The talk explored how we, as information architects, can detect, explain and handle complexity when clarity seems elusive. Presented at Euro IA 2019 in Riga and at WIAD 2020 in Zürich.

1. ⚓
HERTJE BRODERSEN ∙ @HYPERCATALECTA
EUROIA 2019・RIGA・26. SEPTEMBER 2019
Dealing with Complex Systems and Wicked Problems
IT’S NOT SIMPLE,
STUPID!

2. DEALING WITH COMPLEX PROBLEMS
CONTEXT
RECOGNISING COMPLEXITY
PLANNING
MANAGING FOR COMPLEXITY
MINDSET
DESIGNING FOR COMPLEXITY

3. CONTEXT
RECOGNIZING COMPLEXITY

4. GLENN CORBETT, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF FIRE SCIENCE AT JOHN JAY COLLEGE OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE
“ALL THE SENSITIVE TECHNOLOGY
AT THE HEART OF SYSTEM HAD BEEN
UNDONE BY A CASCADE OF OVERSIGHTS
AND ERRONEOUS ASSUMPTIONS
BUILT INTO THE OVERALL DESIGN.”

5. MERRIAM-WEBSTER.COM
DIFFICULT TO ANALYZE,
UNDERSTAND,
OR EXPLAIN
A WHOLE MADE UP
OF COMPLICATED OR
INTERRELATED PARTS
DEFINITIONS
“COMPLICATED” “COMPLEX”

6. BASED ON FRANCES WESTLEY, BRENDA ZIMMERMAN, AND MICHAEL QUINN PATTON,
“GETTING TO MAYBE: HOW THE WORLD IS CHANGED” (2007)
SIMPLE
BAKE A CAKE
COMPLICATED
BUILD A ROCKET
COMPLEX
RAISE A CHILD
TYPES OF PROBLEMS

7. “DISASTERS CAN OCCUR WHEN
COMPLEX ISSUES ARE MANAGED OR
MEASURED AS IF THEY ARE MERELY
COMPLICATED OR EVEN SIMPLE.”
FRANCES WESTLEY, BRENDA ZIMMERMAN, AND MICHAEL QUINN PATTON,
“GETTING TO MAYBE: HOW THE WORLD IS CHANGED” (2007)

8. BASED ON: “CYNEFIN FRAMEWORK” BY DAVE SNOWDEN, “STACEY MATRIX” BY RALPH D. STACEY
CYNEFIN FRAMEWORKSTACEY MATRIX

9. BASED ON: “CYNEFIN FRAMEWORK” BY DAVE SNOWDEN, “STACEY MATRIX” BY RALPH D. STACEY, “TYPES OF PROBLEMS” BY FRANCES WESTLEY ET. AL.
Close to
agreement
Far from
agreement
Close to Certainty Far from Certainty
OBVIOUS (SIMPLE)
COMPLEX
CHAOTIC
COMPLICATED
Best Practice
Good Practice
Emergent Practice
Novel Practice
DISORDERED
Confusion
THE SPECTRUM OF PROCESS COMPLEXITY

11. HORST W. J. RITTEL AND MELVIN M. WEBBER, "DILEMMAS IN A GENERAL THEORY OF PLANNING” (1972)
THERE IS NO DEFINITE FORMULATION
OF A WICKED PROBLEM
WICKED PROBLEMS HAVE NO STOPPING RULE
SOLUTIONS TO WICKED PROBLEMS ARE NOT
TRUE-OR-FALSE, BUT GOOD-OR-BAD
THERE IS NO IMMEDIATE AND NO ULTIMATE
TEST OF A SOLUTION TO A WICKED PROBLEM
EVERY SOLUTION TO A WICKED PROBLEM IS A
"ONE-SHOT OPERATION"; BECAUSE THERE IS NO
OPPORTUNITY TO LEARN BY TRIAL-AND-ERROR,
EVERY ATTEMPT COUNTS SIGNIFICANTLY
EVERY WICKED PROBLEM CAN BE CONSIDERED
TO BE A SYMPTOM OF ANOTHER PROBLEM
THE EXISTENCE OF A DISCREPANCY REPRESENTING A
WICKED PROBLEM CAN BE EXPLAINED IN NUMEROUS
WAYS. THE CHOICE OF EXPLANATION DETERMINES
THE NATURE OF THE PROBLEM'S RESOLUTION
WICKED PROBLEMS DO NOT HAVE AN ENUMERABLE
(OR AN EXHAUSTIVELY DESCRIBABLE) SET OF
POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS, NOR IS THERE A WELL-
DESCRIBED SET OF PERMISSIBLE OPERATIONS
THAT MAY BE INCORPORATED INTO THE PLAN
EVERY WICKED PROBLEM IS ESSENTIALLY UNIQUE
10 CRITERIA OF WICKED PROBLEMS
THE PLANNER HAS NO RIGHT TO BE WRONG

