Normann, 2001 Ch. 15 - The Crane at Work in the Design Space- quite good "deck"

Question 1

The basics we need to know before we start out designing in the Crane Model?

Answer 1

• We are designing for designing.
• Reconfiguration for business and reframing for mental thinking.
• Results cannot be guaranteed.
• Structural and processual dimensions. The process must depart from the assumption that we are “Gregarians”.
• We need to reflect over our reflection. The process must be that of emergence.
• The Bermuda triangle.

1. We can plan
2. Everything is due to serendipity (lyckoträff,snilleblixt, serendipitet)
3. A higher purpose controlling everything.

• Open-needed imaginations as well as rigour scientific methods. Encourage sourcing of information and knowledge from three sources:

1. The time domain. (past future and present)
2. Individual
3. Collectively And the process need to allow both distancing and focusing approaches Must involve actions learning to socialize and encode and create.

Question 2

What six steps do the Crane Model consist of?

Answer 2

1. Taking stock: what are we?
2. Upframing of business systems
3. Travelling in conceptual time: Time framing
4. Creating strategies scenarios in the opportunity space
5. Back to here and now: Translating a vision into a business idea
6. Into the planning mode

Question 3

Step 1: Taking stock: What are we?

Answer 3

We need to understand our path. Critical decisions and commitment to value and purpose of the organisation. And to how these have been embodied and manifested in various structural arrangements.

Interpreting the success and failures of the company. ( `what is so right/wrong with our business idea?´)

By what process did we learn and arrive at taking the decision and making the commitments that made things go so right/wrong? It means identifying assets, capabilities, customer relationship and customer bases).

Question 4

Ste 2: Upframing of business systems.

Answer 4

Exempel:

Orient express:Transportation business -> entertainment business.

Coca-Cola: Sweetened flavoured water -> manager of a brand.

IKEA: Furniture company -> ordinary people can have a good home environment.

Upframing means redefining the boundaries of the system we are in at the moment.

It is essential that there be a solid, relevant, factual inputs into such processes, so that the upframing is perceived as grounded legitimate and actionable. Some procedures that might help:

Studies of invaders, who tend to redefine the system boundaries. They, better than anybody else, have studies the weaknesses of the present system. And they show how it may be broken up. And with the present acceleration of reconfiguration every industry is subject to more or less unexpected invasions.

Draw the value star of the organisation’s customers and preferably also of the customers’ customers.) this means analysing their business, looking at all the inputs they contribute to their customers’ value creation, and how their invaders are competing with their inputs around the customers’ customer.

The following five questions is important to answer!

1. Of what larger system or process is your offering a part for the customer?
2. Who are the actors giving inputs in that system?
3. What are your client’s key issues in his business?
   
   1. Operationally?
   2. Strategically?
4. What are the key strategic assets of each of these actors?
5. What exchange currencies do they have, potentially?

Design one or several blueprints for alternative co-productive value constellations.

One or several value-creating system, of which the focal organisation is part in.

Question 5

Step 3: Travelling in conceptual time: Time framing (scenarios)

Answer 5

It is useful to start the process of reframing with an upframing exercise. The upframing phase might provide us with one, or several new value-creating systems and loose hypothesis.

In this step, in order to increase the conceptual design space, is to move into the conceptual future.

There is two alternative ways to do this: and sometimes they are complementary.

The first: to make contextual scenarios: identify the key driving forces and the major “givens”, as well as the major uncertainties of the general context which highly affects the activities of the company.

You could reverse the process, when you have the scenarios, and play games like “what would we do today in order to meet the scenarios”?

Creating strategies scenarios in the opportunity space

This is the second approach! explained in step 4

Question 6

Step 4: Creating strategies scenarios in the opportunity space

Answer 6

This is the second approach!

They company can make choices to try to change their environment for the future, and change their environment! This is the way which Normann tries to get the companies to take. Makes the company aware of what possibilities that lies ahead of them, and what they have to do today, in order to get there.

“idealised design” - Russel Ackoff. Means that we disregards current artificial and institutional blockages, but it does not allow us to think away of any technological restrictions. We need to work with cause-effects relationships that is known to exist or to be developed within the near future.

Question 7

Step 5: Back to here and now: Translating a vison into a business idea

Answer 7

Usually the managers have a good idea of what they want to achieve, thanks for a thoroughly upframing and scenario (time-framing) process. But the “winning” scenario could be tested “windtunneled”, and the new business idea can be blueprinted. New competences, organisational structure, and new alliances maybe need to be prepared in order for the business idea to shape.

Question 8

Ste 6: In the planing mode

Answer 8

Last stage of the process! Implementation.

Question 9

Discribe the Crane Model (model)

Answer 9