I get to know people so we can understand their problems and futures.

I love talking to people about the headaches, heartbreaks, and dreams that fill their lives. By connecting with individuals through interviews, focus groups, surveys, observation, quantitative data analysis, workshops, participatory design, and other means, I work with my collaborators to understand and document the very real, very challenging problems people face everyday. Whether it’s a confusing interface, a communication breakdown, a job that needs to be done, or an unmet basic need, each story of struggle points to an opportunity for change.

I get to know problems so we can identify their underlying dynamics.

When I speak with someone about a problem, I dig deeper to find out what’s really going on beneath the surface. I sift through the data we’ve collected and identify connections, causal relationships, and trends. I work to understand and visualize the stakeholders and relationships underpinning a system.

I get to know systems so we can design transformative interventions.

Understanding the system allows us to identify opportunities to address the problems within a system, which brings value to the people we are serving. Then we can frame problems that are big enough to seed change yet tractable enough to accomplish. From there we can ask “How might we…?” as we start designing interventions that will transform the ecosystem. These may manifest as a change to a UI, a re-designed business process, or a new or re-defined product, service, or organization.

I get to know futures so we can work towards preferred ones.

Throughout this entire journey it is important to consider the historical events that led to the current state and consideration of the future scenarios we could find ourselves in. Looking backwards shows us how change has happened and looking forward shows us how change could happen. I often incorporate strategic foresight methods like scenario building, backcasting, and ethnographic and experiential futures into this work so that we are designing for the future rather than the present, which will soon pass. I have found this combination of systems thinking, problem re-framing, and foresight to generate the most powerful and durable interventions possible.