12. “WE ARE CAPABLE OF SHIFTING A
SYSTEM FROM COMPLEXITY TO ORDER
AND MAINTAINING IT THERE IN SUCH A
WAY THAT IT BECOMES PREDICTABLE.”
CYNTHIA. F. KURTZ AND DAVE J. SNOWDEN, “THE NEW DYNAMICS OF STRATEGY: SENSE-MAKING IN A COMPLEX
AND COMPLICATED WORLD “IBM SYSTEMS JOURNAL, VOL 42, NO 3 (2003)

13. DETERMINE THE TYPE OF PROBLEM
DEALING WITH COMPLEXITY − TAKEAWAYS
DON’T USE FORMULAIC SOLUTIONS
ACT, AND TAKE RESPONSIBILITY
ACKNOWLEDGE WICKED PROBLEMS
MAKE TIME TO DEAL WITH COMPLEXITY

14. PLANNING
MANAGING FOR COMPLEXITY

15. “THE ACCUMULATION OF WRONG
DECISIONS AND INCORRECT
INFORMATION CAN ONLY BE
EXPLAINED BY TAKING INTO
ACCOUNT A CORPORATE AND
PROJECT CULTURE THAT
SYSTEMATICALLY SUPPRESSED
SIGNS OF WRONG-HEADED
DEVELOPMENTS AS WELL AS
ALARMING WARNINGS FROM
EXTERNAL BODIES.”
ABGEORDNETENHAUS BERLIN, INQUIRY INTO FAILURES AND DELAYS IN
CONSTRUCTING THE BERLIN-BRANDENBURG AIRPORT (2016) (TRANSLATION MINE)

16. RALPH D. STACEY, “MANAGING THE UNKNOWABLE: STRATEGIC BOUNDARIES BETWEEN ORDER AND CHAOS IN ORGANIZATIONS.” (1992)
“MOST WESTERN MANAGERS BELIEVE THAT LONG-
TERM SUCCESS FLOWS FROM A STATE OF STABILITY,
HARMONY, PREDICTABILITY, DISCIPLINE, AND
CONSENSUS. (…) THIS BELIEF LEADS THEM TO DEMAND
GENERAL PRESCRIPTIONS THAT THEY CAN
IMMEDIATELY CONVERT INTO SUCCESSFUL ACTION.”

18. MATS ALVESSON AND ANDRÉ SPICER, "THE STUPIDITY PARADOX” (2017)
DEFINITION OF FUNCTIONAL STUPIDITY
THE INABILITY AND/OR
UNWILLINGNESS TO USE
COGNITIVE AND
REFLEXIVE CAPABILITY IN
ANYTHING OTHER THAN
NARROW OR
CIRCUMSPECT WAYS
OR:
OTHERWISE SMART
PEOPLE STOP THINKING
AND START DOING
STUPID THINGS

19. INNOSIGHT ANALYSIS BASED ON PUBLIC S&P DATA SOURCES. MORE INFO: INNOSIGHT.COM
AVERAGE COMPANY LIFESPAN ON S&P 500 INDEX
YEARS, ROLLING 7-YEAR AVERAGE
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
1965
1970
1975
1980
1985
1990
1995
2000
2005
2010
2015
2020
2025
2030

