhamandRyanReposarResearchbySatokoKakihara,ACADfacultyChrisFrey,WayneGiles,andDarleneLeeCopyright©2007DubberlyDesignOffice2501HarrisonStreet,#7SanFrancisco,CA941104156489799InstitutefortheCreativeProcessattheAlbertaCollegeofArt+Design1407-14AveNWCalgary,ABCanadaT2N4R34032847670
Sponsorship
EPCOR,afoundingpartneroftheInstitutefortheCreativeProcess,generouslyprovidedfundingforthisproject. PrintedinCanadaW.RossAshbydescribesvarietyasameasureofinformation.Varietydescribesasystem’spotentialtorespondtodisturbances—theoptionsithasavailable.Appliedtocommunities,varietydescribestheexperiences—therichnessoflanguageandrangeofculturaltools—theycanbringtobearonproblems.Inastableenvironment,increasingefficiencymakessense.Dowhatyou’vebeendoing,butdoitbetterandatalowercost.Thatmeansnarrowinglanguage—decreasingvariety.Inanunstableenvironment,pursuingefficiencymayactuallybedangerous.Youmaygetbetteratdoingthewrongthing—atdoingsomethingthatnolongermatters.Thekeyistomakesurewhatyouproduceisvaluable,beforeyouworryaboutmakingitmoreefficiently.Increasingeffectivenesscallsforincreasingvariety—changingperspective,bringingnewpeople,newexperience,andnewlanguageintotheconversationandexpandingthefieldofaction.Someorganizationshaveprocessesbywhichtheirmembersbuild(orbuy)newideasatasmallscale.Theorganizationsvet(orselectordestroy)ideas,movingafewtothenextstage.They“incubate”newideasin“hothouses”longenoughtolaunchthemintotheworld.Examplesinclude(perhapsmostnotably)RoyalDutchShell,somereligions(suchasCatholicism),venturecapitalfirms,and technologycompaniessuchasGoogle.Somecommunities(someecologies)seemtohavethevarietyandstructuresneededtoraisetheprobabilityofinnovation(withincertaindomains).Forexample,SiliconValley,Route128aroundBoston,Austin,ResearchTriangle,andSeattleallcurrentlyenjoy thisadvantage.Insightbeginsaprocessofrestoringfit.Insightremainsthemostmysteriouspartoftheinnovationprocess.Itmaybeirreducible,butitcanbeaided.Immersionwithinthecontextisalmostalwaysessential.Experiencewithotherdomainshelps(byincreasingvariety).Forexample,applyingpatternsfromotherdomainscanhelpsolvenewproblems.ThisisthepromiseofGenrichAltshuller’ssystemknownasTRIZ.Insightisatypeofhypothesis,aformofabduction.Insightmaycomefromjuxtapositionandpatternmatching.GyörgyPolyasuggestsasking:Whatistheunknown?Whatarethedata?Whatisthecondition?(Whataretheconstraints?)Whatistheconnectionbetweendataandunknown?Whatisarelatedproblem?Howcouldyourestatetheproblem?Whatcouldyoudrawtorepresenttheproblem?Noinnovationarisesfullyformed.Articulationprovidesameansofsharinganinsight.Demonstrationproves(ordisproves)theinsight’svalue.Demonstrationprovidesabasisforadoption;itisakeytocreatingchange.Demonstrationenablesevaluation.Testingdiscloseserrors,increasesunderstanding,andprovidesabasisforimprovement.Iterationisalwaysnecessary.Ofcourse,theconventionresultingfromasuccessfulinnovationdiffersfromtheconventionthatprecededit.Likewise,thecommunitythatexistsafteraninnovationislikelytohavechangedfromthecommunitythatprecededit.Thecontext,too,islikely tohavechangedbeyondthechangewhichcreatedthemisfitleadingtoaninnovation.Thescaleofchangevaries.Manypeoplehaveproposedmodels,forexample:MichaelGeoghegan:RecognizinganewdomainofinventionCreatingnewopportunitiesfordiscoverywithinthedomainImprovingtheefficiencywithwhichthediscoveriesareappliedHorstRittel:Simpleproblems,wherethegoalisdefinedComplexproblems,wherethegoalremainsunclearWickedproblems,whereconstituentscannotagreeonthegoalParrishHanna:TacticalorincrementalStrategicorpunctuatedCulturalorprocess-orientedEachinnovationisalinkbetweentwoconventions: theoneitreplacesandtheoneitbecomes.Aninnovationisapivot;ittransformsoneperiodintothenext.Everyconventionexistswithinacommunity.Aconventionestablishesarelationbetweenacommunityanditscontext.Itdefinesaway thecommunityexpectsitsmemberstobehaveinagivensituation.Itprescribesthetools