When KPIs converge, the user wins
One of our main challenges is being able to critically assess a design and have our point of view heard by our project collaborators.
We aren’t the only ones that struggle with this. We also see our project collaborators encountering similar challenges. If only we could listen to one another!
As many of us know, it’s not as easy as that. There are different priorities to consider, shifting budgets to accommodate, and client expectations to manage.
But ultimately, it’s not our own design thinking or egos that suffer when we do not hear one another – it’s the user.
Working collectively is hard to do
As wayfinders, we are able to (sometimes substantially) contribute to the architectural thinking of a project, especially when the design challenge concerns people.
This is because we are primarily focused on people. We think about their movement through a space, what their experiences are and the information they need to make their journey a successful one.
Our architect colleagues, for example, have to think about substantially more foundational things, including how to prevent a building from collapsing when it encounters a strong wind. While this isn’t our focus as wayfinders, we need to respect this perspective and take it into account in our own approach. Not only for the safety of all users, but for the benefit of the entire project.
If we can learn to adjust our current thinking away from competition and towards a convergence of our priorities and KPIs, there is only a win-win situation on the other side. Better designed buildings. More intuitive wayfinding. Calmer and more informed users.
We just have to find different ways to get our (sometimes competing) messages across.
Good timing + collaborative priorities = exemplary user experience
If we’re brought on at the right time on a project (during Master Planning or Concept Design for instance), we can share some of our thinking about wayfinding-related architectural interventions, and we can collaborate with the architects, and other design disciplines in a way that improves all our outputs. Because timing is pivotal when it comes to designing the optimal wayfinding for a project.
But more often than not, we’ll have to find ways to make wayfinding work after fundamental architectural choices have been made. This is far from our ideal working circumstance. But we understand why many project journeys turn out this way.
No matter the project we’re on, or how many different players there are, everyone is working towards their own KPIs and has their own focus. We need to find a way to turn that frustration into a positive.
Working together for a user-first outcome
It’s our job to understand not only our users, but also those we work with on projects, to get the most out of every project, and achieve the best outcome.
Throughout the hundreds of civic, urban, community, healthcare and commercial projects we’ve worked on over the last 15 years, we’ve noticed numerous similarities in how different project parties operate, and what they prioritise.
Builders: Focus on profitability and time. A desire to get the job done to brief, on budget and within the timeframe.
Architects: Often looking to tick a lot of sometimes conflicting boxes (e.g. value versus industry reputation). On the lookout for long-term partners they can trust to follow their lead.
Clients: Prioritise finishing the project below budget and in a shorter time, wherever possible.
While this is not an exhaustive exploration of our collaboration partners or their motivations, these observations lead to one obvious conclusion: everyone has slightly different drivers and visions for a project, and how to get to the finish line.
Having different focuses isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Noticing problems and bringing them forward for discussion is part of doing our jobs. If something doesn't meet our idea of best practice, we should say something about it.
Where we tend to run into trouble is at critical communication junctures. When we lose sight of who we are working for (the user) we all fall short of a shared KPI to design the best user experience possible. We’re including ourselves in this assessment.
Turning competition into collaboration
Turning competing priorities into collaborative ones takes all parties committing to recognising each other’s priorities and working better towards the ones we share.
PPPs (public private partnerships) are a prime example of when shared priorities work together in the user’s favour. Under a PPP arrangement, financiers, facility managers and project leaders are all interested in making the project work – not according to their own priorities, but the ones agreed to collectively to achieve the best user-focused outcome.
In the Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre (VCCC, and a PPP), the brief stipulated that everyone needed to approach the reception first before proceeding through the building. Using a relatively simple yet effective architectural intervention, the dog-shape of the lobby naturally leads the user towards the reception area. No extra signage, no barriers required. Just thoughtful design conducted with all parties involved from beginning to end.
We look forward to working on more projects that operate in this manner, where all our ideas are valued and heard early, and priorities can converge to the ultimate advantage of the user.