If the Team Pulse Design Process is a skeleton, think of the various design frameworks within this post as the muscles and organs of a complete iteration of a design process. Time to “flesh out” your design process with a simple design framework.

For this example we’ll use the SADIMET framework (Survey, Analysis, Design, Implementation, Maintenance, Evaluation, Tweaking). You could likewise use GOBRADIME (Goals, Observations, Boundaries, Resources, Analysis, Design, Implementation, Maintenance, Evaluation – click the link for a full list of action steps and questions).

Each letter of SADIMET represents a collection of steps. Each step will be represented as an individual pulse. Each pulse has 9 steps within it.  The overall project will be shaped like a spiral (the self-informing pattern that it is).

First, let’s start with a reminder of what an individual pulse looks like.

Need a reminder of the 9 steps within each pulse? Review them HERE.

Next imagine several pulses for each letter of the SADIMET framework. **NOTE: The pulses listed are by no means the “right” way to do this – they’re just a starting point. The group should come to a decision organically on what pulses need to happen when. Each of the items listed as part of each pulse can be delegated to group members as personal action items within each pulse.

SADIMET

• Survey
  • PULSE #1 – SITE: Site indicators, Soil, Winds, Climate, Sectors, 1st Base Map, Boundaries/Borders, Microclimates, Water, Fire, Vegetation, Assets, PASTE Overlay (Plants, Animals, Structures, Tools, Events).
  • PULSE #2 – CLIENT: Goals, Values, Resources, Constraints, 7th Generation Plan.
  • PULSE #3 – AREAS OF COST (a.k.a. energy leaks): Soil, Water, Money, Time, Labor, Nutrients.
  • PULSE #4 – OBSERVED EXPERIENCES: Interviews with Elders, Other Designs, Local Knowledge.

The next step after Survey in SADIMET is Analysis.

• Analysis
  • PULSE #1 – ELEMENTS & FUNCTIONS: List elements already present and the functions they perform. List elements still required and the functions they need to perform to fulfill the system’s purpose

After Analysis comes Design (the oh-so fun nuts and bolts part that everyone wants to do first – RESIST and do your prep work first!).

• Design
  • PULSE #1 – INPUT/OUTPUT/INTRINSIC CHARACTERISTICS: List inputs, outputs, frequency of interaction and intrinsic characteristics for all existing and potential elements.
  • PULSE #2 – PLACEMENT: Zone and Sector Analyses, Element Placements by Function & Frequency of Interaction.
  • PULSE #3 – SPECIES LISTS: Crop Data, Guild Trials, Planting Instructions, etc.

Each letter of the SADIMET design framework gets “pulsed out” to create a general plan for how the design process will be conducted.

• Implementation
  • PULSE #1 – COST ANALYSIS: What does each element cost to put in place in terms of time, money, labor, planning? What will it produce in terms of the same? What other elements does it need to work with to function optimally?
  • PULSE #2 – PHASED IMPLEMENTATION PLAN: Prioritize what gets done when, why, how and by whom.
  • PULSE #3 – RESOURCE ACQUISITION: What needs to be brought in? Where is it? How will you get it? Who needs to do it?
• Maintenance
  • PULSE #1 – SYSTEM STEWARDSHIP: Who will maintain the element(s) once it is in place? Who is responsible for the system’s overall maintenance and upkeep?
  • PULSE #2 – COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT: How will the community interact with the system? What are their needs?
  • PULSE #3 – SYSTEM OUTPUTS: What are you harvesting and when? Who needs to do it? What will this cost? What will this produce?
• Evaluation
  • PULSE #1 – MEASURING: What needs to be measured to know if the system is succeeding or failing? What metrics will be used? How will they guide future decision-making?
  • PULSE #2 – 80/20 ANALYSIS: What is producing? What is not? What to keep and what to prune off? What can we stop doing? What deserves more investment/energy?
• Tweaking
  • PULSE #1 – REVISIT GOALS & PRINCIPLES: Filter what has been accomplished against the original goals. Are your principles being followed? Are any of them unnecessary? Are there any new principles that have emerged to guide the work? When will this “revisiting” happen? Schedule it!
  • PULSE #2 – CHAORDIC STEPPING STONES: Begin the cycle again. Build upon what has been done and learned. Add another turn to the spiral.

The illustration above is a visual representation of what one complete cycle of the design process looks like. This is the end product of designing your design process – a literal map of the design’s development. You may want to go into greater depth depending on your project and flesh things out to greater specificity and detail.

Other Links:

– SADIMET Mind Map