Ready to Improve: Anything Else to Consider?

Why do we have a Business Design Authority?

We are all familiar with the idea that if we were to set out to build a bridge, a road, a car or indeed a new kitchen, before starting to build we first need to design what we are building. Without this up front thinking, all sorts of downstream consequences can occur and the internet is full of examples. 

Design does not just apply to buildings and cars. It applies to organisational change in its widest form: technology, process and people-related changes all need designing before we “do the doing”. Otherwise;

• technology A could be incompatible with technology B,
• process C could be incompatible with technology A or B,
• the expectations we place on our people could be unreasonable if not joined up with process and technology enablers … and so it goes on.  

Such is the rush to “get stuff done” it can be very easy for projects to proceed into delivery without giving due consideration to design, but to do so is a trap. The scope for fragmented solutions and operational problems grows considerably if the design of the change is not considered. 

To help and support, we have a Design Authority. That may be a new bit of jargon but it’s a fairly standard title for the group in an organisation which:

• Seeks evidence from projects of the designs they have
• Guides and supports projects in the design decisions they are making (and in some cases perhaps design compromises they are needing to make)
• Looks across our full range of activity and ensures the designs in Project A are compatible with Projects B, C and D, and deals with any escalations in this regard  
• Ensures alignment to strategy, including that we are designing work for the better (less complexity, less vulnerable to process failures, lower burden for colleagues etc): the group has adopted a set of design principles in this regard, these can be found here.

Patrick Hackett our RSCOO chairs the group, which brings together a senior academic and PS audience periodically as needed, to oversee these matters

Like any group, the Design Authority is only as successful as the content that fuels it, and that content comes from the projects, at particular key points in their project lifecycle. Generating that content is dependent on the awareness and buy in of many stakeholders involved in the projects.  

Do we really need more governance? That’s a fair challenge, the Design Authority is certainly governance, but it is different to other governance that we have and without it, we have nothing fulfilling the roles described here.  Its not intended to catch projects out, if we have clear designs and design thinking underpinning the changes we want to make, its an easy dialogue for a project which helps generate momentum for the project and the support of key senior colleagues.

Call to action

• If you would like to hear more please contact Sally Horridge: Sally.Horridge@manchester.ac.uk
• If you are involved in projects in any capacity, or work with colleagues who have projects to deliver, please promote the importance of considering busiess design impacts and people change in your networks
• To get your project scheduled on the BDA agenda please contact Sally Horridge on Sally.Horridge@manchester.ac.uk