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| Edition 4 | April 2009 | ||
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Featured Article Place in the Face of Obscure Dependencies by Scott Francisco, for DEGW North America It is often said that ‘change is the only thing that stays the same’ – a truism that offers very little direction to today’s manager, consultant or designer. Amidst the current whirlwind of change, most of us are trying to find our bearings, dust ourselves off and lead change, rather than be pummelled by it. Standing out in this storm is something particularly dangerous to organisations. The growing reliance on metrics, data and new technologies has an alarming side-effect: Obscure Dependencies (ODs). These are critical relationships, connections parts, or modules in human-centric systems that, like the infamous iPod battery, are invisible or inaccessible to their users. Almost no sector or industry today is spared from obscure dependencies. From professional sports to children’s education, from automobile engines to agriculture and investment banking; innovative techniques for measurement, calculation, regulation and automation have been incorporated to increase efficiency, validate decisions and produce “measureable results”: More games won, higher test scores, better fuel efficiency, higher yield on crops or investments. It’s difficult to argue with these goals or their numbers. But these same innovations have also created a new kind of relationship between the parts and people in these systems. Pathways and connections become more complex, less visible and less accessible, resisting direct engagement, interaction and dialogue. In automobiles, for example, engines have changed from coherent machines that once encouraged user knowledge and maintenance skills, into ‘black boxes’ that resist any comprehension or interaction. Picture a ‘75 VW Beetle beside today’s Prius. Now imagine yourself under the hood trying to make an emergency repair! Read More |
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Press Harvard Design Magazine Lumbering to Extinction in the Digital Field Fall/Winter 2009 by Frank Duffy Press Release - UK Educause Review Educause Quarterly Building Design + Construction Magazine
Workplace Forum Think+Drink at DEGW San Francisco Frank Duffy and panelists, Work and the City 22 April 2009
Worktech '09,
CoreNet Global - Change Management for a New Work Environment
Facilities Management Association, ideaction 09: ideas in action Despina Katsikakis, Chairman DEGW and John Smith, CEO, BBC Worldwide Space with Purpose: Stimulative, Supportive & Sustainable, London 19 May 2009
IFMA, Hong Kong Chapter
SCUP, 44 Annual Conference |
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Editor: Helen Cree Graphics and Production: Betty Elrod, Stuart Hall Copyright © 2009 All rights reserved. Remove me from this list |
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