A presentation at Impact: 2018 Canadian Service Design Conference in in Montreal, QC, Canada by Linn Vizard
What are outcomes made of? This talk will explore the dark matter of the outcomes of service design work.
As an industrial designer or even digital product designer, outcomes are clear and concrete - a new piece of furniture is in market, or an update to the app or website has been shipped. For service designers, we grapple with the non-’thing’-ness of the work we are doing. What is a service made of, and how can we tell when we really made an impact on it? How might we expand our thinking to consider a range of outcomes, from implemented, in-market, physical and material changes, to shifts in mindsets, perspectives, and the creation of new conversations and capabilities?
Service design is having a crisis of confidence regarding the impact of our work. Let’s delve into a taxonomy of outcomes, and think in a broader and more nuanced way about impact.
Here’s what was said about this presentation on social media.
"Things" win awards. We attach inherent value to "thing-ness." The trick is, it was never about the thing. The tangible things are only a means to an end. The ends are people, interactions, systems, relationships. Linn Vizard @wittster #SDCImpact pic.twitter.com/qeGiueQfbX
— Bridgeable (@bridgeable) November 30, 2018
“The trick is, it was never about the thing.” @wittster tackles designers’ obsession with ‘thingness’ at #SDCImpact pic.twitter.com/7loe7A3AVL
— Markus Grupp (@markusgrupp) November 30, 2018
I feel like I missed out on an historic rock gig. Gah!
— Warren Anthony (@wjanthony) December 4, 2018
Evidently a stellar talk by a leader in the practice, @wittster.
(Hopefully @SDNCanada recorded it to amplify its own outcomes...). https://t.co/dHB000EKyC
Thanks, @wittster for sharing. Some great insights in this preso. https://t.co/DXEJ2mSjaP
— Charlie Humphries (@C_Humphries) December 3, 2018
Wow! Brilliant and thought provoking slide deck from @wittster to start the week on a contemplative note... ⭐️⚡️💫 https://t.co/gGWan9Ay8R
— Ruth Lund (@RuthForemanLund) December 3, 2018
Check out @wittster's incredibly timely and thought-provoking talk about the material of outcomes from #SDCimpact. So good! https://t.co/KHjKuCLmrm
— Jacquelyn Brioux (@jacquelynbrioux) December 3, 2018
Thank you so much for the slides - so many insights and got me thinking deeper about Service Design ☺️
— Elena (@ellie_gleb) December 3, 2018
Ça fait trois fois que je lis cette présentation! C'est vraiment excellent! J'aimerais vraiment la voir en personne et en discuter...
— Joel Bourgeoys (@Joel_B) December 3, 2018
This was beautiful - thanks for sharing Linn!
— Saadia Muzaffar 🏳️🌈 سعدية (@ThisTechGirl) December 2, 2018
Also also, what is the name of the chunky font you used in your deck? My brain was ASMRing over it the whole time
Love it!
— Ryan Rumsey (@ryanrumsey) December 2, 2018
Thank you!!!! I missed the conference this week due to illness but this is fabulous! Much appreciated!
— illana (@illpinto) December 2, 2018
One of my favorite talks from #SDCImpact 🙂✌️✨
— Tim Gaweco (@timgaweco) December 1, 2018
Oof. This slide from @wittster's talk at #SDCIMPACT is so good, and fully captures a tension I haven't been able to verbalize in my work 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
— Andrew Fung (@twitxaf) December 1, 2018
Also, link to the slides of her talk "The Material of Outcomes" https://t.co/cmHAGioEj0 pic.twitter.com/eBxULmq4An
Designers and likeminded friends! Tons of great jumping off points for further reading, exploration and reflection in @wittster’s #SDCImpact references https://t.co/DlQ1Kd026n
— Markus Grupp (@markusgrupp) December 1, 2018
Important to consider in the context of healthcare improvement. Quant metrics don’t always tell the full story. #Design #HCQuality @wittster #SDCImpact https://t.co/cy36X1qvSy
— Sean Molloy (@SeanJMolloy) December 1, 2018
In my work with digital products, sometimes we can get too caught up in the minutiae. @wittster in a wicked onesie suit challenges us to think and measure beyond "thing-ness" and target metrics. @SDNCanada #SDCIMPACT pic.twitter.com/gI5mTYUo3L
— Jessie Sun (@jessiejsun) December 1, 2018
Amazing talk Linn. Lots to think about. I can’t wait to see you to chat about it! ♥️
— Karen Maxwell (@heykmax) December 1, 2018
@wittster on stage with baby vids & service design fears. Linn u said so much but what I really felt is how closely linked design work and personal development are for me. You can’t do this work mindfully without developing your own self-awareness. ❤️ for being vulnerable! pic.twitter.com/szd9fZ4pOD
— Nicole Broeckling (@nbroeckling) November 30, 2018
In conclusion, this talk was 🔥 and I would also like to take a moment to recognize that @wittster perfectly matched her pantsuit to her #SDCImpact deck colour palette 👑 pic.twitter.com/C6n906r8nP
— Hana Nagel (@Miss_Hanie) November 30, 2018
Organizations should be thought of as conversations rather than merely systems - how can service design create new connections? @wittster #SDCImpact pic.twitter.com/GoRgkj0F94
— Hana Nagel (@Miss_Hanie) November 30, 2018
So proud and humbled to see fantastic female service design leaders getting on the stage today to share their thoughts on advancing the practice @claireorange1 @wittster #SDCimpact #SDCC pic.twitter.com/hCc1KJx0e0
— Marie Serrano (@MarieSerrano_) November 30, 2018
Linn Vizard — @wittster “As soon as a measure becomes a target, it ceases to become a good measure”... what are different ways of knowing that service design is working? (Aside from metric outcome?) How about how people are feeling? #ChangingPerceptions #SDCIMPACT
— Service Design Canada (@SDNCanada) November 30, 2018
#SDCimpact @kimgoodwin on design confidence, values and measuring the impact of design - ”It's not a value if you don't apply it when it's inconvenient.”, “Until we learn to measure what we value, we will continue to overvalue what we learn.”@wittster possible desirable futures.
— janevita (@janevita) November 30, 2018
. @wittster challenges Service Designers to gauge success based on “how far did I manage to kick the ball down the field this time?” Service Design doesn’t have a ‘mission accomplished’ moment. Our outcomes become the inputs to the next iteration #SDCImpact pic.twitter.com/KVxP3NWGdz
— Taylor Kim (@kwtaylork) November 30, 2018
"Measurement is a proxy for outcomes." Getting hung up on metrics may not always be the best way to know whether service design is working. We may need to look to other ways of knowing to understand what people think and feel. Linn Vizard @wittster #SDCImpact pic.twitter.com/S6yW87BwtW
— Bridgeable (@bridgeable) November 30, 2018
“See! I told you there’s value in this thing that we do. McKinsey says so! Read the report!” @wittster jokes about the Design industry’s ongoing need for constant validation of the value of its work #SDCImpact pic.twitter.com/nRfF6yMI0N
— Markus Grupp (@markusgrupp) November 30, 2018
As a designer this issue has been bothering me for so long. “We often confuse outputs with outcomes. We think we’re succeeding if the result is close to our output.” @wittster on “The Material of Outcomes” #SDCimpact
— Tammy Le (@tammytle) November 30, 2018
Organizational outcomes, service design outcomes and a solid dark matter shout out from @wittster #sdcimpact #darkmatter cc @cityofsound pic.twitter.com/VSzMRhZ5eW
— Gordon Ross (@gordonr) November 30, 2018