What are the language skills of UX designers today? Language and conversations are at the heart of our current design practice. There is the growing importance of voice UIs and AI in the form of voice assistants (and the growing need for dialogue designers). The design process nowadays is all about co-creation and facilitating conversation between stakeholders. Language is also crucial when you try to bring about change in a system or organisation. An organisation is its language. You cannot innovate an organisation if you stick to its current language. During this talk, I will link the subject of language and conversation to the systemic design toolkit we have developed at Namahn in the past two years, and more specifically to the tool 'transition by design'. What role does language play in the transition of an organisation towards a new way of working?

1. Namahn
Language for Transition
Koen Peters, WIAD 2018, Utrecht
kp@namahn.com - @2pk_koen
WIAD 2018, Utrecht: Language for transition 1

2. “We tackle complexity through our understanding of
human behaviour, organisational processes and whole
systems”
w w w.namahn.com

3. Why this topic?
Paul Pangaro Victor Klemperer Kristel Van Ael

4. In projects of transition, what is the role of language?

5. Namahn
Language in today’s world of
design(er)…
WIAD 2018, Utrecht: Language for transition 5

7. thinking in words vs. images

8. What are her language skills?
Can she write?
Can she present?
…
Can she moderate a
conversation?

9. “Designing conversations is at the
heart of 21st century design”
Paul Pangaro

12. Namahn
Conversations and co-creation
WIAD 2018, Utrecht: Language for transition 12

13. Namahn
Framing workshop
Understand the context and frame the project
Understand the current culture and current
language of the organisation
WIAD 2018, Utrecht: Language for transition 13

14. Namahn
Cultural dimensions
Dimensions that outline systematic differences in
(national) cultures
 Power distance (high vs. low)
 Individualism (vs. collectivism)
 Uncertainty avoidance (high vs. low)
 Masculinity (vs. femininity)
 Long-term orientation (vs. short-term)
 Indulgence (vs. restraint)
WIAD 2018, Utrecht: Language for transition 14
Geert Hofstede

19. Namahn
Language and transformation…
WIAD 2018, Utrecht: Language for transition 20

21. Language shapes our perspective on society
and our perspective on the world.
Words are always coloured, never neutral…

23. Repatriation vs. deportation

24. Words can disguise, mask
meaning.
Or they can dramatize, amplify…

26. LTI (Lingua Tertii Imperii)

27. Namahn
Characteristics of LTI:
 Regulated and repeated
 One-sided, one-dimensional, narrow
 No difference between spoken and written language:
you can only shout it…
 Neologisms: aufnorden, Blitzkrieg, Endsieg…
 Prefixes: Volkswagen, Volksgemeinschaft,
Weltanschauung
 Abbreviations: SS, KZ, …
 Connotations to military world, sports, religion, machines
 Euphemisms: Sonderbehandlung, Krise, Evakuierung
WIAD 2018, Utrecht: Language for transition 28

28. LTI was (is) poisonous for the mind

29. Never underestimate the power of language…

32. “ Innovation Intelligenc e” ( 2015)

33. “Foster change by adapting the language.
Hold a conversation to create a new language.”
Paul Pangaro , Hugh Dubberly

34. “We are going agile…”

35. Fill in name of
any large bank

36. Namahn
Systemic design
WIAD 2018, Utrecht: Language for transition 37

37. © Namahn 2017
What
Definition
Systemic design integrates
systems thinking and
human-centred design thinking,
with the intention of helping designers
cope with complex problems.
WIAD 2018, Utrecht: Language for transition 38

38. Donella Meadows Peter Senge Peter Jones

39. © Namahn 2017
Systems thinking
What is it about?
Systems thinking aims at understanding and influencing
the behaviour and the dynamics of a system.
The core of systems thinking is about examining the
linkages and interactions between the elements (or
variables) that compose the entirety of the system.
This is needed for wicked problems (climate change,
migration, depletion of natural resources …)
We are in the midst of a fundamental shift where the
conventional ways of problem solving don’t work
anymore - they even make it worse
WIAD 2018, Utrecht: Language for transition 40

40. Wicked problems are systemic
problems: problems due to
issues inherent in the overall
system, rather than due to a
specific, individual, isolated
factor.

