Dancing with ambiguity: Causality behavior, design thinking, and triple-loop-learning

Abstract

Over the past thirty years, a powerful methodology for innovation has emerged from engineering and design thinkers in Silicon Valley. It integrates human, business and technical factors in problem forming, solving and design: "Design Thinking." This human-centric methodology integrates expertise from design, social sciences, business and engineering. It is best implemented by high performance project teams applying diverse points-of-view simultaneously. It creates a vibrant interaction environment that promotes iterative learning cycles driven by rapid conceptual prototyping. The methodology has proven successful in the creation of innovative products, systems, and services.

Through courting ambiguity, we can let invention happen even if we cannot make it happen. We can nurture a corpus of behaviors that increase the probability of finding a path to innovation in the face of uncertainty. Emphasis is placed on balance of the questions we ask, and the decisions made. A suite of application examples and research finding will be used to illustrate the concepts in principal and in action.''