creativity, technology, design, and you what’s “teams” got to do with it? prof. david owens...
TRANSCRIPT
Creativity, Technology, Design, and You
What’s “Teams” Got To Do With It?
Prof. David Owens Owen Grad School of Management
Today’s Three Claims
1. Good designs are not creative
2. Good design teams don’t know what they are doing
3. Good designs can’t be managed
First a Poll…
How many of you are creative?
About Me… BS Electrical Engineering
PE EE (Professional Engineer) SFO Airport: Power Systems Design
MS Product Design (ME / Art) IDEO Product Development Inc. Product Design (Apple, HP, Steelcase,
Coleman, Wine-in-a-Box, etc.)
PhD Management Science and Eng. Management & New Product Development Vanderbilt & LEGO Systems
(SeriousPlay.com)
Some good designs…
Why Do “Good” Ideas Fail?
Because the designers have failed to recognize the constraints of …
habits, perceptions, routines, social structures, knowledge bases, behaviors, minds, or ways of life…
The Big Secret…
Design is not “Creative”!
The most successful designers are not “out of the box” thinkers
The are “inside the box” constraint-meeters!
Inside the box Innovation..
Individual
Org
aniza
tiona
l
SocietalTechnical
Economic
Constraints
Why Constraints?
Constraints are something we can usually agree upon
Constraints are something we can usually measure
Constraints can be a focus of our innovation efforts
Constraints guide the acceptance of our designs
Good Designs are not Creative
Good Designers are!
They are innovators who identify, articulate, and circumnavigate constraints that stand in the way of a good design solution
They are good at the process of seeking constraints, and then being clever, honest, and responsible about meeting or changing them
Creative People may be Characterized by...
???
Creative Personality Indicators
1. Neurotic
2. Extraverted
3. Open to Experience
4. Agreeable
5. Conscientious Others?...
Creativity Research Findings
Trait Neuroticism Extraversion Openness to Experience Agreeableness Conscientiousness General cognitive ability Task motivation Domain-relevant skills Use Creative Processes
“Creativity” Correlation-0.100.130.17
~0.190.260.410.460.62
So What Happens in Teams?
Trait Creativity: Neuroticism Extraversion Openness to Experience Agreeableness Conscientiousness General cognitive ability Task motivation Domain-relevant skills Use Creative Processes
Indiv.-0.100.130.17
~0.190.260.410.460.62
Team~~~~
0.11~
0.37~
.52
Good design teams don’t know what they are doing…
They know how they are going to do it
Their secret is mastery of the process of design
Rational Model of Design
Identify the Issue Find the Relevant Expertise in
the Cross-Functional Group Give Authority to “The Expert”
Voila— Problem Gets Solved
Eng Mkt Mfg Srv ID
Technology S-Curves
1
Time
Per
form
ance
1: Exploration 2: Innovation 3: Implementation 4: Exploitation
2
3
4
A Design Process
DIVERGENCE
CONVERGENCE
CONVERGENCE
PERFORMANCE
A Group Process
So What?
The group must have different “behaviors” at different times
The group must have different goals at different times
Groups cannot “jump ahead” in the process How do you know when to switch?
Rational Model of Design
Identify the Issue Find the Relevant
Expertise in the Group Proffer Authority to
ExpertVoila— Problem Gets Solved
A more likely scenario:The Negotiation Model
Issues Framed
Influence Attempted
Authority Asserted
Problem Assigned
Problem Gets Solved!
How do you know when to switch modes?
See who’s best situated Allow temporary “loss” of control Keep to the Process Keep to the Schedule And Always Seek
Constraints!
Good designs don’t need to be managed…
good designers do. Great design teams manage the team and the
process and let the design manage itself
Without a design process there is no design You can choose to be ignorant of process,
but this is to choose to be ignorant of your most powerful tool
Today’s Three Claims
1. Good designs are not creative
2. Good design teams don’t know what they are doing
3. Good designs can’t be managed
MBA - Product Design and Development Class – Spring Semester see details at http://mba.vanderbilt.edu/david.owens/NPD