At IAS09, Matt Milan gave a provocative talk on what he called "Innovation Parkour." Parkour is a way of moving from place to place as efficiently as possible by jumping, vaulting, or climbing around obstacles. His talk was a plea for us to practice our craft so great design can become a reflex in the face of challenge, much as parkour artists view the environment not as a hindrance to their sport but an aid. I believe the equivalent of the built environment in parkour is less the landscape of the design challenges we face than the structures, process, and culture of the organizations in which we do our work. Yes, design exercises make better designers - however, an IA/UXer who can solve wicked problems but who can't get her organization to implement her solutions needs also to be practicing complimentary disciplines: cultural diagnostics, relationship savvy, and communication and negotiation skills. Enter Organizational Parkour, a game where IA/UXers can practice these complimentary skills. The game pits teams against each other to complete deliverables, by role-playing and negotiating based on the tenets of Principled Negotiation. Game players are guided on how to use negotiation skills to manage sticky client issues and see great work to completion.

1. Organizational Parkour
The Negotiation Game
IA Summit 2013
Joan Vermette
Experience Design Director
Mad*Pow

2. What is
parkour?

3. Georges
Hebert
“Être fort pour
être utile.”

4. What
parkour
looks like

5. “Parkour is the attainment of

6. “Parkour is the attainment of

8. “Parkour is the attainment of
human freedom through the built
environment”

9. “Built environment” = Organizations

10. Designers don‟t kill designs:

11. Designers don‟t kill designs:
Organizations do

12. Organizations

13. Organizations
Culture

14. Organizations
Culture
Personalities

15. Organizations
Culture
Personalities
Knowledge

16. But it‟s all okay…

17. Because the difference between
this…

18. And this…

19. Attitude
I wouldn‟t worry about it none. It was
my own dream and they‟re only in your
head…

20. Practice
You practice so you can invent.
Discipline? No…
The joy of practicing
leads you to the celebration
of the creation

21. Game

22. Role Playing Game
Client Role UX Role
1A 1B

23. Story Game
The story of
a project

24. Your parkour park

25. Negotiation

27. Principled Negotiation

28. Principled Negotiation
 Separate the people from the problem

29. Principled Negotiation
 Separate the people from the problem
 Focus on interests, not positions

30. Principled Negotiation
 Separate the people from the problem
 Focus on interests, not positions
 Invent multiple options looking for mutual gains before
deciding what to do

31. Principled Negotiation
 Separate the people from the problem
 Focus on interests, not positions
 Invent multiple options looking for mutual gains before
deciding what to do
 Insist that the result be based on some objective standard

32. Project brief

33. Project brief
 Modifying content and adding a new mini-application to an
existing web property for a large company

34. Project brief
 This is a pet project for the business sponsors - they've actually
been lobbying to add this app to their suite for over two years,
and they finally got the funding for it - only to find that they didn't
have any in-house resources available to do it.

35. Project brief
 Hence they've hired you - and rather hurriedly - before they
lose the funding. You've been chosen over three other firms -
basically on word of mouth recommendations - and now
you're engaged to do the work.

36. Project brief
 They have visual designers in house who'll apply their (rather
strict) brand standards and style guide, and the development
team who will build the thing according to their coding
standards and on their existing platform.
 They‟re providing the content, though you‟ll be responsible
for microtext in the application.

37. Statement of Work
 Upfront research, including
 reviewing internal documents
 stakeholder interviews
 user interviews.
 Design Studio workshop
 Wireframe initial key screens
 Detailed wireframes of all the flows

38. Project Brief
Game Mechanics

39. Teams
 Break up into teams of an even number of players

40. Roles and Turns
 Break up into roles
within teams:
 UX role Client
UX Role
 Client role Role

41. Roles and Turns
 Turns should alternate
between the UX and Client Role
Client roles.
UX Role
1

42. Roles and Turns 2
 Turns should alternate
between the UX and Client Role
Client roles.
UX Role
1

43. Roles and Turns 2
 Turns should alternate
between the UX and Client Role
Client roles.
UX Role
1
3

44. 4
Roles and Turns 2
 Turns should alternate
between the UX and Client Role
Client roles.
UX Role
1
3

45. 4
Roles and Turns 2
 Turns should alternate
between the UX and Client Role
Client roles.
UX Role
1 5
3

46. 4
Roles and Turns 2 6
 Turns should alternate
between the UX and Client Role
Client roles.
UX Role
1 5
3

47. Roles and Turns 6
 Turns should alternate
between the UX and Client Role
Client roles.
UX Role
1

48. The Cards
 The script of the story is on a deck of
cards. Each card is a part of the
story in the process of creating a
deliverable.

49. The object: create
deliverables
 The object of the game is create
deliverables by playing cards in
order.
 You can play deliverables out of
order within rounds.
 Some of the cards the team needs
are in the clients‟ hands, some are in
the UX team‟s hands.

50. Dealing, drawing, discarding
 You‟re dealt a hand of
cards from your role‟s deck.

51. Dealing, drawing, discarding
 The remainder of the cards
becomes a draw pile with a
discard pile.
 If you can‟t play a card in
order, discard and pick up
another from the draw pile.
If you can‟t play that, the
turn goes to the other role.

52. NEGOTIATE
 All of these deliverables have at least one
„hurdle‟ – a point of conflict which will
require the UX role players to negotiate.
 You can‟t finish a deliverable without
negotiating. You don‟t get points for
deliverables you don‟t finish.

53. Negotiation rules:
Tip Cards
 When the UX Team negotiates,
they must do two things:
1. Pick up a “Tip Card” and read
it aloud to the team.

54. Negotiation rules:
Chips
2. Pay your client three chips.
The Client team can decide,
based on the skill of the
negotiator, to pay back some,
none, or all of the three chips.

55. Timing and Game Play
 The game is in three phases:
 Discovery: Deliverables 1 – 4
 Research and Design Studio Workshop: Deliverables 5 - 8
 Design: Deliverables 9 - 10
 We‟ll take 15 minutes per phase – I‟ll time you.

56. Ready?
Let‟s go!

57. Feedback
 Was the negotiation hard enough? Too hard? Why?
 Did you feel engaged enough with the story? What would
make you more engaged?
 Did you recognize the conflicts? What could be done to
enhance them?
 Did the tip cards make sense? Were they helpful?
 How could the game mechanics be improved?

58. Photo attributions
 Cover: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jb-london/8541822833/
 Slide 3: http://vigoextreme.es/george-hebert-y-el-metodo-natural-de-cultura-fisica/
 Slides 4 - 6: stills from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMppD-bUNWo
 Slides 10 - 11: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mtefft/3776069630/
 Slide 9, 12 - 15: http://www.flickr.com/photos/zustand/6027929617/
 Slides 16 & 17, copyright Joan Vermette, 2004.
 Slide 19 : http://weheartit.com/entry/44839589
 Slide 20: Photo: http://www.htbackdrops.com/v2/albums/userpics/11724/Cecil_Taylor_01.jpg
 Audio clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNXvQaBEByg
 Slide 23: http://www.flickr.com/photos/workandtumble/2547951156/sizes/z/in/photostream/
 Slides 24 - 25: http://www.flickr.com/photos/duncan/7700796738/sizes/l/in/photostream/
 Slide 26: https://www.etsy.com/listing/91868368/getting-to-yes-negotiating-agreement
 Slide 38: http://www.flickr.com/photos/64498037@N00/4181289751/sizes/l/in/photostream/
 Slide 54: copyright Joan Vermette, 2013.