Nadja Toft

With ↗️ links out to interesting conversations and resources—Steve Messer on how “It’s OK for [UK #Government] departments to have their own #DesignSystem”. https://lnkd.in/ePY5jE6j I agree in principle with the valid points raised in discussions linked to this post. My main concern with the various Department-specific Design Systems (https://lnkd.in/ez85MBs7) built over the years is it's often not clear how the 🔙 upstream process works. How often do these local systems merge helpful patterns back into the main GovUK Design System? And how easy is it to do so? 🤔

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Many organisations create inclusive personas to represent disabled people. I know the UK Government's Digital Service do, and they are people who really know what they're doing. But ... these artefacts tend to focus on the disability, and the assistive technology people use to overcome barriers. Not so much on who they are, their goals, and what they're trying to achieve with their businesses and their lives. On people as people. Just, y'know, peopling. We've done lots of research over the years with disabled people who run, or are in positions of authority in businesses. It's obvious that disabled people are under-represented in the upper echelons of business because of the cultural, physical, and technological barriers they face. The statistics tell us that with barely any interrogation at all. It's equally obvious that the people we do talk to – who have managed to create and sustain successful businesses despite these barriers – embody a selection bias. They've already been able to overcome those hurdles. Nevertheless, I think context matters – and in some contexts, focusing on what people can't do is less important than highlighting what they go out and do anyway, despite all the difficulties they face up to every day. Anyway, I wrote up some thoughts on how to include some #accessibility pointers into #personas without making them the main focus. (And, yes, I use gender-neutral names and pronouns for our personas. None of our research has revealed any significant difference between them.) https://lnkd.in/edbnZGQp

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Accessibility can only work effectively when seen as part of your digital transformation or modern 'target operating model' One of the aspects of accessibility less spoken about is how factors outside of the immediate: design, UX and digital team influence the success of efforts. Often, the overall success of the digital transformation (many organisations are still working on) can help or hinder accessibility. For example, how does the IT/Operations agility and underlying policies support your team getting the testing tools, environments and software they need? Do you have well defined and pragmatic remote working systems in place - how might this and other HR policies prevent people with disabilities, or other reasons for preferring home working, from joining your team? How much collaboration is there between Marketing, Brand and PR - especially in terms of offline activity and digital teams? You are only as good as the system you work within. To be continued...

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📘 ‘The Materials of Service Design’ - A new book from Johan Blomkvist, Simon Clatworthy & Stefan Holmlid that explores the materials of #ServiceDesign, discussing these materials as a means to explore what service design is and could be. https://lnkd.in/eKwjQWAn https://lnkd.in/ef_k-W-R

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How do service designers do service design without partnering with user research? In the absence of UR, we’re just left with service maps that look nice. How are decisions made off the back of that? And when debating don’t talk about democratisation of UR, because that is just people marking their own homework and breaching research codes of conduct if not experienced and trained appropriately to mitigate aspects such as bias, quality of research as well as participant care. I’m proud to be a dedicated user researcher why do people sell out on our discipline? Don’t conflate democratisation with UR as a team sport. Why this constant need to debase user research by promoting that UR can be done by anybody? Now off to learn how to code and tomorrow I will be developer. #evidenceleddecisionmaking #userresearch

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Think of #DoubleDiamond as place to grow rather than a process or journey to cross thru. Design Council released its Systemic Design Framework this week https://lnkd.in/e6ftRQbG I designed and tested a number of workshops for this toolkit to understand how it worked with design professionals and climate activists. The adapted version of Double Diamond in the framework works differently in shifting from a very tight business-oriented design thinking process to a more broad sense of community and place making for change. The image here is from one workshop for #CampDigital in Manchester and the use of the tree model continued into workshops for #UXCopenhagen. Using the systemic design framework as a foundation to do more with more people while using fewer resources and planning for degrowth is good. Using Permaculture principles helped with thinking of time in a place not movement thru a place. I’d recommend the Entangled Activist and Closing The Loop as books to read. #DesignThinking #SystemicThinking #ClimateCrisis #SystemsThinking #EcologicalThinking.

