Design Systems

Ecosystem innovation has all the makings of a wicked problem. FAST draws from Design Thinking as a collaborative way of coping with such problems. Thinking as a designer implies immersion in a situation, building shared understanding and prototyping solutions. This combination gives way to the three systems of FAST:

• Reveal the ecosystem to innovate for. Build understanding of people and organisations acting in context. Gather new and compelling perspectives on needs and expectations.

• Position the platform in the ecosystem. Understand how it coordinates value exchanges and lets the ecosystem leverage its true potential. Capture these statements in a platform model.

• Organise for the minimum viable platform. Deconstruct the platform model into just enough interventions to validate the organisation’s purpose and position in the ecosystem.

These are not mere steps or phases but systems in their own right. Each is wholly complementary and sets clear boundaries to the others. Not even trying to atom-smash them into a single (convoluted, confusing) model is a discerning aspect of the framework.