20. “TEAMS THAT RELY ON TRADITIONAL LINEAR TIMELINES GET
CAUGHT IN A CYCLE OF TACTICAL RESPONSES TO WHAT FEELS
LIKE CONSTANT CHANGE BEING FOISTED UPON THEM FROM
OUTSIDE FORCES. OVER TIME, THOSE TACTICAL RESPONSES —
WHICH TAKE SIGNIFICANT INTERNAL ALIGNMENT AND
EFFORT — DRAIN THE ORGANIZATION’S RESOURCES AND MAKE
THEM VULNERABLE TO DISRUPTION.”
AMY WEBB, “HOW TO DO STRATEGIC PLANNING LIKE A FUTURIST” HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW (JULY 2019)

21. TACTICS STRATEGY VISION
SYSTEMS-
LEVEL
EVOLUTION
M
ore
—
—
—
—
—
Data, evidence, and certainty —
—
—
—
—
Less
1-2
years —
—
2-5
years—
—
5-10
years—
—
10+
years
A FUTURIST’S FRAMEWORK FOR STRATEGIC PLANNING
AMY WEBB, “HOW TO DO STRATEGIC PLANNING LIKE A FUTURIST” HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW, JULY 30, 2019

22. “PLANS ARE WORTHLESS,
BUT PLANNING IS EVERYTHING.”
DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER

23. DON’T BE FUNCTIONALLY STUPID
MANAGING COMPLEXITY − TAKEAWAYS
THINK PEOPLE, NOT FRAMEWORKS
PRACTICE CRITICAL THINKING
ASK THE TOUGH QUESTIONS
BE REALISTIC AND PRAGMATIC ABOUT PLANS

24. MINDSET
DESIGNING FOR COMPLEXITY

25. “THE ENTIRE ‘FIELD’ OF UX (AND
‘DESIGN THINKING’) EMERGED TO
ACCOMMODATE INSUFFICIENT
PRODUCT MANAGEMENT PRACTICE.“
PETER MERHOLZ, "MY JOURNEY WITH EXPERIENCE STRATEGY”, UX STRAT USA (2015)

27. MERRIAM-WEBSTER.COM
ONE THAT
COMES TO THE RESCUE
OF ANOTHER
ONE THAT
CHAMPIONS
A CAUSE
DEFINITION OF “WHITE KNIGHT”
(1) (2)

28. BY MARY C. LAMIA, PH.D. AND MARILYN J. KRIEGER, PH.D
“INTRODUCTION TO THE WHITE KNIGHT SYNDROME,” PSYCHOLOGY TODAY (2009)
DEFINITION OF WHITE KNIGHT SYNDROM
WHITE KNIGHTS ARE MEN
AND WOMEN WHO ENTER
INTO ROMANTIC
RELATIONSHIPS WITH
DAMAGED AND
VULNERABLE PARTNERS,
HOPING THAT LOVE WILL
TRANSFORM THEIR
BEHAVIOR OR LIVES.

29. BASED ON MARY C. LAMIA, PH.D. AND MARILYN J. KRIEGER, PH.D
“INTRODUCTION TO THE WHITE KNIGHT SYNDROME,” PSYCHOLOGY TODAY (2009)
DEFINITION OF WHITE KNIGHT SYNDROM
HOPING THAT LOVE
TRANSFORM THEIR
BEHAVIOR OR LIVES.
WHITE KNIGHTS ARE MEN
AND WOMEN WHO ENTER
INTO ROMANTIC
RELATIONSHIPS WITH
DAMAGED AND
VULNERABLE PARTNERS,
PROFESSIONALINTO
STRUGGLING
ORGANIZATIONS
ORGANIZATION AS WELL
THEIR
WILL
AS THEIR USERS’
KNOWLEDGE
Sorry, Mary and Marilyn!
BASTARDIZED FOR UX FOLK

30. BASED ON BY PAUL ADAMS, “THE END OF NAVEL GAZING,” UX LONDON (2018)
User Needs Business Goals
Technical Constraints
UX
RANDOM UX DIAGRAM THAT YOU’VE PUT IN DOZENS OF PRESENTATIONS

31. BASED ON BY PAUL ADAMS, “THE END OF NAVEL GAZING,” UX LONDON (2018)
User Needs Business Goals
Technical Constraints
UX
RANDOM UX DIAGRAM THAT YOU’VE PUT IN DOZENS OF PRESENTATIONS

32. PAUL ADAMS, “THE END OF NAVEL GAZING,” UX LONDON (2018)
Support
Recruiting
Finance
HR
Analytics
Engineering
Finance
Design
Research
PM
Biz Ops
Marketing
LEADER
SHIP