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I always enjoy seeing examples of great #ServiceDesign and learning from others on what approaches work well. So, while browsing the BBC Archives, it was great to see this footage from 1986—part of a series that looked at the functional design that surrounds our everyday lives—looking at the design process used across the entire #Customer experience when using 🛫 London Gatwick Airport. 📺 https://lnkd.in/eYsdZTvz The concept of considering all areas of the process is clearly shown including; 🧭 Signage and Wayfinding (designed by #JockKinneir and #MargaretCalvert) using a consistent typeface and series of symbols. 🚶‍♀️ Hard flooring for highly trafficked areas but carpeting used in areas where passengers can relax. 💺 Seating designed for groups to sit together, or for a single person to lie down on if awaiting delays (quite opposite to the #HostileDesign approaches taken more recently regarding public seating) with fabrics that can easily repaired or replaced (a great example of 🌱 #Sustainable #Design in action). 🚮 Even down the the design of the bins which separated standard waste from flammable (this was a time when smoking in airports was allowed) but acted as a fire suppressant should accidents occur. The thought process put into all stages of the journey is so well demonstrated. This is no doubt down to the British Airport Authority having the amazing #JanePriestman (https://lnkd.in/eqEeMeVU) as General Manager in #Architecture and #Design. Someone who could apply all their knowledge of Design across a spectrum of airport #UserNeeds. Watching this, it does sometime seem that some areas noted have regressed rather then evolved. We had this foundational #ServiceDesign work in place to learn from, but are we building on past lessons in the most effective way? 🤔

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Design research involves embracing the challenges of working with stakeholders. Almost always. Research isn’t naturally seen as the go-to method for making design decisions. New agreements must be created regularly: setting clear expectations, supporting the team, and encouraging stakeholders to get involved. Integrating research into ongoing workflows means understanding stakeholder involvement and the challenges it creates. Over the past five years of continuous research and iterative design, we've encountered several challenges–here are some steps to overcome them. I created a quadrant graph to illustrate these challenges, with the X-axis showing how important research is to stakeholders and the Y-axis showing their motivation. Pressure Cooker ↳ Stakeholders value research and desire perfection. This creates a high-pressure environment with an intense focus on getting the correct answer with the proper methods, leading to stress and potential strain on the research process. Suggestion: Set clear goals and break the research into manageable steps. Keep stakeholders updated and realistic about what’s achievable. Confirmation Bias ↳ Stakeholders here may not prioritize research but still want to confirm their beliefs or ideas. The risk is that they may selectively use research to validate their preconceptions, disregarding findings that challenge their views. Suggestion: Present a balanced view with data that supports and challenges their views. Encourage open discussions about different perspectives. Resistant to Change ↳ Stakeholders value research as necessary but primarily focus on avoiding mistakes. This leads to a reluctance to embrace new ideas or changes, as they prefer to stick with what is known and safe. Skepticism Suggestion: Introduce small, low-risk changes with solid evidence. Show how these changes can lead to positive outcomes. Skepticism ↳ Stakeholders are not invested in research and are more concerned with avoiding errors. Their skepticism towards research can result in disengagement, making it difficult to convince them of the value of research findings. Suggestion: Deliver quick wins that directly address their concerns. Use previous examples to show how research solves their problems and builds trust over time. What challenges have you experienced? #productdesign #productdiscovery #userresearch #uxresearch

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Is centre-aligned text on a button an accessibility problem? I do not think it is, but maybe I'm wrong. I do know that centred body copy is a readability problem. It creates unequal line lengths with a ragged left edge that's hard to scan. But I can't find anything in accessibility guidelines about the alignment of buttons on the page, or the alignment of text on the button. UK Government style (GDS) is to “Align the primary action button to the left edge of your form” and that seems like a sensible default, given that (terms and conditions apply) we tend to scan from left to right. When it comes to the alignment of text on the button, however, I'm not finding *anything*. And if the button is sized to match the text, you can't really tell how the text is aligned anyway. Does anyone have a strong view? (With evidence!) If so, let me know below. 👇 [Image description: Two buttons, one with text aligned to the centre ("Text here?") and the other aligned to the left ("Or here?")] #accessibility #ContentDesign #ProductDesign

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I love this simple chart that maps out strategic pathways related to common L&D initiatives within organizations! Take a look- maybe it will help you with some ideas as it relates to your current work!

