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Working with non-design stakeholders is an exercise in managing momentum.
Think of the standard divergence-convergence "double diamond", and then imagine that the designer is a boat, and the stakeholder is a cool water skier.
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Think of the standard divergence-convergence "double diamond", and then imagine that the designer is a boat, and the stakeholder is a cool water skier.
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The boat goes straight and pulls the water skier along with it. But when it turns, the skier continues moving forward.
In the same way, designers who know the "shape" of a design process begin to stoke divergent thinking, but stakeholders default to business as usual.
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In the same way, designers who know the "shape" of a design process begin to stoke divergent thinking, but stakeholders default to business as usual.
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Eventually, the rope saps the forward momentum from the water skier, and he gradually turns to follow the boat.
Like they say - when you're tired of saying it, people are just starting to listen. Enough workshops get stakeholders thinking divergently!
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Like they say - when you're tired of saying it, people are just starting to listen. Enough workshops get stakeholders thinking divergently!
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After enough divergent exploration, it's time to start converging. But the water skier has picked up momentum yet again; stakeholders are reluctant to let go of ambiguity, abandon their pet ideas, and start committing to decisions.
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But it's crucial to make decisions, otherwise you're never going to ship anything. The arc of stakeholder management is long, but it bends towards moving forward. Words like "MVP" and "phase one" get thrown about.
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Prototypes are made. Research gets done. Something might even have shipped.
And then the negative results start coming in. Our assumptions were not "validated." We need to iterate.
The stakeholders are not happy. Their momentum is still carrying them towards convergence.
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And then the negative results start coming in. Our assumptions were not "validated." We need to iterate.
The stakeholders are not happy. Their momentum is still carrying them towards convergence.
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And so forth. I'm tired of drawing this diagram but I hope it gets the point across.
Tighter feedback cycles and more design-minded stakeholders let the water skier turn more quickly, but he'll never be headed in quite the same direction as the boat.
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Tighter feedback cycles and more design-minded stakeholders let the water skier turn more quickly, but he'll never be headed in quite the same direction as the boat.
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Of course, as with almost everything I write, you can sub in "product management" or "_____ Ops" for "design" if that's the title of the person in your org responsible for doing this.
Turns out this concept has a name (in physics)!
