Presented at Generate 2014, London. Abstract: We work in collaborative teams designing products that are often complex, systemic, and we want them to be useful for as many people as possible. A key part of our jobs is to make sense of information, interpret it, and take action. We have to understand the context our product lives in, we have to understand our customers, and we have to achieve a shared understanding of all this data as team, to work together effectively. In this talk, Johanna will introduce you to concepts and practical modelling tools from the fields of information architecture, lean management and systems thinking. We will discuss how to turn research data into insights, how to make sure that everybody in the team is on the same page, and how to design things that make sense.

1. How
To
Design
Things
That
Make
Sense
Johanna
Kollmann
~
@johannakoll
Generate
2014,
London
Photo by Taro Taylor https://flic.kr/p/b3dga

2. Photo by Pison Jaujip https://flic.kr/p/b8qdYV
1

3. “A
mental
model
is
an
explanation
of
someone's
thought
process
about
how
something
works
in
the
real
world.
!
It
is
a
representation
of
the
surrounding
world,
the
relationships
between
its
various
parts
and
a
person's
intuitive
perception
about
his
or
her
own
acts
and
their
consequences.
!
Mental
models
can
help
shape
behaviour
and
set
an
approach
to
solving
problems
and
doing
tasks.”
Mental
model
Indi
Young
-­‐
Mental
Models
|
Wikipedia

4. Photo courtesy of Rosenfeld Media https://flic.kr/p/4eRkPh

5. Photo courtesy of Rosenfeld Media / Indi Young

6. Mental Model by Daniel Eizans http://danieleizans.com/2012/03/mental-modeling-for-content-work-creation/

7. Photo courtesy of Rosenfeld Media / Indi Young

8. Why.
Next.
Photo by Binu K S https://flic.kr/p/P6DdH

9. Photo by Jon Pinder https://flic.kr/p/7CrDsg
2

10. Mental
Model
System
Model

12. Mental
Model
System
Model
Conceptual
Model

14. Photo by Troup Dresser https://flic.kr/p/a926nV
3

15. Photo by Binu K S https://flic.kr/p/4NxaA2
Collaboration
problems
arise
when
teams
lack
the
tools
to
agree
meaning
and
structure.

16. “Do
you
know
what
you
mean
when
you
say
what
you
say?”
Ontology

17. “Have
you
provided
logical
structures
that
bring
meaning
to
what
you
present?”
Taxonomy

18. “How
is
meaning
affected
across
various
channels,
over
time
and
through
usage?
”
Choreography

19. Ontology
Taxonomy
Choreography
Information
Architecture
Kudos
to
Dan
Klyn,
Abby
Covert
and
Peter
Morville

20. Information
Architecture
Diagrams,
prototypes
Mental
models
Photo by Simon Hammond https://flic.kr/p/sqM8

21. Photo by Macroscopic Solutions https://flic.kr/p/oXjKLp

22. “refers
to
how
we
structure
the
unknown
so
as
to
be
able
to
act
in
it.
Sensemaking
involves
coming
up
with
a
plausible
understanding—a
map—of
a
shifting
world;
testing
this
map
with
others
through
data
collection,
action,
and
conversation;
and
then
rePining,
or
abandoning,
the
map
depending
on
how
credible
it
is.”
Sensemaking
Deborah
Ancona,
MIT
-­‐
Sloan
School
of
Management

23. Photo by Jonathan Fox https://flic.kr/p/ESBH2
“What
we
build
is
rarely
Pinished.
We
build
systems
that
Plex
and
grow
with
the
client,
the
business,
the
organisation,
the
community,
and
the
availability
of
new
devices.
“
Simon
Collison
(2009)

24. Photo by Stavros Markopoulos https://flic.kr/p/2zCkHP
Complicated
Complex
Simple
Check
out
the
CynePin
Framework
by
Dave
Snowden

25. Sensemaking
principles
Many
types
of
data
from
different
sources
!
Collaborate!
!
Model!
Prototype!
!
Learn
from
experiments

26. Photo by Binu K S https://flic.kr/p/4NxaA2
Collaboration
problems
arise
when
teams
lack
the
tools
to
agree
meaning
and
structure.

27. Sensemaking
is
a
process.
Design
is
our
powerful
tool.
Photo by Charlie Stinchcomp https://flic.kr/p/dKRP8F

28. Thank
you!
😻
!
Say
hi:
@johannakoll
!
👋 👋👋👋👋👋👋