Magic Conversations (Part I)
a design attitude means taking time for open-minded and non-linear analysis and exploration. Since the project canvas provides guidance too, this exploration is neither chaotic nor undirected. Quite the contrary, it's clear and systematic. But the project canvas is not a cook book; it does not provide a strict instruction. It is weakly structured and therefore leaves room for each team to find their own way. This is another ingredient of the magic: when applying the project canvas people discuss, discover, develop and through this find a common ground. The picture on the left illustrates this. At the beginning of the design pro-
cess, the individual views concerning the project are very different. This is normal at the beginning of every complex project. It's not because some people are "wrong or right", it's just because of diverse professional and cultural perspectives and divergent states of information. It's because, we all live "in different worlds". But then, when applying the canvas, magic happens and people create a shared picture of their project, a common project world.
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"In the same environment, everyone lives in a different world." __ Arthur Schopenhauer, The Wisdom of Life
PROCEDURE
When people ask us, "what's actually the Project Canvas?", our answer is, "it's a sheet of paper, that serves as an invitation to talk". And that's true. More than anything, the project canvas is an excuse to break away from daily routines and take the time to discuss a project. Everybody can observe the magic that happens, when people gather around their canvas. This magic is created by what Yves Pigneur and Alexander Osterwalder call the "design attitude". For some people, particularly in big organizations, the design attitude is the exact opposite of the linear decision-oriented approach they are used to. Having