Design Teams

Almost all of the ‘whole system’ approaches to organisation and community change, are characterised by a big investment in the planning work with a 'planning' or 'design' team. This planning work can typically take longer than the time which will be spent by the participants in any individual events . This is an important investment for a number of reasons: -

• If the plans include pulling together a large number of people, it is better to spend time in learning what will and will not work with a smaller representative community rather than risk the significant investment in people’s time and energy in the events/programmes themselves.
• The Design Team will act as a critical reality check, giving the best possible opportunity of creating a highly effective programme. They know and understand their system: with the best will in the world, one or two system leaders with the support of one or two consultants cannot possibly have the same breadth of understanding.
• The work they do will look comprehensively at the issues and scope out all of the work necessary to move things forward successfully ...fast
• A well chosen microcosm of the 'whole system' (ie. all the stakeholders relevant to the programme/ events), many of the system dynamics will play out as they achieve consensus and the plans will be based on a thorough understanding of what is possible and probable.
• They will build a thorough appreciation and ownership of what they want to achieve and will continue to hold that sense of shared responsibility, including ensuring that changes are made as and when needed.
• The planning/ design team work is a significant opportunity to live out new ways of working, to forge new partnerships across the system, to have new conversations and to allow people to play an active role in moulding their organisation/ community as they address the issues concerned. Once the Design Team meets, the work has already begun

Using the DPPE planning formula
When working with Design Teams and planning almost any programme or event, we tend to use the following framework to guide us. What is critical, is to understand the context (Data) and to clearly agree the purpose and desired outcomes before jumping into creating a potential plan. It’s surprising how often these steps are missed out.

As we get excited about the potential of the work we are planning, it’s incredibly tempting to say ‘oh we could do…’ etc. These ideas are great to hold to one side for now. Until we know why (purpose and outcomes) we are getting together, we have no way of knowing whether such-and-such activity is relevant or not. In the conversations on purpose you will frequently find that each person had a slightly different take on the ‘why’. Without this clarity from the start, you are setting yourself up for disappointment or failure, with each person imagining a different outcome.

So… to the DPPE formula:

DATA: What do we know about the situation, stakeholders and individuals? What is the context for the programme / event we are planning? Why are we considering gathering now?

• What’s working?
• What’s not working?
• What are the challenges & opportunities in the system?

PURPOSE: What do we want to achieve?

• What are the desired outcomes? What do we want to have (in our heads, hearts and hands) by the end of the programme/event?
• What specific results / deliverables are required?
• What would success look like?
• What would be a motivating purpose statement?

PLAN: What series of actions / activities would lead us to achieve the purpose?

• What information do the participants need in order to do good work?
• In what areas do the participants have expertise of their own?
• Who do we need to hear from? (if anyone)
• What activities / processes would be interesting and meaningful for participants?
• How would the activities best be sequenced?
• How can we ensure we include all learning styles?
• How can we add magic to our time together?

EVALUATE: How can we measure the effectiveness of our plan?

• Will the plan achieve the purpose?
• Does the plan fit the data?
• Would we, as participants, be truly engaged in this event/ programme?

This formula was originally created by Dannemiller Tyson Associates

Change formula
Given that there is a natural human tendency to resist change, it is valuable to bear in mind the change formula (also known as Gleicer’s formula) when you’re wanting to move people through any kind of change – including within one event or meeting.

The formula D x V x F x C > R, suggests that in order to overcome the resistance to change, you need to have:

Dissatisfaction with the present
a Vision of the future
First steps towards that future… and
the Capability to take those first steps.

If any of these factors are missing or insufficient, it is unlikely that people will change.

contact us

we'd love your thoughts

links