Going deeper into the systemic design of services; complexity & systems thinking workshop
10 hour course workshop
Designing services in organisations is moving from simple transactional services, towards more complex and human centred services - especially in the public sector. Systemic design is pushing us beyond the boundaries of our existing approaches. This short course or workshop, is learning and exploring this together.
Workshop objectives
"'Tremendous value, lots of grounding, loved the examples… Every expectation fulfilled."
|
|
How - Using robust examples and case studies that I and others have undertaken, we will explore their underlying concepts and methods. The workshop is designed to look at how you can incorporate these in your work, to develop new methods and approaches that you can take forward in your journey of developing your skills and abilities.
Ideally, you perhaps are;
Ideally, you perhaps are;
- You are an experienced designer. Or you may be leading other designers.
- You are a change person, wishing to learn wider systemic techniques.
- You may be a manager or owner of a service, wishing to delve closer to the design of services.
|
15, 16, 17th June, 2022 (course expanded to three half days due to participants wanting longer!)
From 1:30 - 5:00pm UK summertime on each of the days. 10.5 hrs total hours, split into three days. With the option for participants to purchase the first two core days, at a reduced cost. 14 participants max to ensure quality engagement. Location; Wherever you are! Online - Zoom |
Price of workshop£400 p person, inc vat. Three half days.
or £280 p person, inc vat. Two half days. please email me for outside UK non-vat purchases |
If you have any further questions, please email me on john.mortimer@improconsult.co.uk
"This is a very new way of looking at things..."
Why do this course now?
We are pretty good at transforming services like online shopping, and ordering new passports. Costs have been slashed, and the user experience has got loads better. But what happens when we delve into services that are not quite so transactional; services that have elements of complexity? That are more about people than product?
Simply using our current methods is not enough. And some of us are realising that the outcomes are not what we had hoped. This is especially the case in the public sector, as we move away from transactional design, and begin to tackle complexity in services like adult social care and homelessness.
Today we recognise that Service Design or Change in organisations, as a practice, is becoming less about delivering products and project management, and more about impacting the end to end service change; together with integrating this into how the business really works and is managed. This workshop is about incorporating proven progressive systemic concepts and methods that deal with the characteristics of people rather than products, we can look at how to deepen and strengthen our skills to enable us to become a more effective.
Simply using our current methods is not enough. And some of us are realising that the outcomes are not what we had hoped. This is especially the case in the public sector, as we move away from transactional design, and begin to tackle complexity in services like adult social care and homelessness.
Today we recognise that Service Design or Change in organisations, as a practice, is becoming less about delivering products and project management, and more about impacting the end to end service change; together with integrating this into how the business really works and is managed. This workshop is about incorporating proven progressive systemic concepts and methods that deal with the characteristics of people rather than products, we can look at how to deepen and strengthen our skills to enable us to become a more effective.
"A big game changer…"
Why is this workshop different?
You can already do a course on systems thinking, or read a book about complexity. But they are often theoretical, or they are very general. In this workshop, what is different is that we will use successful examples of Digitalisation and Design; both from the public and private sector, to examine the current limitations of digital design, and see how these can be overcome. We will uncover new systemic change principles and techniques; some that you can use immediately, and others that will give you pointers for further and deeper collaboration with change experts outside of service design. This course is a practical exploration, where concepts are used to inform the learning around real case studies.
The hard work of sifting through theories, books and blogs has been done for you!
This is a live course that adapts to your own challenges and barriers to effective design, that you will bring to the workshop. We will explore together how we might overcome them using our new found knowledge.
The hard work of sifting through theories, books and blogs has been done for you!
This is a live course that adapts to your own challenges and barriers to effective design, that you will bring to the workshop. We will explore together how we might overcome them using our new found knowledge.
"We should be spending more time, not simply delivering Digital, but doing this..."
Lets hear it from the participants...I found it brilliantly human; when we are put into an organisation machine design, we are not build like this. This shows the foundation of human-centred design.
What John is doing, the mix of systems thinking and service design in a really practical way. No-one does this. This is really interesting.… How powerful it is when we can bring this and make this visible, and help the decision-makers to make the right decisions. The reason so many Digital projects fail is that were not helping the staff to build the service first… |
|
Systemic design to deal with Complexity
We will start with the customer and citizen, and learn deeper ways of understanding how customer demand can be understood and designed, moving beyond user research and data. That will then lead us into the service operations workflow, and the main aspects of delivery that impacts on what matters to customers. We are going to delve into the fuzzy elements of knowledge beyond data, and ask how complex information is best collated, stored and used.
Systems thinking is often taught as a series of models or techniques, but it is much more than that. It is actually a different way of perceiving and understanding an organisation and its design.
Rather than understanding an organisation as a machine and a series of events, complexity is central to how organisations work. We will delve into how complexity affects design and how managers and designers make decisions. We will bring out the Human, how we develop Learning methods, and the Systemic aspects of design. Commonly known as Human Learning Systems.
You will learn how to observe the whole service as an adaptive system, so that we can alter how staff actually work together. And we will look at how to engage managers and leaders so that, together with staff, we move towards co-creation to learn together.
The workshop, being split into half days, will introduce concepts, that you as the participant will then be able to develop further in your work and in future learning.