33. “WHEN A DESIGNER'S CONCEPTUAL PLACEMENTS BECOME
CATEGORIES OF THINKING, THE RESULT CAN BE MANNERED
IMITATIONS OF AN EARLIER INVENTION THAT ARE NO LONGER RELEVANT
TO THE DISCOVERY OF SPECIFIC POSSIBILITIES IN A NEW SITUATION.
IDEAS ARE THEN FORCED ONTO A SITUATION RATHER THAN DISCOVERED
IN THE PARTICULARITIES AND NOVEL POSSIBILITIES OF THAT SITUATION.”
RICHARD BUCHANAN, “WICKED PROBLEMS IN DESIGN THINKING”, DESIGN ISSUES: VOL. VIII, NUMBER 2 (1992)

34. “IT’S YOUR JOB TO
MAKE OTHERS UNCOMFORTABLE.“
PETER MERHOLZ, "MY JOURNEY WITH EXPERIENCE STRATEGY”, UX STRAT USA (2015)
and yourself

35. DESIGN, DON'T DEFAULT *
DESIGNING FOR COMPLEXITY − TAKEAWAYS
LEARN TO LIVE WITH UNCERTAINTY
DON'T GET TOO COMFORTABLE
CHAMPION THE CAUSE, BUT STAY HUMBLE
SOLVE FOR PROBLEMS, NOT TOOLS
* with a nod do Christina Wodtke

36. CONTEXT PLANNING
DEALING WITH COMPLEX PROBLEMS
MINDSET
RECOGNISING COMPLEXITY MANAGING COMPLEXITY DESIGNING FOR COMPLEXITY
What yuo can do
WHITE KNIGHT SYNDROME
Watch out for
FUNCTIONAL STUPIDITYWICKED PROBLEMS
DETERMINE THE TYPE OF PROBLEM
ACKNOWLEDGE WICKED PROBLEMS
MAKE TIME TO DEAL WITH COMPLEXITY
DON’T USE FORMULAIC SOLUTIONS
ACT, AND TAKE RESPONSIBILITY
DON’T BE FUNCTIONALLY STUPID
ASK THE TOUGH QUESTIONS
BE REALISTIC AND PRAGMATIC ABOUT PLANS
THINK PEOPLE, NOT FRAMEWORKS
PRACTICE CRITICAL THINKING
DESIGN, DON'T DEFAULT *
SOLVE FOR PROBLEMS, NOT TOOLS
CHAMPION THE CAUSE, BUT STAY HUMBLE
LEARN TO LIVE WITH UNCERTAINTY
DON'T GET TOO COMFORTABLE

37. “YOU CAN SEE ONLY AS
FAR AS THE HEADLIGHTS,
BUT YOU CAN MAKE THE
WHOLE TRIP THAT WAY.”
E. L. DOCTOROW

38. ⚓
THANK YOU
HERTJE BRODERSEN ∙ @HYPERCATALECTA
HYPERCATALECTA.COM 𐄁 LINKEDIN.COM/IN/HERTJEBRODERSEN
All from thenounproject.com:
“Puzzle" by Nur Asyrof Muhammad
“Strategy" by Chameleon Design
“Brain In a Jar” by Dairy Free Design
“Cake” by Arif Fatoni
“Rocket” by ProSymbols
“Baby” by Kokota
“Monster” By Joel McKinney
“Scribble” by Alice Noir
“Octopus” by Pascal Heß
“Donkey” by Graphic Tigers
“Knight” by tulpahn
From www.flaticon.com
“Cerberus” Icon made by Freepik
GIFSICONS
IMAGES
“Notre Dame en feu, 20h06” by GodefroyParis (CC BY SA 4.0)
“Marienkoogsdeich” by Hertje Brodersen (CC BY SA 4.0)
“Hunchback of Notre Dame” https://giphy.com/gifs/reaction-EqiFV8QX3DEc4bfTc5
“This is Fine” https://giphy.com/gifs/trump-consequences-NTur7XlVDUdqM
“The Young Pope Page” https://giphy.com/gifs/series-giffferr-NVDxmTAYh5Thu