The Tandem Codesign Methodology

What we do and how we do it ...

Learn about our methodology to better understand why our ways of working are effective for better understanding problems, humans, products, services and systems. We don't do things like other organisations and there is a very good reason for that ...

Research

Our project work is heavily built around research. Our affiliation with academia means that we understand the critical need to explore what is happening for you and the world around you. Comprehensive research allows us to thoroughly investigate the problems that you are facing, why these problems have arisen and how we might approach them effectively. We do not guess, we do not follow others .. instead we research why the problems have occurred and explore how we might overcome them with you.

Research methods that we use

Ethnographic Research

Market research (such as focus groups and competitor analysis) is not enough to understand the embedded motivations of people and in fact can often deliver skewed data results based upon how the data was gathered. Digital data (such as google analytics) can only provide information on which interfaces people have used within a digital environment but it cannot tell us the reasons these choices were made. Quantitive data (such as surveys and questionnaires) can only give us statistics on people, rendering people as faceless groups or numbers. None of these research methods tell us the 'why and how' of human nature which is critical when designing products, services and systems that are essential for shifting human behaviour.

Ethnographic research on the other hand is the most valuable tool for us to thoroughly understand every aspect of any project problem and those people who are affected by it. Ethnographic research can provide a deepened understanding as to how people feel, why they feel this way and most importantly, how they might be motivated to shift their behaviour. Our ethnographic approaches include personal relationship building for interviews, observations and cultural immersion. In other words, we need to spend time with you so that we can build trust in order to share our human experiences together.

Literature Investigation

Academic authors critically write about the complexities of design and how it is constantly shifting. Such publications share insights about emerging techniques, effective methodologies and case study examples of when things work and more importantly when they don't. At Tandem Codesign, we always investigate what types of methods are being used, why they have been used and whether these are useful methods for our organisation. As designers, we tend to design our own ways of working which means we don't used pre-made templates or models. Broadened design requires iterative and agile practice so that we can be ready for when a project discovery may force us to take an unexpected turn .. templates and models don't allow for this. Therefore we always explore global literature in the areas of design, innovation and human behaviour so that we can consistently challenge ourselves to deliver the most successful design approaches for us and also for you.

Desktop Research

We also know that in order to design effectively for your organisation we need to design with you. Whilst we have essential expertise in design, we do not have expertise in your organisation .. you do. Therefore we aim to work alongside the stakeholders who can enrich the design process and its outcomes. This can include organisational members but depending on the project, can also include the general public .. the people that are affected by the decisions that we make together. This style of work may seen unique however we know that collaborative design creates the most sustainable products, services and systems. When you help to build something you naturally take ownership of what is built which means you will continue to look after it long after we are gone. This process ensures that everyone on the project is invested and cares deeply about what we will make together.

Design

Design methods that we use

Co-design

We also know that in order to design effectively for your organisation we need to design with you. Whilst we have essential expertise in design, we do not have expertise in your organisation .. you do. Therefore we aim to work alongside the stakeholders who can enrich the design process and its outcomes. This can include organisational members but depending on the project, can also include the general public .. the people that are affected by the decisions that we make together. This style of work may seen unique however we know that collaborative design creates the most sustainable products, services and systems. When you help to build something you naturally take ownership of what is built which means you will continue to look after it long after we are gone. This process ensures that everyone on the project is invested and cares deeply about what we will make together.

Design Thinking

We also know that in order to design effectively for your organisation we need to design with you. Whilst we have essential expertise in design, we do not have expertise in your organisation ... you do. Therefore we aim to work alongside the stakeholders who can enrich the design process and its outcomes. This can include organisational members but depending on the project, can also include the general public .. the people that are affected by the decisions that we make together. This style of work may seen unique however we know that collaborative design creates the most sustainable products, services and systems. When you help to build something you naturally take ownership of what is built which means you will continue to look after it long after we are gone. This process ensures that everyone on the project is invested and cares deeply about what we will make together.

Our way of designing

The model that we have constructed for the way in which we work at Tandem Codesign is not lineal as you can see. This is because the world in which we live is also not lineal, it is constantly evolving in abstract ways. We understand that the process of design is not neat with a definitive beginning and end and instead requires an ongoing process of enhancement. Therefore we follow a design process which is highly agile and adaptive but also one that is continual or embedded in nature. The connected lines within this work process visualisation demonstrate such agility for how we may move between any project stages at any time if needed. In addition, the dark blue dots indicate that we need a diverse mix of specialised disciplines and the light blue dots indicate how the extended stakeholders, otherwise known as users, are also contributing to the project in every stage. Our diagram of how we work shows how an effective process of sustainable design can be achieved for any project workspace.

