Abstract

Design thinking has been widely embraced as an approach that fosters discussion and facilitates innovations that promote inclusion and empowerment in the public and private sectors. However, recent concerns have been expressed over its limited application and the exaggerated claims of its impacts when addressing wicked problems (WPs). A central challenge is comprehending how to support the process of simultaneously understanding WPs and acknowledging their uncertainty and risk. Through an action research project (aimed to help reduce youth unemployment by involving marginalized youths in service development in South Africa), this paper investigates the use of the Mess Mapping™ tool for collectively understanding, visualizing and aiding in decision-making related to the complexities of socially-oriented design research. We demonstrate that through a ‘co-documenting, co-discovering and co-defining’ process, it is possible to identify and understand the challenges and complexities that designers may encounter when informing future design research on WPs.

摘要

设计思维已被广泛接受为一种促进讨论和促进创新的方法，从而促进公共和私营部门的包容性和赋权。然而，最近有人对其有限的应用以及在解决棘手问题 (WP) 时夸大其影响的说法表示担忧。一个核心挑战是理解如何支持同时了解 WP 并承认其不确定性和风险的过程。通过一项行动研究项目（旨在通过让边缘化青年参与南非的服务发展来帮助减少青年失业），本文调查了使用 Mess Mapping™ 工具来集体理解、可视化和协助与复杂性相关的决策面向社会的设计研究。