No, this is not about the management of product design. It is, instead, about the leadership of organisations to become focused on design, rather than seeing it as costly but necessary add-on to their main jobs. It is about the alignment of all parts of the organisation to build culture of design, from the vision or conception, through the engineeering or planning processes, to the supply chain, marketing and sales processes.
It is about all aspects of the business working to common goals, thinking creatively about meeting those goals, and developing the best ways of meeting them.
It is about management model based on collaborative practice, innovation and experimentation, that acknowledges expertise and works to people’s strengths.
That is what ‘management for design’ is about.
Design-led enterprises
According to substantial body of international research, organisations that integrate design processes into their entire management culture consistently outperform other enterprises. Largely on the basis of this research, the Government has set up and pumped several million dollars into an initiative called ‘Better by Design’. One of the goals of this initiative is to develop enterprises that are ‘design-led’.
But how do we change the culture of organisations? What processes could lead to organisations becoming ‘design-led’?
In order to provide an answer to these questions NZIM has, for some months, been working on the development of its Diploma in Design Management. The qualification needs to be:
• accessible to all businesses;
• cross-disciplinary;
• focused on leadership and management more than design; and
• future oriented and creative.
It also needs to lead to business improvement rather than simply enhancing personal knowledge.
Working collaboratively
Design has, in the past, been viewed as part of discipline, such as engineering, architecture, IT, photography or hairdressing. All these, and other less prominent disciplines such as education and librarianship, come to the management of design as factor to be dealt with within the discipline.
Design processes are, of course, central to all those disciplines, and these skills need to be nurtured.
But these design processes are often imposed within an organisational environment that is indifferent, impatient and even hostile to them. They are often seen as cost imposition and functional burden on the enterprise. Marketers and human resource experts, accountants and chief executives, generally consider that design issues should be handled by the ‘experts’.
But the research clearly shows that for design processes to be successful they must be integral to the whole organisation’s operation. In other words, design processes become management and leadership issue.
Changing management cultures and processes should not be the preserve of disciplines. Neither can it be an academic process. It must be grounded in the realities of the workplace. It must lead to the enhancement of workplace practices and the realisation of capabilities.
The ideal programme of change, then, needs to involve the different disciplines and the wealth of expertise and experience they possess. It also needs to involve the important roles of design specialists and their expertise. But it must focus on management and leadership within organisations. It must be collaborative process.
Course design
The course has been designed with two major participant groups in mind:
• people working on the design coalface who are trying to develop, market and manage products; and
• chief executives and senior managers who need to understand, support and integrate the processes.
The qualification will probably be Certificate in Design Management that forms the first part of Diploma in Design Management. The certificate will support the workforce involved in the design processes in organisations, and provide them with structure for their work. The diploma develops change management and leadership processes and is targeted particularly at senior managers.
The Certificate in Design Management will have as its basic goal the development of an idea or prototype through to the development and marketing of the product. The focus will be on the development of systems infrastructure within an organisation that integrates all aspects of product design.
The benefits of this for the sponsoring organisation are that it not only has, by the end of the certificate, completely designed product, but also process of working with design.
The Diploma in Design Management will focus on leading changes within the organisation so that the processes of alignment and integration become embedded in management practice. It involves leadership skills, strategy and change management, as well as creativity and future management.
In the diploma process the sponsoring organisation will benefit through design audit and an integrated design strategy. Thus the programme not only serves to provide skills for the participant but also managed change process for the participant’s employer.
A unique qualification
The proposed qualification is unique in terms of the following features:
• It is joint qualification between consortium of providers, including universities, polytechnics, professional associations, private providers, and any other parties able to contribute.
• Much of the qualification will use pre-existing components from variety of providers.
• It will be offered nationally, with the optional components varying according to what is available in each region.
• The core components of the programme will take the form of open-ended creative workshops.
• The qualification has focus on management, and so does not require technical expertise from any of the disciplines normally associated with design – ie, engineering, arts, IT, fashion, or other areas – though participants may gain credit from those disciplines.
• The qualification will be offered by NZIM, but will also be able to be customised and offered through other training providers, and can thus form feeder or capstone programme for post-graduate courses.
• The programme will be supported through business mentoring, resources and advice.
A consultative group has been set up with representatives from Massey University, Wellington Institute of Technology, IPENZ, Designindustry Ltd, and NZIM. The qualification will be developed and trialled during 2007, and launched in 2008.
Batch Hales is NZIM’s policy and projects manager.
