Abstract
This paper explores the role of design in conflict resolution when doing so means balancing burdened pasts with present uncertainties. To prove its relevance in today’s complex problem spaces, design cannot remain stagnant; it must evolve alongside the pace of development. Designing within complexity is unprecedented. Yet, design can define structures that guide an understanding of this complexity. The methodology and case study described in this paper explore how systems thinking, storytelling and grounded theory can contribute to this understanding. The methodology aims to combine subjective perspectives with systemic analyses to create a collective narrative that reveals the multitude of individual understandings of conflicts. Ultimately, this methodology does not attempt to resolve conflict; instead, it aims to provide an in-depth diagnosis of a wicked problem and question the role of design therein.
Highlights
This paper introduces a methodology that leverages systems thinking and storytelling to locate an in-depth diagnosis of conflict based on individual perspective
In a world rife with integrated conflicts it is increasingly difficult for individuals to connect to complex, systemic problems
For systems thinking to work with design praxis, large-scale understandings need to be grounded in subjective perspectives and individual stories
Summary
Systems thinking can sort through the complexity of differing actions, feelings and perceptions in conflicts, while design introduces the individual perspective and leads the way towards change. Through an accessible and engaging diagnosis, or understanding, of conflict, this proposed www.FormAkademisk.org methodology raises individual consciousness and identifies a way to enter into the systemic problems using the personal subjective experiences of individuals as revealed through stories. The story phase of the Design Align methodology negotiates this truth by focusing on the collection of diverse perspectives and by avoiding ‘totalizing descriptions’—a subjective description of the conflict tightly woven around the specific experience of an individual that sums up a complex situation through one person’s perception (Winslade & Monk, 2000).
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