1 Prototyping: Weaving Together Conceptual, Empirical, And
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Prototyping: Weaving Together Conceptual, Empirical, and Applied Perspectives A Proposal to the Design Thinking Research Program Principal Investigator: Professor Robert I. Sutton Department of Management Science & Engineering Stanford University [email protected] Co-Investigator: Debra L. Dunn Consulting Associate Professor Hasso Plattner Institute of Design at Stanford [email protected] Stanford University Co-Investigator: Jeffrey Pfeffer Thomas D. Dee II Professor of Organizational Behavior Graduate School of Business Stanford University [email protected] July, 2008 1 Abstract This proposed stream of research will focus on developing a conceptual perspective on prototyping, which is intended to be both empirically grounded and practical. This stream of research will begin with efforts by Scott Klemmer, Jeffrey, Pfeffer, and Robert Sutton to develop a working framework that specifies the process and effects of rapid prototyping; this framework will be grounded in diverse theory and research from the behavioral sciences and engineering. The ideas from this framework will be further developed, tested, and revised on the basis of quantitative and qualitative evidence generated through a year-long d.school “lab” or “learning community” of 8 to 12 organizations that will focus on prototyping potentially better ways of designing and using employee performance evaluations. This set of pilot studies and experiments will focus on using a “bottoms-up” and human-centered approach to reinventing performance evaluation systems and experiences. Debra Dunn, Jeffrey Pfeffer, and Robert Sutton will take the primary leadership roles in developing, guiding, and evaluating the prototypes designed and implemented by this learning community. Finally, we will use our work on this conceptual framework, evidence from the learning community, and input from design classes and faculty (at both Stanford and Potsdam) to generate and continuously refine a set of practical and valid guidelines for people and organizations that adopt prototyping mindsets and methods. 2 Prototyping: Weaving Together Conceptual, Empirical, and Applied Perspectives The aim of this proposed stream of research is to develop an integrated conceptual perspective on prototyping. If we are successful, this perspective will be grounded in the best and most pertinent theory and research in the behavioral sciences and engineering, and continue to evolve as we gather and analyze original evidence about prototyping. This perspective will also be used to generate evidence-based guidelines for leaders and knowledge workers about how and when to use rapid prototyping to develop products, software, services, organizational practices, and business strategies. This is a tall order. But we believe substantial progress can be made by bringing together an interdisciplinary team of researchers, d.school teaching faculty, and practicing executives to participate in this journey. The researchers will include Scott Klemmer from Computer Science and Jeffrey Pfeffer from the Stanford Business School, along with doctoral students. The d.school teaching faculty will include former Hewlett-Packard EVP Debra Dunn, former eBay EVP Michael Dearing, Timbuk2 CEO Perry Klebhan, and IDEO Partner Diego Rodriguez. The executives will include Mozilla CEO John Lilly and Procter & Gamble’s VP of Design Claudia Kotchka. In particular, Jeffrey Pfeffer, Debra Dunn, and I will take leadership roles in this project. The efforts of this team will focus on three intertwined activities (some of which have already started), and that will persist through at least the 2008-2009 academic year. These are: 1. developing a working theory on the process and impact of prototyping; 2. conducting experiments and pilot studies of prototyping in real organizations; and 3. developing and spreading a set of evidence-based guidelines for leaders and knowledge workers who engage in rapid prototyping. I explain each in turn. Developing a Working Theory on the Process and Impact of Prototyping Prototyping is one of the hallmarks of design thinking. It is both a set of methods and a way of seeing the world. The underlying notion is that -- rather than talking and arguing about whether an idea is any good – more can be learned by getting a half-baked idea out into the world quickly, trying to use it and break it, watching how others react when they see it or try to use it, and then quickly revising the idea based on what is learned along the way (or quickly abandoning the idea altogether). And then going through this process often, and going through it quickly, again and again. This simple and powerful idea is applied throughout the Stanford d.school and used (or suggested) by design consultancies of all kinds. Design firms like IDEO, Frog, and Design Continuum originally applied rapid prototyping to products, but now apply it to everything from customer experiences to food to organizational designs. Other consultancies, such as Stone-Yamashita focus on applying the logic and methods of rapid prototyping to business problems. In the three years that the d.school has been teaching classes, our students have applied the logic of rapid prototyping to everything from bike safety on the Stanford campus, to water pumps for third world countries, to spreading the Firefox browser and hip-hop music, to developing radio programs, to developing board games. 3 When many of the most renowned practioners of design-thinking are asked how they “know” that rapid prototyping is effective, they often tell stories about their personal successes with prototyping and the successes of others. And when student teams at the d.school get stuck, they often tell those students that they just need to have faith in the power of the process and all will come it OK in the end (I plead guilty here too). In this vein, I once heard a renowned product designer proclaim that “rapid prototyping is my religion.” Certainly, self-confidence is important for success in any endeavor, and indeed, research on the self-fulfilling prophecy (Rosenthal & Rubin, 1978) suggests that such faith also likely increases the odds of success -- although other research also suggests that such faith will also lead people to engage in escalating commitment to a failing course of action as well (Staw, 1981). But design thinking needs to be more than a faith-based process if it is to have the desired impact on organizations and society, and if it is to be improved as more and better knowledge accumulates. This lack of attention to systematic evidence does not mean, however, that there is a complete absence of theory and research on the topic. On the contrary, there are literatures where the efficacy of rapid prototyping is discussed and studied explicitly, such as in the conference papers and journals in the field of human-computer interaction (See, for example, Brandt, Guo, Lewenstein, and Klemmer, 2008; Hartmann, Klemmer, Bernstein, Abdulla, Burr, Robinson-Mosher, and Gee, 2006). Moreover, my recent conversations with Scott Klemmer, as well as my writings with Jeffery Pfeffer on evidence-based management (see Pfeffer & Sutton, 2006), suggest that studies explicitly using the terms “prototyping” or “rapid prototyping” only begin to scratch the surface of what is already known about the value – and limits – of processes that entail getting ideas out there quickly, failing a lot, failing fast, and updating quickly. Pertinent basic work in the behavioral sciences research, for example, includes studies of the conditions under which people learn best from failure (e.g., Ellis and Davidi, 2005) and on the hazards and opportunities of admitting failure (e.g., Lee, Peterson, and Tiedens, 2004). And perhaps the most pertinent work is on wisdom (Sternberg, 1990), especially research on the differences between smart people (who say smart things and can rapidly give correct answers to many questions) versus wise people (who know the limits of their knowledge, ask good questions, and listen well). Traditional education focuses on the former, while the prototyping mindset is about the latter. There are also pertinent studies on more applied topics across the behavioral sciences that consider the implications of in-depth study and analysis before taking action, versus acting quickly on more meager information and updating on the basis on what is learned along the way. For example, Eisenhardt’s (1989) classic study of high-technology start-ups found that the most effective top management teams analyzed new information very quickly and, when they decided that a new course of action was necessary, they implemented a new strategic direction rapidly and more completely than their less successful competitors (which were led by teams that took far longer to make new decisions and were less likely to update their cognitive models and strategic direction when new information came along). In design thinking language, the leaders of more effective start-ups applied the logic of rapid prototyping to their business strategies. And Simonton’s (1995) historical research on creative geniuses shows that the most creative people in a host of fields – composers, authors, scientists, artists, and many others -- have failure rates that are just as high as their more ordinary counterparts; they just try a lot more things – a perspective quite consistent with the design thinking mantra “fail early, fail often.” As Scott Klemmer and I began talking about all the different places where the logic and assumptions behind