theycanuse,evenwhattheycanthink.Everyinnovationhasaprecedentinapreviousconvention.Everycommunityexistswithinacontext.Contextistheenvironmentinwhichacommunitylives.Tosurvive,acommunitymusthaveastablerelationshipwithitsenvironment.Maintainingthatstablerelationshipisthepurposeofconventions.Acommunityisasystemofpeoplewhointeractwithinanagreedsetofrules—conventions.Typically,membersofacommunityshareacommonlocationorcommoninterests.Theymayberelatedbybirthormaycome togetherforsocialorbusinessreasons.Communitiesrelyonindividualstoprovidethevarietynecessaryforsurvival— toshareperspective,insight,ideas,andinspiration.Overtime,newmembersjoinandexistingmembersdepart.Thesechangescanaffecttheconventionsthecommunitykeeps.Entropyalwaysincreases.Resistingentropyrequiresenergyandvariety.Inevitably,botharelimited.Pressurefromoutsideordecayinsidechangestherelationshipbetweenacommunityanditscontext.Thatrelationship—formalizedasaconvention—isnolongercomfortable,nolongerafit.Adisturbanceupsetsanexistingconvention.Thisisarootcauseofinnovation.Adisturbancehasvarietyofitsown.Unlessacommunityhascorrespondingvarietytocancelit, thevarietyinadisturbancewilloverwhelmthecommunity.Varietycancelsvariety.Amisfitariseswhenaconventionnolongermaintainsadesiredrelationbetweenacommunityanditscontext.Misfitmanifestsitselfaspain.Itexactsacost—physical,mental,social,orfinancial—onmembersofthecommunity.
C o n v e n t i o n s e x i s t i n a w e b o f c u l t u r e . I n n o v a t i o n i n o n e p l a c e a f f e c t s r e l a t e d c o n v e n t i o n s a n d m a y r e d u c e t h e i r “ f i t , ” h a s t e n i n g f u r t h e r i n n o v a t i o n . A s t h e c y c l e c o n t i n u e s , s e c o n d - o r t h i r d - o r d e r o r i n d i r e c t e f f e c t s a r e n o t k n o w a b l e i n a d v a n c e . R e s u l t s c a n b e s u r p r i s i n g a n d c o n s e q u e n c e s u n i n t e n d e d . J o s e p h S c h u m p e t e r d e s c r i b e s c r e a t i v e d e s t r u c t i o n a s “ t h e p r o c e s s o f i n d u s t r i a l m u t a t i o n t h a t i n c e s s a n t l y r e v o l u t i o n i z e s t h e e c o n o m i c s t r u c t u r e f r o m w i t h i n , i n c e s s a n t l y d e s t r o y i n g t h e o l d o n e , i n c e s s a n t l y c r e a t i n g a n e w o n e . ”
Recognitionofmisfitcomesfromobservationandexperience.Researchmethods—suchasethnography—help.Butidentifyingaproblemrequiresdefinition.Definitionsareconstructed—agreedto.Theyhaveconstituencies.Thus,definitionisapoliticalact,anexerciseofpower.Individualswhoarepreparedtoinnovatepossess:OptimismBelieftheycanimprovetheworldOpennesstochangeConfidencetomakeitsoTenacity,persistencetoseeitthroughPassion,desire,evenobsessionVarietyExperience,skill,andtalentDomainexpertiseKnowledgeofotherdomainsUnderstandingoftheprocessMethodsandtechniquesManagement,rhetorical,andpoliticalskillsPractice(Doingitafewtimeshelps.)Theyalsoknowwhatisnotknownbutnecessaryforprogress;theyunderstandhowtofindit;andtheyrecognizewhocanprovidethatknowledge.Forinsighttomatter,itmustbearticulated—givenform.ItmightbeaHypothesisModelordiagramOutlineScriptorstorySketchMock-upPrototypePilotInnovationisaholygrailofcontemporarysociety,andespeciallybusiness.Afloodofbooksandmagazinespromoteit.Designfirmspromiseit.Customersdemandit.Survival,we’retold,dependsonit.Butwhatisit?Andhowdowegetit?Weusedtoaskthesamequestionsaboutquality.ThenWalterShewhartandEdwardDeminganswered.Today,statisticalprocesscontrol,totalqualitymanagement(TQM),kaizen,andsix-sigmamanagementarefundamentaltoolsinbusiness.Organizationshavebecomemuchbetteratmanagingquality.Qualityhasbecomeacommodity,oratleast“tablestakes,”necessarybutnotsufficient.Now,innovationmattersmore—becauseyoucan’tcompeteonqualityalone,whetherasabusiness,acommunity,orasociety.Thenextarenaofglobalcompetitionisinnovation,butthepracticeofinnovationremainsstucksome40yearsbehindthepracticeofquality.Qualityislargelyaboutimprovingefficiency,whereasinnovationislargelyaboutimprovingeffectiveness.Improvingqualityisdecreasingdefects.It’saboutmeasuring.It’smakingprocessesmoreefficient.Itworkswithinanexistingparadigm.
