Agency Ecosystems

It started as a Venn diagram—then I took a step back.  Last week I attended a meeting with the leadership team at CM, and as each member of the team got up and talked about the things they were responsible for, I started to think about how experience design fits into the bigger picture within the agency setting.

Of course it has to intersect and overlap with insights, research and planning.  It also needs to be carried through to execution—the final experience, whatever that is.  But that's where I left the Venn approach behind.  Who knows? Maybe Dad's advice about "digging deeper" stuck with me.

So I thought about more intersection and overlap with things like development (front and back end) and media of course which is where it all gets served up—even if it's social.  And a "clover" was formed.

A clover cannot sustain itself. 

It needs to be fed, fueled.  It needs to be connected to something.  Technology is the stem.  The thought of technology isn't sexy.  Neither is a stem.  But—it's essential—it's the lifeline.  Agencies everywhere are grappling with how technology has influenced rocked their worlds, especially in the past 5 years.

But what is technology without something to ground it.  All of it—the clover, the stem—it all needs to be deeply rooted in things that will make it flourish.  Business, Brand, and User needs.  Nothing new here—but how often are we really successful in building from this foundation?  How often are our strategies and executions rooted in these objectives vs. being self-serving?

Each part is co-dependent.  Each part serves a vital function.  Take out one piece and the organism will either struggle on—incomplete or wither away and eventually die.

So, thinking holistically (and visually) this helps me understand the role of experience design in the broader agency.  It needs to play it's part—a clover that helps feed the organization which in turn serves and guides clients.  One that is co-dependent on many other things.  But at that intersection—where insights, design, development, media, and technology meet—that is where ideas come to life.  That is where pollination starts.  And maybe new life cycles begin.