Systems thinking is often taught as a series of models or techniques, but it is much more than that. It is actually a different way of perceiving and understanding an organisation and its design.
Rather than understanding an organisation as a machine and a series of events, complexity is central to how organisations work. We will delve into how complexity affects design and how managers and designers make decisions. We will bring out the Human, how we develop Learning methods, and the Systemic aspects of design. Commonly known as Human Learning Systems.
You will learn how to observe the whole service as an adaptive system, so that we can alter how staff actually work together. And we will look at how to engage managers and leaders so that, together with staff, we move towards co-creation to learn together.
The workshop, being split into half days, will introduce concepts, that you as the participant will then be able to develop further in your work and in future learning.
Buchanan's four orders, from Nesta
We will delve into systemic design methods, using Human Learning Systems as a foundation. We will re-examine the Double Diamond developed by the Design Council
"This is opening up my role; how it could be..."
GDS and Local government service design; Human Learning Systems
|
Local government service design is now demanding that it moves into the realm of more complex people centred design. Co-design and collaborative approaches are being experimented with, that move service design to cover far more than the simple transaction products it currently does so well.
There is much talk about person-centred and systemic design, but the reality is often something that is less than robust. This approach we will be examining is underpinned by Human Learning Systems, a collection of proven case studies and a methodology put together by Prof. Toby Lowe from conceptual and practice strands of research. |
|
Wider Collaboration
Understand how you can better engage with, and collaborate better, with other change experts in the organisation. Widening your scope - using their language and understanding how to co-design a service from end to end, and from the bottom up. Moving service design towards the realm of redesigning whole services.
Learn techniques to dissolve departmental conflict, engage stakeholders, and collaborate.
Learn techniques to dissolve departmental conflict, engage stakeholders, and collaborate.
Workshop detail
|
|
Course design
Module 1 - The core of systemic design and complexity, discussing the implications for the design methods we use today. We will go through some concepts using a case study, where we will hear from those involved in the case study, and relate that to the concepts. Day 1.
Module 2 - Working on what we have learned, to delve into the reality of Co-design, and the methodology of design in complex environments. We will link into deeper aspects of Systems & Design thinking, where you will participate by bringing your previous experience to the group to discuss ways forward. Day 2
Module 3 - This is where we we will stand back and complete the synthesis between Systems, Design and Complexity. And we will bring the elements we have discussed together, so that you can relate this to your specific work. This module benefits from using the experiences of those in the group to boost our sense-making from the interactions between us. Day 3
There is the possibility that the first two modules will provide a basic grounding. And therefore I have created an option to select the first two only.
Module 2 - Working on what we have learned, to delve into the reality of Co-design, and the methodology of design in complex environments. We will link into deeper aspects of Systems & Design thinking, where you will participate by bringing your previous experience to the group to discuss ways forward. Day 2
Module 3 - This is where we we will stand back and complete the synthesis between Systems, Design and Complexity. And we will bring the elements we have discussed together, so that you can relate this to your specific work. This module benefits from using the experiences of those in the group to boost our sense-making from the interactions between us. Day 3
There is the possibility that the first two modules will provide a basic grounding. And therefore I have created an option to select the first two only.
About John Mortimer
I originally started in engineering, IT and managing operational departments, quickly realising that the ability to make a difference lay beyond the technology or in any specialism itself. I worked in software, operations, engineering, robotics, and finally business consulting. I have an MBA that corresponds to a business background.
Over 40 direct interventions in change and transformation, learned from consultancies and experts in their field.
I am now returning back the experience and knowledge gained, both from the mistakes, and the successful outcomes that have been achieved across a myriad of services. Incorporating learning has been borrowed by ‘standing on the shoulders of giants’.
We have been working with different ways to incorporate Design Thinking into organisational design using systems thinking, since 2003. Looking at how to go about re-inventing work, and the way we manage and work together.
Over 40 direct interventions in change and transformation, learned from consultancies and experts in their field.
I am now returning back the experience and knowledge gained, both from the mistakes, and the successful outcomes that have been achieved across a myriad of services. Incorporating learning has been borrowed by ‘standing on the shoulders of giants’.
We have been working with different ways to incorporate Design Thinking into organisational design using systems thinking, since 2003. Looking at how to go about re-inventing work, and the way we manage and work together.
Pre-requisites & Preparation
After booking, you will receive invitation details, and be asked about the issues you face at work that you hope to work on in this workshop.
You will already have real world design or change experience to gain maximum benefit from the workshop. And you must be expecting to expand your view of Design that you currently hold, that will challenge some of your currently held assumptions. If you're not prepared to absorb new concepts, internalise them, and move them forward yourself, this workshop is perhaps not for you.
A virtual medium is not ideal for any workshop, and a significant design effort has gone into making this as effective and a learning environment as it could be.
For further reflection, a one to one follow up session is also included in this course.
Your level of English will be good, as is your ability to engage, learn and apply your curiosity.
You will need to have access to a good screen and audio/ visual.
A virtual medium is not ideal for any workshop, and a significant design effort has gone into making this as effective and a learning environment as it could be.
For further reflection, a one to one follow up session is also included in this course.
Your level of English will be good, as is your ability to engage, learn and apply your curiosity.
You will need to have access to a good screen and audio/ visual.
