Organizational Design Principles
Good design in organizations must balance context, application, and controls to avoid over-engineering while ensuring sufficient structure. It involves considering human factors and coordinating policies to reduce burden.
THE IDEA
Summary
- Good design is something we expect in day‐to‐day life, a nice‐looking computer or smartphone or a kitchen gadget. We also know that buildings designed by an architect can create a lovely space to work and live.
- Good design involves considering the context and application of what must be done. Over‐engineering and too many controls can create a burden on the organisation. But if there are not enough controls, the organisation's skeleton will have gaps.
- Beware of the tendency to over‐engineer policies and procedures (especially after a significant setback or in response to a regulatory change). Be mindful of policy owners and regulators who write policies and procedures without ‘skin in the game’. Sometimes idealised policies can cause problems because they do not sufficiently consider human factors or resources, priorities and dilemmas.
- Coordinating different policies and procedures across an organisation (and automating them where appropriate) is often an essential task to ‘reduce the burden’ on day‐to‐day activities.
- Where the stakes are very high, high‐reliability design principles are worth exploring and adapting as appropriate.
- Sometimes checklists can be of value, but equally, on other occasions, you need a ‘belt‐and‐braces’ design; this can depend on the objective or risks involved.
When to use it
Designing an employee onboarding process that is comprehensive but not overwhelming
Creating safety protocols for a manufacturing plant that ensure reliability without hindering productivity
Developing a regulatory compliance framework that meets legal requirements while minimizing administrative burden
Planning a software development lifecycle that avoids feature creep and maintains focus on core functionality
FROM THEORY TO EVERYDAY LIFE
In practice
Over-engineering after a data breach
After a major data breach, an organization implemented dozens of new security policies and procedures, significantly slowing down daily operations. Employees became frustrated as simple tasks required multiple approvals, leading to decreased productivity and morale.
Checklists in aviation
In aviation, pilots use checklists for critical procedures to ensure safety and consistency, demonstrating the value of checklists in high-stakes environments.
A MOMENT TO REFLECT
Put it to work.
Think of a time when you encountered an overly complex policy or procedure. What was the impact on your work or the organization?
How can you determine the right balance between too many controls and too few?
In what situations would a checklist be more effective than a flexible approach?
Often confused with
CONTINUE THE CONVERSATION
Source texts
- Beyond the Five Whys Root Cause Analysis and Systems Thinking (James C. Paterson)