41. © Namahn 2017
Systems thinking
Why?
 Design is hands-on and solution-
oriented but misses the approach to
handle complexity
 We must enlarge our skills with
systems thinking habits
WIAD 2018, Utrecht: Language for transition 42

42. Namahn
Namahn
Three lenses: designing…
WIAD 2018, Utrecht: Language for transition 43
INTERACTION
S
SERVICES SYSTEMS

43. Namahn
Namahn systemic design toolkit
WIAD 2018, Utrecht: Language for transition 44

44. “Our systemic design tools are workshop tools,
tools for conversation…”
Kris tel Van Ael

45. © Namahn 2017
Possibility space
Paradoxical ideation
How can we design for multiple needs and
points of view?
 Working with paradoxes
 It is about AND thinking instead of OR
thinking.
WIAD 2018, Utrecht: Language for transition 47
Based on a paper by Kees Dorst

47. © Namahn 2017
Transition
Transition by design
How can we enfold our interventions in the
existing system?
 Creating the right conditions for change to
happen:
 Experiment (short term, small scale)
 Scale up (long term, larger scale
Building capability to adapt
WIAD 2018, Utrecht: Language for transition 49
Based on a paper by Frank Geels and the ideas of David Bohm

48. Namahn
Horizon 2020 project (EU): “SME
instrument”
Request: “Design the SME dashboard”
WIAD 2018, Utrecht: Language for transition 50

49. Namahn
“System lens”: co-creation of a system
map
WIAD 2018, Utrecht: Language for transition 51

50. Namahn
“Service lens”: mapping the user
journey
WIAD 2018, Utrecht: Language for transition 52

51. Namahn
Extra request: Project officer transition
map
 What impact will our newly designed SME dashboard have on the daily work of
the Project officers (POs)?
 Our extra tasks:
 Validate the designs of the SME dashboard with the project officer (to get buy-in)
 Map the user journey of the PO
 Make a transition map: how will we plan our interventions to change the PO’s job, to
enable to PO to support the SME using the newly offered services.
WIAD 2018, Utrecht: Language for transition 54

53. Namahn
Towards a language for transition…
WIAD 2018, Utrecht: Language for transition 57

54. Foster conversation using a systemic lens

55. © Namahn 2017
Foster conversation, using a systemic
lens
 First, understand the current language of an organisation
 Bring people together in one room (people with different backgrounds)
 Use a systemic lens to find the connections between different parts of the
system (including their different languages)
 As a moderator: Improve your social skills (recognize social styles)
WIAD 2018, Utrecht: Language for transition 59

56. Create a new language

57. © Namahn 2017
Create a new language
 Mix different languages used in your organisation together, make new, unique
combinations
 Look for metaphors that help establish new concepts
 For your interventions in the system, use verbs (active) rather than nouns (static)
 Look for “constructive” words
WIAD 2018, Utrecht: Language for transition 61

58. “prejudice vs. racism”

59. “sustainable vs. regenerative”
Sc huyler Brown

60. © Namahn 2017
Creating a new language
 Mix different languages used in your organisation together, make new, unique
combinations
 Look for metaphors that help establish new concepts
 For your interventions in the system, use verbs (active) rather than nouns (static)
 Look for “constructive” words
 prejudice vs. racism
 sustainable vs. regenerative (Schuyler Brown)
 Beware of misuse and manipulation (euphemisms, negative connotations…)
WIAD 2018, Utrecht: Language for transition 64

61. Namahn
Thank you
WIAD 2018, Utrecht: Language for transition 65
kp@namahn.com - @2pk_koen