As design teams evolve, establishing a clear understanding of their purpose and operational framework becomes crucial. This year, I’ve had the opportunity to guide five design teams in drafting their charters, a process that consistently proves invaluable. Through a series of focused group sessions, we delve into the essential aspects that define a design team, essentially helping them to Define Peter – their core identity and operational principles. This article outlines the agenda I’ve developed for these sessions, providing a blueprint for your team to create a charter that empowers and directs your work.
Why Embark on Charter Development?
Frequently, as design teams expand, they encounter externally imposed assumptions about their roles and responsibilities. These preconceived notions can inadvertently limit the team’s potential, often confining them to purely production-oriented tasks and overlooking the broader strategic value they can offer. This is where the charter development process becomes transformative.
These charter initiatives have gained traction because they furnish design teams with a platform to articulate their self-definition, to chart their own strategic direction, and to set their own agenda. By engaging in this process, teams cultivate the confidence to take ownership of the nature of their work and the methodologies they employ. This sense of empowerment, in turn, enhances team effectiveness, as members develop a stronger sense of connection and purpose in their contributions.
Engaging Team Creativity: The “If Design Were A Person” Activity
Many charter-building activities naturally lean towards logical, verbal, and rational discourse. While valuable, it’s equally important to tap into the intrinsic creativity and visual thinking inherent in design teams. In past in-person sessions, I utilized the “Design The Box” activity to stimulate generative and lateral thinking, accessing subconscious insights. However, adapting this to remote sessions proved challenging due to the limitations of digital drawing tools.
To bridge this gap, I transitioned to the “If The Design Team Were a Person” activity. This approach retains the visual and imaginative elements, encouraging participants to subconsciously identify a personification of their design team. Subsequently, the team collectively rationalizes the qualities of this person and explores their relevance to the Design Team’s characteristics.
While this exercise has yielded valuable outcomes, I believe there’s potential for further refinement. I am actively seeking input from others on generative and creative activities that have been successfully facilitated in remote settings.
Beyond the Sessions: Charter Refinement and Finalization
The group sessions constitute approximately one-third to one-half of the overall effort in constructing a comprehensive charter. These sessions serve as a crucial catalyst for extracting ideas and perspectives from team members. The subsequent voting and discussions help prioritize key areas that resonate most strongly with the team. Following the sessions, the crucial next step involves an individual or a small team synthesizing the generated input into a cohesive charter draft. This drafting phase is inherently iterative, involving distillation, precise wording, refinement, and navigating various iterations to reach a polished and impactful final document – a process akin to any significant writing endeavor.
I have found immense satisfaction in facilitating these pivotal discussions, and if your team would benefit from my guidance in developing your design team charter, please connect with me through my website.
