Hi Erik,
Complexity = more than 2 interlinked feedback loops affecting the behaviour
of the designed outcome in the real world
Complicated = lots of complications but only one or two feedback loops.
Designs get created regardless of whether designers address complexity.
Sometimes they win prizes. Sometimes it is others that address the
complexity - many other fields are skilled at it. My concern is when
designers claim to be able to address complexity but don't have the skills
and tools or assume that complexity is the same as complication and use
conventional design tools and assume they are appropriate.
Designs of pens and desks are usually merely complicated, regardless of the
complicatedness of the ethical, aesthetical and rational dimensions of
reality.
If a designed object affects its environment, its situation, that is simple
causality (no feedback loops). If the designed object affects the situation
and then that change in the situation causes you to need to redesign the
object because the situation has changed and that in turn results in a
further change to the situation and a further need to redesign the object
... then that is a simple single feedback loop design problem. A double
feedback loop design problem is one in which the design has two feedback
loops that differently affect the environment and the design and in
different ways.
A typical multi-feedback loop for designing interventions in a simple sales
organization is shown in
http://www.systemdynamics.org/DL-IntroSysDyn/feed19.gif The feedback loops
are ANY combination of lines that form a complete 'loop'. The designer's job
is to identify which interventions are likely to be successful and how they
will change the behaviour of the organisation in the short , medium and
longer term.
For designers creating designs for public promotion to reduce the obesity
epidemic, it would, in professional terms, seem to be pretty important to
understand how social and other factors shape obesity trends in order to
design appropriately. Here is a diagram of the main feedback loops:
http://www.shiftn.com/obesity/Full-Map.html This causal loop model is the
starting point from which an understanding of behaviour of a designed
intervention can begin. Obesity is one of the simpler socio-economic
situations as it is a single factor outcome measurement to be reduced.
A reasonable question to ask is whether one expects designers to be capable
of contributing to designing to reduce obesity (i.e have the skills to
understand methods such as causal maps, derive system dynamic models and
work with similar tools) or whether one only expects designers to prettify
the casual loop models. I suggest many design courses equip designers to do
the latter rather than the former.
Cheers,
Terry
Erik:
I suspect we use very different definitions of "complexity". To me the most
"simple" design say a pen, a desk, a small software application, etc, are
all examples of objects with infinite complexity, since they all encompass
all possible and existing ethical, aesthetical, and rational dimensions of
reality.
I am not sure what you mean by "simple situations" and "complex situations",
I can't even imagine a "simple situation" in design.
As an example, I recently listened to a presentation by IDEO where they had
been asked to design a airplane cockpit instrumentation and environment, the
whole thing. They of course were no expert on airplanes but are experts on
the design process. They came up with a cockpit design that has won prizes
for being a great airplane design. Of course they approached the situation
in a designerly way and with their design process they could reach new ideas
and a new design. I don't know if you would consider this as a complex
situation. For me it is, theoretically not more complex (or wicked) than a
design of a pen, but maybe that is what you mean.
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