Living in the Clouds: Adopting a Systems Thinking Mindset
Summary
Many designers are recognizing the limitations of the design thinking process and acknowledge the need for systems thinking. In this talk, the audience will learn key concepts of systems thinking, as well as prompts that help them get started on their systems thinking journey. Sheryl will share frameworks that designers can take action with in order to incorporate systems thinking in their day-to-day decision-making.
Key Insights
-
•
Traditional design thinking’s narrow user-centered focus often overlooks systemic harms and unintended negative consequences.
-
•
Infinite scroll, designed for ease of use, illustrates how optimizing for user delight can harm humanity, as noted by Aza Raskin.
-
•
Systems thinking requires understanding interconnectedness, causality, and wholeness to address complex, adaptive 'cloud' problems rather than just 'clock' problems.
-
•
The XO laptop failed in African contexts because designers ignored socio-economic systems, such as family ownership norms.
-
•
Disparities in urban tree distribution reveal systemic racism embedded in policies, surveillance practices, and environmental impact.
-
•
The 'Cobra effect' rat bounty story exemplifies how incentives can backfire in complex systems, creating circular feedback loops.
-
•
Involving lived experts and diverse stakeholders in design leads to richer domain knowledge and more equitable solutions.
-
•
Systems thinking expands design interventions beyond products to policy, business models, and long-term strategy, embracing multi-finality.
-
•
Effective systems communication tools include simplified iceberg diagrams and causal loop diagrams focused on root causes rather than overwhelming complexity.
-
•
Designers must acknowledge their positionality and biases since they are embedded within the systems they aim to change.
Notable Quotes
"Optimizing something for ease of use does not mean best for the user or humanity."
"People who understand the problem best are set up to do the best work."
"Today's problems come from yesterday's solutions."
"Designers are in the system, not outside of it."
"Freedom dreaming is dreaming about a system that is free from today's oppression."
"The future is already here, it’s just not very evenly distributed."
"One of the challenges for designers is to orient around forces rather than only people."
"There is no singular solution in systems thinking; there are multiple types of interventions."
"If you’re working at scale, many problems that seem like 'clock' problems actually have 'cloud' elements."
"Involving stakeholders with lived experience empowers design and enriches domain knowledge."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"Managing up assumes research is below something, but I see advising as partnerships and equals."
Christian MadsbjergInfluencing Strategy
March 31, 2020
"Solutions range on a spectrum from offensive and impartial to informed and holistic toward women."
Mansi GuptaWomen-Centric Research: What, Why, How
March 29, 2023
"The self-service model works best for projects with concrete and well-defined design objectives at the surface layers."
Nora Tejeda Giovanna AlonsoScaling Design Capabilities at BBVA Through a Self-service Design Model
June 10, 2021
"We formed a lived expert review board to support framing conclusions and decisions, rebalancing power from academic peer reviewers."
Sarah FathallahA Typology of Participation in Participatory Research
March 28, 2023
"Changing people’s relationship with change is key, especially where rules-based culture can stifle innovation and risk-taking."
Alison Rand Sarah BrooksScaling Impact with Service Design
March 25, 2021
"Mobile is the first major platform where accessibility features are built in and mature."
Sam ProulxMobile Accessibility: Why Moving Accessibility Beyond the Desktop is Critical in a Mobile-first World
September 8, 2022
"Sharing the results of studies with panelists gets them excited about contributing and keeps them engaged."
Sydney LawsonAnatomy of a Strong User Panel
March 10, 2026
"Slowing down with research can help us move faster overall."
Kristen Guth, Ph.D.Out of the FOG: A Non-traditional Research Approach to Alignment
March 28, 2023
"User interviews are an absolute mainstay of user research practices and likely will always be a core tool."
Sam Ladner Megan Blocker Tanvi Dhond Katie Hansen Ricardo MartinsMethodologies: Beyond the interview [Advancing Research Community Workshop Series]
September 4, 2024