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I think there may be some confusion about the difference or similarities between rapid research, rolling research, continuous research, iterative research and probably a bunch of other [insert prefix] research. In an attempt to unravel the confusion and learn about each of these, I have embarked on a new interview series. My first guest was Amanda Gelb and amongst other things, she told me all about setting up a Rapid Research program at Lyft. You can find the interview on our website and also on our YouTube channel: https://lnkd.in/ew6Uqmix If you have a story to tell about setting up an innovative program of research, I would love to hear from you. #uxresearch #userresearch #ux247

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Great framework for incorporating diverse expertise and skills into the design process.

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Talking about #accessibility workshops and European Accessibility Act. Mostly about not getting trapped by sense that checklists/standards will save the day. More about extending and building personal and communal capabilities. 2 workshops. One in extending the sense that skills people already have are accessibility skills when reframed. One on extending individual sense of perception and capacities to understand personal divergence and its relationship to communal diversity.

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In yesterday's Circle ⭕ session hosted by Nitya Kumar we talked about 'accountability' and reflected on our own experiences of trust, transparency, responsibility and ownership within our respective organisations. As is always the case in our Dinner Table sessions, a seemingly clear-cut topic turned into a fascinating exploration into the myriad nuances and implications of what, exactly, this topic means for in-house service design professionals. Under Nitya Kumar's expert guidance our group talked about how perceptions of accountability change depending on specific context. The insights I found most useful to apply to my own practice were: 🏆 Accountability is not the same as responsibility or ownership. Accountability should focus on the process of how things get done and provide clarity around what needs to be achieved, it doesn't focus on when or how quickly things can be delivered. What does accountability look like when a project succeeds versus when it fails? Who takes credit for success and who gets blamed for failure? 👻 Accountability can sneak up on you and, before you know it, you're being held accountable for something you didn't sign up for. Service designers are really good at identifying opportunities and are generally proactive in grabbing these with both hands. The downside to this approach is that oftentimes we end up being held accountable by default simply because we're the ones doing the work. Without establishing a clear line of accountability from the outset of a project, it's very difficult to pass this on to the right person later on. 💪🏻 Accountability without influence is detrimental to Service Design success. Clarity around expectations of accountability is hugely empowering and, wielded the right way, can increase influence - with clout. When you assume accountability and deliver good work your influence grows and you start to create allies across the business. Notable quotes from the session: "You win together, you fail alone" - Marc Fonteijn "Don't be the meat in the sandwich" - Elle Beaumont-Bilsby Thanks to Karolina Rojek, Nancy S., Carlos Chavez, Elle Beaumont-Bilsby for the fascinating discussion and to Nitya Kumar and Marc Fonteijn for hosting 🙌🏻 https://lnkd.in/eeYuks7r

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Apparently half of UK-based designers (n=1068) are capable, 'to a large extent,' of offering 'Transition Design' to clients?! I'd downloaded-without-reading the Design Council's Skills Gap Report, so hadn't noticed this until a friend just pointed it out. I'm intrigued by what respondents are thinking when they say this. It's been more than 10 years now since Terry Irwin and Gideon Kossoff and I started talking and publishing about what we called Transition Design. Many others are now contributing to that practice and discourse, and some perhaps were doing 'convergent evolution' from other directions. There are a few, but only a few, places teaching different approaches to 'Transition Design.' But I don't think any of us think of it as a settled 'thing.' It was always meant to be a placeholder for raising the ambitions of designers, an emerging collection of perspectives around design-enabled systems-level change. So it is a little disconcerting to realise that half of professional designers think that they can already do this 'thing,' are prepared to offer it as part of a fee-for-service. There's a 'Designing (for) Transitions' track at DRS Boston: https://lnkd.in/gJt3mSwi. The organisers are hosting a 'conversation' about their experience arranging the track on Monday June 24th, 4:00-5:30pm, Boston time. I cannot participate but there was talk by organisers about breadth, and not in a good way, of things that seemed to be currently claiming to be kinds of 'transition design.'

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Systems design - or systemic design - is a hot topic these days, with lots of people trying to make sense of it through reference to what they already know, e.g. service design and design thinking. I have seen quite a few attempts, some better than others so I wanted to write this post to try and clarify a little the difference: https://t.ly/onN-c

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Contrarian view - the way we do User research in the public sector can stifle innovation by overly focusing on current user needs, potentially limiting the creative vision and breakthrough ideas that might lead to truly new services. Thoughts? #userresearch #ucd #servicedesign

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