Sabotage

vSabotage:Anti-patterns for collaborative work and getting design done

Francis Rowland | Sigma ConsultingMichele Ide-Smith | European Bioinformatics Institute

@francisrowland@micheleidesmith

SABOTAGEAnti-patterns for collaborative work

and getting design done#sdgc16

By Nationalmuseet - National Museum of Denmark from Denmark - Dansk Industri Syndikat i København i brandUploaded by Palnatoke, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=21705601

Who we are

Michele Ide-Smith@micheleidesmith

Product Saboteur at Europe PMCEuropean Bioinformatics Institute

Francis Rowland@francisrowland

Senior Sabotage ArchitectSigma Consulting Solutions


By Unknown or not provided - U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=16825469

What is sabotage?

sab·o·tage (săb′ə-täzh′)

1. The deliberate destruction of property or obstruction of normal operations, as by civilians or enemy agents in a time of war.

2. The deliberate attempt to damage, destroy, or hinder a cause or activity.

General interference with organisations and

production

SOE - public domain


“Insist on doing everything through "proper channels". Never permit short-cuts to be

taken in order to expedite decisions.”


“When possible, refer all matters to committees, for "further study and

consideration."”

“Attempt to make the committees as large as possible - never less than

five.”

Managers and supervisors

By Los Angeles Times - Los Angeles Times photographic archive, UCLA Libraryhttp://unitproj.library.ucla.edu/dlib/lat/display.cfm?

ms=uclalat_1429_b47_N36&searchType=subject&subjectID=213944, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6967922


“Do everything possible to delay the delivery of a project. Even though parts of the project may

be ready beforehand, don't deliver it until it is completely

ready.”


“Hold meetings when there is more critical work to be

done.”


“Multiply the procedures and clearances.”

“See that three people have to approve everything where one

would do.”

Office workers and employees

By Unknown - published in Japanese newspaper Rekishi Syashin, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5520475

https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5520475


“Contrive as many interruptions to your work as

possible”

Lowering morale and spreading confusion

By Palestine Railways, Khoury House, Haifa, Palestine - Report of The General Manager on the Administration of the Palestine Railways and Operated Lines:1946/1947. Warhaftig's

Press. Haifa, Palestine, CC0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=15362402


“Fill out forms illegibly so that they will have to be done over;

make mistakes or omit requested information in

forms.”


Perhaps you recognise some of these methods for sabotage

from where you work?


Well, these tips were taken directly from a 1940 manual produced by the OSS (what

later became the CIA)

https://www.cia.gov/news-information/featured-story-archive/2012-featured-story-archive/CleanedUOSSSimpleSabotage_sm.pdf



Anti-patterns for service design

1. Mislead customers about the purpose of the

service

By Carbolic Smoke Ball Co. from the Illustrated London News, 10 June 1893. Public domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Second_Carbolic_Company_advertisement.png

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Second_Carbolic_Company_advertisement.png


“Provide misleading information about the

service”


“Make false claims about the benefits that the service

offers”

2. Prevent people from using the service

By Toni Pecoraro, 2007. Public domain: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Labyrinth_28.jpg

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Labyrinth_28.jpg


“Disorientate people with confusing and contradictory signage, maps, layout and

navigation”


“Don’t provide an overview of the steps involved and

remove all guidance”


“Design physical spaces to be crowded, cluttered, noisy

and badly lit”

3. Reduce transaction completion rates

Public domain: https://pixabay.com/en/files-paper-office-paperwork-stack-1614223/


“Force people to re-enter the same personal

information in multiple places"


“Don’t notify people about what they need to do next”


“Make people wait several weeks in between different

stages of their customer journey”

4. Increase the cost per transaction

By rajomo1. CC-BY: https://www.flickr.com/photos/65821013@N05/6081891190

https://www.flickr.com/photos/65821013@N05/6081891190


“Only offer paper processes - remove access to digital

channels”


“Require people to contact the call centre repeatedly to

check progress”

5. Make customers angry and frustrated

By Luis Marina, “Grrr!”. CC-BY: https://www.flickr.com/photos/luismarina/15547142333

https://www.flickr.com/photos/luismarina/15547142333


“Train staff to be surly and rude. Encourage staff to speak a different language or use

jargon”


“Ask customers to contact several different departments. Ensure departments do not talk

to each other”


“Never get back to a customer enquiries, and

hide contact details”

6. Sabotage organisational change

By unknown, Striking Serbin workers, 1955. CC-BY: https://www.flickr.com/photos/kheelcenter/5279086865

https://www.flickr.com/photos/kheelcenter/5279086865


“Don’t involve staff at any stage of the re-design”


“Make processes more complex than necessary, and add manual steps”


With these tips, you too can sabotage products, services

and even organisations!



Anti-patternsUsing sabotage constructively


“An anti-pattern is a common response to a recurring problem

that is usually ineffective and risks being highly

counterproductive”

Wikipedia


Anti-problem game (aka

“reverse it”)


“If you give someone an open-ended creative problem there is great difficulty in getting started. There is difficulty in moving at all.”

– Edward de Bono


As service designers, we often

co-design with people who are

unfamiliar with the design process


When you’re stuck solving a problem, think about it in reverse.


Instead of:

“How do we improve access to healthcare for patients in rural

areas?”


The anti-problem:

“How can we prevent patients in rural areas from accessing

healthcare services?”


Ask teams to think of design

solutions to solve the anti-

problem


Then ask the teams to think of the opposite solution


When people are stuck, this

approach can free creative thinking

and create energy


It provides a new perspective on a problem,

which was perhaps invisible before


“By disrupting the original way of looking at the situation one frees

information that can come together in a new way.”

– Edward de Bono


It can help teams understand what the “opposite of good” looks like


Sabotage manualhttps://www.cia.gov/news-information/featured-story-archive/2012-featured-story-archive/CleanedUOSSSimpleSabotage_sm.pdf

The anti-problemhttp://gamestorming.com/games-for-fresh-thinking-and-ideas/the-anti-problem/

Reverse ithttp://www.designgames.com.au/reverse_it/

Pre-mortemhttp://gamestorming.com/games-for-opening/pre-mortem/

Anti-Patterns that Stifle Lean UX Teams - Bill Scotthttp://www.slideshare.net/billwscott/antipatterns-that-stifle-lean-ux-teams

Thank you!

Michele Ide-Smith@micheleidesmithProduct Manager

European Bioinformatics Institute

Francis Rowland@francisrowland

Senior UX ArchitectSigma Consulting