BusinessWeek
designeditorBruceNussbaumhassuggestedyoucan’tmeasureyourwaytoinnovation—measurementbeingthehallmarkofqualityprocesses.Andthoughsomesix-sigmaadvocatesdisagree,Nussbaumispointingoutafundamentaldifferencebetweenmanagingqualityandmanaginginnovation.Innovationiscreatinganewparadigm.It’snotgettingbetteratplayingthesamegame;it’schangingtherulesandchangingthegame.Innovationisnotworkingharder;it’sworkingsmarter.Thisposterproposesamodelforinnovation.Ittakestheformofaconceptmap,aseriesoftermsandlinksformingpropositions.Themodelisbuiltontheideathatinnovationisaboutchangingparadigms.Themodelsituatesinnovationbetweentwoconven- tions.Innovationtransformsoldintonew.Itisaprocess—aprocessinwhichinsightinspireschangeandcreatesvalue. Theprocessbeginswhenexternalpressureorinternaldecaydisturbstherelationbetweenacommunityanditscontext,arelationmaintainedbyaconvention.Theexistingconventionnolonger“fits.”Perhapsthecontextchanged.Orthecommunity.Oreventheconvention.Someonenoticesthemisfit.Itcausesstress.Itcreatesenoughfriction,enoughpain,tojumpintopeople’sconsciousness.Perceptionofmisfitalmostsimultaneouslygivesrisetoproposalsforchange,forreframing.Theseproposalscompeteforattention.Mostfailtoinspire,areignored,andfadeaway.Thechangesthatsurvivearebydefinitionthoseacommunityfindseffective.Theyspreadbecausetheyincreasefit(gain)andlowerpainorcost(deliveringvalue).Werarelyrecognizeinnovationwhileit’shappening.Instead,innovationisoftenalabelappliedafterthefact,whenitsvalueisclearandanewconventionhasbecomeestablished.Ethnographyandotherresearchtechniquesmayhelpidentifyopportunitiesforinnovation.Designmethodsmayincreasethespeedofgeneratingandtestingnewideas.Butnewideasarestillsubjecttonaturalselection(ornaturaldestruction)inthepoliticalprocessorthemarketplace.Innovationremainsmessy.Evendangerous.Luckandchance,beingattherightplaceattherighttime,stillplayarole.Butheightenedsensitivityandpersistentalertnessmayincreaseluck.Thismodelisnotarecipe.Atbestitsuggestswaystoincrease theprobabilityofinnovation.Ourgoalisforittospurdiscussion.Ourhopeisthatincreasedunderstandingwillspurinnovationandincreasethegreatergood.
C r e a t i n g v a r i a t i o n i s t h e f i r s t m e c h a n i s m o f e v o l u t i o n — a n d d e s i g n . T e s t i n g a p r o t o t y p e m a y r a i s e q u e s t i o n s a b o u t t h e f r a m i n g o f a p r o b l e m o r d e f i n i t i o n o f g o a l s . R e f r a m i n g o r r e f i n i n g o p e n s t h e p o s s i b i l i t y t o t r y i n g o t h e r a p p r o a c h e s . N a t u r a l d e s t r u c t i o n ( i . e . , d i s c a r d i n g p o o r l y p e r f o r m i n g v a r i a t i o n s ) i s t h e s e c o n d m e c h a n i s m o f e v o l u t i o n — a n d d e s i g n .
---------
Leave a Comment