| The 21st century is faced with complex problems, which need creative and innovative solutions. Using a design approach supports people in making these creative changes, in particular for intangible artifacts, like systems and services. Being able to visualize and test these potential ideas is valuable because solutions may be limited if ideas are not represented clearly. The purpose of this research is to illuminate methods and best practices in design representation and prototyping from design practitioners of intangible artifacts in order to inform future methods curricula for the field of whole systems design.;The research question for this dissertation inquiry is: In practice, how do designers represent and prototype their intangible design ideas? To answer this question, I interviewed whole systems designers from the United States and service designers and user experience designers from Sweden. Using a narrative inquiry methodology, I gathered stories of practice from the 13 participants about how they do their work and what tools and methods they employ to represent and prototype their design solutions. The theoretical lens for the inquiry is social constructionism, which is important in looking at topics where participants acknowledge they construct, and therefore can transform, their social systems and its artifacts.;The research findings include many stories of holistic tools and methods that the designers apply in their work. The types of systems to which these tools could apply vary widely, from information systems to ecological systems to social systems. The interview stories support the conclusion that a successful whole systems design tool needs to integrate three areas: scalability, relationship, and collaboration. From the tools shared by practitioner, the ones that best fulfill these three criteria are highlighted as a "palette" on which to draw for whole systems design practice. |
