In effort to get businesses to innovate we must use the language used in the business context. As speculative designers we mustn’t fall culprit to the jargon of our own profession. Much like a good salesmen or educator our ability to actively listen to business stakeholders brings immeasurable success in persuading them to cater to the idea of practicing speculative design.
We have to thank the many design frameworks that have come before us.
• Design Thinking
• Lean
• Design Sprints
• CORE
These frameworks have provided the necessary stage in which design facilitation takes place. For example, at the beginning of Design Sprints we ask what the 5 years goal is? What’s the vision and mission? Where do you see your company in 5 years time? The purpose of a design sprint is to conjure up ambitious dreams and prototype them in just 4-5 days. This provides one of the most efficient ways to deploy speculative design.
Next, is Lean UX. The Lean Startup book by Eric Ries does shine some light on Lean methodology. Yet, Lean UX in particular is about framing a scientific hypothesis. Where do they start? They start at big assumptions. They prioritize those assumptions based upon which are the most risky and most rewarding. They do this because if a success and you prove the hypothesis to be a theory, then the reward would be the most significant. This framework therefore encourages risk taking for the right rewards. Very effective at cultivating speculative design in companies.
A common pitfall is that after running through a framework once or twice, the company begins to run out of steam. This can cause them to go back to waterfall or agile from whence they came. To avoid this it’s important that the sessions be fun and exploratory. This is an opportunity for Speculative Design, because we have at our hands some of the most futuristic tech in history. Augmented and Virtual Reality, Voice User Interface, and Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning. Exploring new futures in these space is one aspect of innovation. There’s more to innovation than just tech.
There are 4 types of innovation:
• evolutionary/incremental
• radical
• disruptive
• architectural
With Radical and Disruptive innovations this is where speculative design can shine the most. Yet, it is with incremental innovation in which business remain comfortable.
If we are to remain comfortable nothing will change.
In effort to change we must take risks on big ticket imagination. Like Elon Musk and Steve Jobs celebrity attests to, we can seek to bring science fiction to reality and bare witness to long queues of people anxiously awaiting to reserve our products or services.
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