Archived Projects
Risk-Taking in Design – an investigation of critical decision points in new product development, AHRC Major Award 2004-07
Creativity and risk are inexorably linked; both infinite in their variety, they usually defy accurate description. The environment fostering the conception and development of new products is complex and involves creativity and risk at a number of levels in a wide range of situations. The literature on risk mainly concerns that which is calculable, normally in financial areas. Such calculations are inappropriate within a broadly creative environment, in recognition of the interdisciplinary nature of design-based new product development. We sought to identify insights into risk assessment and decision-making by small companies as a new way to describe the design process.
Five small creative companies were studied in detail over extended periods of their New Product Development (NPD) lifecycles. Design was researched as a key aspect of company activity and central to the NPD process. Semi-structured interviews were undertaken on regular basis with key company personnel to provide rich, additional contextual material. Results showed a wide diversity of perceived risk with little commonality amongst the companies, despite shared core criteria amongst the firms themselves, and the new products that were tracked. Implications for the sampled companies, and wider policy in respect of business support strategy, were also considered.
A novel participatory methodology was developed and employed to identify perceived risks at the outset of NPD and to track risk thereafter. Such methods used were partly determined by the nature of the companies, their work pattern, ethos and activities, though all companies shared a process by which objectives were agreed at the outset and reviewed regularly. Participatory research identified key themes reflecting human-centred risk processes. It is unlikely that these themes could be captured using conventional survey techniques.
The involvement in risk represents the central aspect of adventure and perceiving risks is at the heart of the design process. For designers to avoid playing it safe and thereby to take risks is to extend design boundaries, similarly risk perception by designers may include initial views of the way others deal with new ideas.
For the first time, within a major research project, risk, design and creativity have been linked. The project has also developed new and unusual ways to communicate risk processes to practitioners involving the development of 'design process metaphors'. It has also utilised 'participatory methods' in a novel way. With the aid of an AHRC Pilot Dissemination Award this aspect of the research has also been widely broadcast and published and broadcast; a national seminar was held at the Design Council.
The research has rediscovered that design, like all human activity, is essentially a natural process involving creative and emotional abilities that draw on 'expert' knowledge; expert in the sense that we may all draw on our own experience and knowledge. Whilst numerous technical approaches to handling risk and decision making are available to designers, use of less mechanistic approaches such as intuitive thinking, developing a design-mindfulness and simply listening to gut feelings, were also found to be significant.
The research generated a wide variety of inter-related material, part physical (questionnaires, transcripts, risk-forms, photographs) and part human (memories, impressions, judgements, feelings/perceptions). Valid interpretation and robust analysis of this rich and potentially insightful material required careful consideration; environment, language and perception are all important aspects of understanding the particular gravity of the risks involved. In most situations the companies, personnel, products, risks and researchers appear to be operationally unique and so attempts to reduce or generalise were consequently found to be both difficult and of limited value. We found that a number of highly informative stories may be derived from a narrative on risk and creativity in the adventure that is design and NPD.
Jerrard, R., Barnes, N. J. and Reid, A. Researching Risk in Design in, Design Management / Exploring Fieldwork and Applications. R. Jerrard & D. Hands Routledge published on 28/08/2007 ISBN: 9780415393331 ISBN-10: 0415393337
Jerrard, R. and Barnes, N. J. (2006) Risk in design: key issues from the literature. The Design Journal. 9 (2), 25 / 38.
Contact: mark.smith@bcu.ac.uk
CDCI, Birmingham Design Research Group
