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Hi Ken, Klause Francois et al,
I met my deadline! I can now return to something more interesting.
First, let me clarify. I am not against literature reviews. Indeed, I have done some myself and published the findings from them. In doing so I have simply added to an already developed review literature in the field of information design. There are many excellent sources predating my own small contribution, and there have been many since, some as part of phd's. So when Ken says —
> Our field has nearly no examples of this genre, in contrast with other fields.
— I have to disagree. Where there is a significant gap in the information design literature and in other areas is in a large body of published work that provides before and after data. This was and remains the heart of the problem with claims about the value of design thinking.
When Klause says —
> [U]nprecedented change (which i consider the core of what designers do, leaving mere cosmetic changes or adaptations to new conditions aside for the moment) can be assessed only after the fact. for any action there are unintended and intended consequences. what do designers do when they offer their proposal to stakeholders? they do not have evidence of the changes they claim are forthcoming. All they can do is formulate compelling arguments that may be based on all kinds of evidence, theories, or commitments by others. but they do not have observational evidence -- least of all of unintended consequences.
— I agree that at the time a proposal is made there is little more than compelling arguments. But that is not the point I was making. The key point I was making that there is insufficient description of current starting conditions against which to evaluate any change. This is part of why we don't have detailed before and after data. Without the before, any after is meaningless.
This is a significant weakness not only in design thinking but also in design methods or processes. Outside our own approach, as Francois points out,
> there is a need to develop and make widely known similar
> methods that would be appropriate to evidence, prior or after designing,
> eventual "post-design" effects of other kind of artefacts?
If one looks at the various models of the design process, this type of method is not often mentioned explicitly. The only well known source on design thinking which mentions this is Buckminster Fuller when he talks about describing the present state before proceeding to make changes
(In our description of the design process we refer to this as Baseline Measurement, though we used to call it Benchmarking).
There is an important point of principle here as well as one of professional practice. Like doctors, I believe we should aim, at the very least, to do no harm. I am deeply troubled by approaches to design that see radical transformation—neglecting evidence from the starting and finishing points—as justifiable in the name of innovation. Perhaps I'm too cautious or timid. Perhaps I'm inclined to the view that the more things change the more they stay the same. But in the absence of before or after evidence, I do know that we will never know and will continue to shoot the breeze.
BTW, our apologies to those of you who are trying to get into our website, we are in the middle of a major overhaul of our site, as a result of major changes at CRI. It will be a few days longer before the new site comes to life. My blog remains open.
From wintery Melbourne, warm regards,
David
--
blog: www.communication.org.au/blog1
web: http://www.communication.org.au
Professor David Sless BA MSc FRSA
CEO • Communication Research Institute •
• helping people communicate with people •
Mobile: +61 (0)412 356 795
Phone: +61 (0)3 9489 8640
Skype: davidsless
60 Park Street • Fitzroy North • Melbourne • Australia • 3068
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