A designer's guide to collaboration
This work is based on research on combining the design process and collaboration structure, both important to the work of a designer Based on research of various collaborative projects, this site equips you with a theory and a practical structure for your own collaborations by combining these theories of collaboration models and the design process. Since collaboration projects are evolving, changing things, you can use a tool for planning the structure of your own collaborative project by answering questions pertaining to each stage of the design process.
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the research portfolio
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studies.
This work is based on a MA Communication Design thesis for Central Saint Martins.
Key Elements of Collaboration
Collaborations vary enourmously depending on their goals, settings, teams and resources. Yet all collaborations are a human activity, and the following six elements play an imporant role in all of them. These elements also play an important role in the questions of the interactive structure tool.
Motivation
The driving force for collaboration is motivation. In order for a collaboration to succeed, everyone involved needs to feel that they gain something from the collaboration or feel that they are doing a meaningful thing and working towards a valuable end result.
Communication
In order to find the right people to collaborate with, the project needs to be communicated clearly. Giving information about the project and its goals helps people decide whether to participate or not.
Diversity
Collaboration benefits from a wide range of skills and expertise in the pool of participants. A diverse group of participants is often the best way to ensure that this is achieved.
Sharing
For a successful collaboration it is important to be flexible with the ownership of ideas. This does not mean that a team should not give credit to individuals where credit is due, but any issues of ownership of ideas or concepts need to be agreed at the onset.
Support
The support of the other collaborators in the process is important, especially at times of crisis or unforeseen difficulties. Even when no hardships are expected, the collaborative group needs to work on the basis of the trust that if someone were to need the support of others in the group, that support would be available.
Problem solving
The group must be able to solve problems together. High tolerance for uncertainty is needed when the project changes direction or something does not go as planned.
The theory
Design process
One of the many models for structuring the design process is Design Council's Double Diamond model. The model attempts to illustrate the changing scope of a project as it moves through the design process. The four stages, Discover, Define, Develop and Deliver form a framework for the designer to explore, test and innovate. The work can be multidisciplinary in all of the stages and involve team members from various professions. The different stages can feed back into each other.
1. Discover
- the beginning of the design process
- an idea or a need to do something new or develop existing products or services
- exploring and gathering inspirations
- identifying the problem
2. Define
- filtering and analysing the findings
- brainstorming
- visualisation
- prototyping and testing
- selecting ideas for development
3. Develop
- prototyping and testing
- gathering feedback
- further visualisation, brainstorming
- narrowing down offered concepts
4. Deliver
- testing and refining
- stakeholder approval / rejection
- presenting or launching the product or looping back to an earlier stage
Collaboration Structure and Path
Collaboration adds complexity to a design project. A collaborative project can move through the design process in linear fashion, but the structure of the project may change from one stage to the next. One stage may call for a very open collaboration style to ensure motivation, while another stage may require a tigther control in order to meet the project deliverable. Therefore, a collaborative project can move through different modes of collaboration as it follows a design process, and this is best visualised in a quadrant.
The quadrant is based on the aspects of governance and the openness of the collaboration in the design process. Next we will look at these aspects in more detail.
Models of collaboration
Collaboration can be classified by its dimensions of openness and governance. In these the models of collaboration are open or closed, and flat or hierarchical. (Pisano & Verganti)
Openness of the collaboration
Open
- open for everyone to take part
- can arise when a person or an organization sets the problem and launches a collaboration, or publishes the problem for anyone to contribute to
- can be used when the subject area is not well-defined
- must be easy for participants to contribute ideas, work and resources
Closed
- participants chosen by a manager, a group leader
- usually consist of a smaller number of participants than the open model
- can be used for example in inter-company collaborations
- should be used when the subject area is well defined and it is possible to determine the most appropriate contributors for the project
Governance of the collaboration
Flat
- all the participants can take part in the decision making process
- all the participants share the challenges and make the decisions together
- in order for the collaboration to succeed, all collaborators need to agree on the goals of the project
Hierarchical
- a selected participant or organisation is in charge of the decision making
- level of challenges and tasks of participants can be determined by the decision maker
- participants can have their own goals within the hierarchy
The modes of collaboration in design projects
Combining the models offers different modes of structuring collaboration in the two dimensions: how open the collaboration is and how hierarchical it is.
Open & Hierarchical
Anyone can contribute but the person, company or organisation in charge of the project decides which ideas or solutions to develop.
Open & flat
There is not an authority who decides which innovations will be taken further because anyone can contribute in the process and use delivered results.
Closed & Hierarchical
The participants have been chosen by the authority who also decides which ideas will be chosen and developed.
Closed & Flat
The group of participants chosen by an authority share ideas and make the decisions and contributions together.
(more at Pisano & Verganti 2008)
Plan your collaboration
About me and this research
This set of recommendations and the evaluative framework is the result of my final thesis for the MA Communication Design course at Central Saint Martins, London. A number of collaborative projects were studied for the research and the main ones, Rubbish Duck and TEDxCentralSaintMartins are treated in detail in my portfolio (PDF download).
I am Essi Salonen, a designer interested in collaboration, engagement and motivation. Find my contact details below.
Case studies
The first TEDxCSM conference was held in March 2012. The event was organised to celebrate the new Central Saint Martins campus in King's Cross. Rubbish Duck is an environmental sculpture made out of plastic bottles collected from London's waterways. The project raises awareness of problems that rubbish causes in our waterways.
