Calibrate Before You Collaborate: Five Questions to Guide Group Work

By Tonya Peck, Principal Solution Manager, Microsoft; Alex Dunne, Principal Consultant, Locomotive Partners
DMI Review, Vol. 23, No. 1, 2012
 
Collaboration means different things to different people, and personal factors also affect how creative groups collaborate. It’s important to establish, from the outset, not just what will be accomplished, but how.
 
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DMI REVIEW welcomes new editor
SUSAN BENCUYA
 
DMI is happy to announce that Susan Bencuya has accepted the position as Editor of the DMI Review. She has served as Associate Editor of the Review and Journal for the past 16 years. Over this time she has edited all articles, worked with authors from the original submission to layout and rewrote as needed. Together with the newly appointed and engaged Editorial Advisory Board and collaborative process, the Review is in very good hands with Susan at the helm.
 
Susan is a graduate of Tufts University where she received her Masters in English Literature. She has served as Research Editor for a number of publications, including Fast Company, Inc Magazine, and continues as Copy Editor for Software. From 1999-2004 Susan was a Research Editor at the Tom Peters Company.
 
We are excited to welcome Susan into this expanded role and recognize her for her years of service to DMI. Congratulations Susan!
 

DMI's conference will be part of a year-long roster of Helsinki World Design Capital 2012 events
 
More information
Register now!
 
DMI is offering two optional seminars to make the most of your Helsinki experience:
 
Optional pre-conference seminar:
Design Research and the Customer-driven Innovation Strategy
Darrel Rhea, Founder & CEO, Rhea Insight
April 23-24, 2012, Helsinki, Finland

Optional post-conference seminar:
Team Dynamics: Resourcing for Success
Dieter Reuther, Operations Consultant, Cast Collective
Sabrina Jetton, Design Consultant, Cast Collective
April 27, 2012, Helsinki, Finland
 
 
 

DMI’s West Coast conference in Portland, Oregon, at the beautifully renovated Gerding Theatre at the Armory.
 
More information
Register by March 26 and save!
 
 
   

Launched in response to our members desire for opportunities to connect more locally, our first event in February attracted over 300 people in 8 cities, in 6 countries on 3 continents! Thanks to our hosts for your time, enthusiasm and support. The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, and supports the case for more face-to-face experiences in balance with our rich virtual world.
 
The conversations that took place around the globe shared common themes that unify us in the opportunities and challenges we face leading design over, around and through the current business climate.
 
Highlights:
 
MORE DESIGN: A case is building for design to get comfortable speaking the language of design again, and advocating a little less business speak.
 
COLLABORATE: Going it alone is no longer an option.
 
LEADING TALENT: Building an organization to deliver greatness means driving excellence without compromise.
 
Insights from the first DMI Night Out
 
Our next DMI Night Out will be held in May, here’s a link to how you can host an evening in your community.
 
 

When Designers Love To Be Managed
Michael Bierut, Partner, Pentagram

Originally presented during DMI's conference, "Design at Scale," October, 2011, New York City
 

 
"I can't do it alone," says Michael Bierut. What has he learned about good briefs, great processes and useful feedback in 30 years of design practice?
View the video
 

Mel Lim & Wendy Mills share eight Chinese "cultural" points to help break sensitive taboos and stereotypes, while ultimately understanding and respecting traditions. According to Lim and Mills, "If it helps companies shave off research, money and time while promoting cultural tolerance? Why not!"

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Webinar:
 
Experience Ourselves: Assessing behavior and practice to evolve ourselves as leaders
Kim Goodwin, Author, Designing for the Digital Age; former VP, Design and General Manager, Cooper
 
March 14, 2012, 1PM ET
 
When culture change isn't working as well as we hope, sometimes it's because we haven't taken our own good advice: "Stick to your brand. Get to know your audience. Design the experience with both in mind." We're often so focused on how people should experience our clients or our parent companies that we haven't spent enough time on how our colleagues should experience us—either as individual leaders, or as design teams.
 
What's the experience people have of you as a leader? Is it what they need, and is it consistently the best you have to offer? What's the experience people have of your team? How well does your team understand your company culture and how to use it? Is it most effective for your team to facilitate, lead, or own design?
 
This session will offer ideas for assessing your own behavior, your team's practice, and ways in which they may need to evolve.
More information
Register Now
 
Interested in presenting a webinar? Contact DMI for info.
 
 

Seminars:
 
Building Great Internal Design Organizations
Thomas Lockwood, PhD, Editor, DMI Review; Founding Partner, Lockwood Resource
April 12-13, 2012, San Francisco, USA
 
"Excellent packaging of all the relevant elements of design management that experienced design managers are looking for."
—John L. Guenther, LWS Industrial Design Competency Manager, Hewlett-Packard
More information
 
New: Designing Business Strategy: Creating customer-centered, holistic strategies and tactics
Dave Norton, PhD, Principal, Lead Strategist, Stone Mantel; Jeff VanDeVelde, Senior Vice President, Direct of Client Experience and Loyalty, SunTrust Banks, Inc.; Bryan Searing, Lead Strategist, Stone Mantel; Whitney Stewart, SunTrust Banks, Inc.
April 19-20, 2012, New York City, USA
 
This seminar provides you with the skills you need to think about, lead, and deliver holistic, experiential organization-wide thinking to solve the biggest challenges your company faces. It takes you step-by-step through the systems-based thinking to discover new opportunities, define the requirements for success, demonstrate the value created, and act as an organization to execute.
More information
 
Design Research and the Customer-Driven Strategy
Darrel Rhea, Founder & CEO, Rhea Insight
April 23-24, 2012, Helsinki, Finland
 
"This is the single most valuable, relevant, timely and enabling seminar that I have ever attended. In just two days, we learned tools and methods that will be immediately usable in my job."
—Jeff Lopes, UX Director, Autodesk, Inc.
More information

Team Dynamics: Resourcing for Success
Dieter Reuther, Operations Consultant, Cast Collective
Sabrina Jetton, Design Consultant, Cast Collective
April 27, 2012, Helsinki, Finland
 
Through insightful presentations, interactive dialogues, and hands-on activities, you will learn how to analyze, diagnose, and improve the chemistry of your project teams, optimize project outcomes, and increase profitability.
More information

Improving Design Decision Making and Concept Evaluation
Jeremy Alexis, Assistant Dean and Professor, IIT Institute of Design
May 17-18, 2012, Boston, USA
 
"The emphasis on core principles made this seminar incredibly useful. It fed my understanding and set me up for informed and effective action."
—Philip Hartley, Senior Design Strategist, Smart Design
More information
 
Service Design for Business: Key Methods and Strategies for In-House Teams
Engine Service Design
May 24-25, 2012, London, UK
 
"Comments from participants: "Great overall! I don't usually give perfect scores but you really were excellent. Thanks and well done!" "I gained great insight, usable for my organization, both internal and external."
More information
 
 

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