Service Design

We also know that in order to design effectively for your organisation we need to design with you. Whilst we have essential expertise in design, we do not have expertise in your organisation .. you do. Therefore we aim to work alongside the stakeholders who can enrich the design process and its outcomes. This can include organisational members but depending on the project, can also include the general public .. the people that are affected by the decisions that we make together. This style of work may seen unique however we know that collaborative design creates the most sustainable products, services and systems. When you help to build something you naturally take ownership of what is built which means you will continue to look after it long after we are gone. This process ensures that everyone on the project is invested and cares deeply about what we will make together.

Ideation

We also know that in order to design effectively for your organisation we need to design with you. Whilst we have essential expertise in design, we do not have expertise in your organisation .. you do. Therefore we aim to work alongside the stakeholders who can enrich the design process and its outcomes. This can include organisational members but depending on the project, can also include the general public .. the people that are affected by the decisions that we make together. This style of work may seen unique however we know that collaborative design creates the most sustainable products, services and systems. When you help to build something you naturally take ownership of what is built which means you will continue to look after it long after we are gone. This process ensures that everyone on the project is invested and cares deeply about what we will make together.

Visualisation

We also know that in order to design effectively for your organisation we need to design with you. Whilst we have essential expertise in design, we do not have expertise in your organisation .. you do. Therefore we aim to work alongside the stakeholders who can enrich the design process and its outcomes. This can include organisational members but depending on the project, can also include the general public .. the people that are affected by the decisions that we make together. This style of work may seen unique however we know that collaborative design creates the most sustainable products, services and systems. When you help to build something you naturally take ownership of what is built which means you will continue to look after it long after we are gone. This process ensures that everyone on the project is invested and cares deeply about what we will make together.

Documentation

At Tandem Codesign we know that thorough documentation of project specifications allows us and industry partners to better understand the process of what we do and how we do it. We do not design like other organisations and we don't document like them either. Our academic background ensures that we have the knowledge and skills to constantly investigate and evaluate better ways to design and innovative ways to enhance products and service systems. Our documentation process therefore describes the niche intricacies that each project entails as well as our customised learning and design process along the way.

Documentation methods that we use

Project Brief

In the best cases, a project brief is a document created through initial meetings, interviews, readings and discussions between project partners before any work begins. A brief document acts as a project agreement to clarify what is about to happen for all critical stakeholders. Throughout the project, the creative brief then continues to inform and guide the work. A good project brief will answer these questions:

• What is this project?
• Why is it being done?
• Who is it for?
• What needs to be done?
• How will it be done?
• Where and how will it be used?
• Are there budgets or project costs to address?
• What deadlines need to be met for the project to be successful?

Project Proposal

In continuation from the project brief is the development of a project proposal. A project proposal discusses what happened during the development of concepts during the design process and demonstrates the proposed outputs that might be implemented. A proposal is broken down into key project areas including initial project problems, research methods, redefined project problems, project discoveries, project difficulties and subsequent project concepts and proposed outcomes. This document assists to clarify what happened throughout the project timeframe, the results of this project direction and what needs to happen in the future for this project to be sustainable. A good project proposal will answer these questions:

• What was the initial brief (what was this project?)
• Why are we doing it?
• Who is it for?
• What has been done?
• How was it done?
• What were the results of these actions?
• Where and how will the outputs be used?
• Are there budgets or project costs to address?
• What deadlines need to be met for the project to be successful?
• What needs to be addressed in the future?

Project Case Study

The final stage of a thoroughly documented project is the case study. A case study shares what happened throughout the entire project process. A case study
is broken down into key project areas including initial project problems, research methods, redefined project problems, project discoveries, project difficulties, project concepts, project outputs, project outcomes, project output and outcome evaluations and suggestions as to how this project might evolve or be bettered in the future. This document assists to clarify what happened throughout the project timeframe, the results of this project direction and what needs to happen in the future for this project to be sustainable. A good project case study will answer these questions:

• What was the initial brief (what was this project?)
• Why was it done?
• Who is it for?
• What has been done?
• How was it done?
• What were the results of these actions?
• Where and how were the outputs used?
• What were budgets or project costs? Were budgets met? If so, how, if not, why?
• Were deadlines met? If so how, if not, why?
• What evaluations methods were used and how?
• What were the results of these evaluations and how should the project move forward and evolve further? What was learnt, what mistakes were made and what could have been done better?