Process Design: Overview

The SiD Method tells you what to do: set goals, map the system, understand it, develop solutions, evaluate. The SiD Process tells you how to organize a real project so the method gets executed well. If the method is a recipe, the process is the kitchen: the team, the equipment, the schedule, and the sequence of preparation that turns ingredients into a meal.

Every SiD project needs a process. The process is how you move from "we have a question" to "we have a roadmap and an action plan." It determines who is involved, in what sequence, at what depth, and for how long. A well-designed process is the foundation of a successful project. Good wine is not just good grapes. It is the entire process: growing, picking, fermenting, storing, bottling. Each project requires its own tailored process.

From Method to Process

The method is a five-step cycle (Goals, Mapping, Understanding, Solutioning, Evaluation) that can be run by a single person in an afternoon or by a team of fifty over a year. The process is the organizational shell that wraps around the method. It determines:

• How many times you cycle through the method
• How deep each cycle goes
• Who participates at each stage
• What format the work takes (workshop, research, consultation, co-creation session)
• How long each phase lasts
• What deliverables each phase produces

The process is modular. Building a SiD process is like stacking LEGO blocks. The blocks are standardized process steps. The arrangement is unique to your project. SiD provides a card deck of process steps (available from ThinkSiD.org) that you can physically arrange on a table to design your process with your team.

The Four Main Phases

The SiD process generally moves through four main phases. Each phase corresponds to different steps of the method cycle, run at different depths:

1. Initiation. Form the team, analyze the assignment, set the project goal and plan, kick off.
2. Intelligence. Collect data, analyze markets and trends, research precedents, identify stakeholders, perform initial system mapping.
3. Systemic Analysis and Co-creation. Run the SiD method cycles: deep mapping, system understanding, solutioning, stakeholder co-creation, roadmap construction.
4. Execution. Expert evaluation, concept development, modeling, communication strategy, feasibility assessment, implementation.

These phases are not rigid walls. Elements overlap and recur. You may return to intelligence gathering during the co-creation phase. You may revise goals during execution. The phases provide a general sequence, not a straitjacket.

Cycling the Method Within the Process

The method is designed to be repeated. The first cycle is fast, rough, and broad. It gives the team a quick reconnaissance of the entire challenge. Each subsequent cycle goes deeper, with more refined research, adjusted goals, sharpened evaluation, and better solutions.

A rule of thumb: perform at least three method cycles per project. Most basic projects run three to five. Large or complex projects run up to eight.

The Fibonacci sequence provides a useful planning pattern for cycle lengths. If the first cycle takes one day, the next also takes one day (a repetition that builds familiarity). The third takes two days. The fourth takes three. The fifth takes five. The sixth takes eight. This creates a natural rhythm of increasing depth while maintaining proportionality.

Cycle	Duration (Fibonacci)
1	1 day
2	1 day
3	2 days
4	3 days
5	5 days
6	8 days
7	13 days
8	21 days

This is a guide, not a rule. Adjust to your project's constraints and needs.

Team Formation

Having the right people at the table from the start is vital. The core team consists of the people who develop the project from beginning to end. It is rarely larger than four for small projects and eight for large ones. Beyond eight, the management overhead begins to undermine productivity. For larger groups, split into sub-teams with separate managers and a single project director providing oversight.

Teams work best with diverse qualities across three dimensions:

Mindsets. Every team should include at least one person with a scientific/analytical mindset, one with a creative mindset, and one with a business/connectivity mindset. The scientific mind systematically unravels issues and makes evidence-based decisions. The creative mind explores unusual connections and out-of-the-box possibilities. The business mind finds value propositions, manages stakeholder interests, and understands organizational reality.

Content knowledge. Team members should have complementary domain expertise. Generalists are more valuable as core team members than narrow specialists. Specialists contribute best as consultants brought in for specific phases.

Diversity. Mix cultural backgrounds, age ranges, gender, and experience levels. The more varied the perspectives, the more robust the analysis and the more creative the solutions.

All team members must be excellent team players capable of giving and receiving constructive feedback. People who are too critical or conservative will hold the project back. Personality matters, particularly for longer projects. Tools like Myers-Briggs, Belbin team roles, or similar assessments can help compose a balanced team.

The Project Manager

The project manager (PM) is the most important role in any SiD process. The PM designs the process, assembles the team, orchestrates every phase, manages stakeholder engagement, and maintains coherence across cycles. If you are doing a solo project, the PM is you.

The PM should have:

• Practical experience with SiD or similar systemic approaches
• Strong content knowledge in the project's domain (a PM without content knowledge will not see trouble looming)
• Experience facilitating co-creation and stakeholder sessions
• Professional communication and time management skills

PM responsibilities include:

• Planning, scheduling, and communicating every stage
• Assembling and managing the team
• Making materials and tools available
• Structuring discussions and working sessions
• Serving as communication point for external parties
• Managing the project budget
• Bearing final responsibility for project quality and delivery

Format Options

SiD processes scale from a single afternoon to multi-year programs:

Half-day to one-day session. Quick exploration, idea generation, or inspiration with a small team. The core is a single method cycle (or a compressed two-cycle run). Useful for process design itself: designing the process of a longer trajectory with your team.

One-week intensive. A standard SiD co-creation session running three to five method cycles. The team goes from reconnaissance to refined solutions and an initial roadmap within a single intensive week.

Three-month project. A typical consulting project with initiation (week 1-2), intelligence gathering (weeks 3-6), co-creation sessions (weeks 7-9), and execution planning (weeks 10-12). Usually includes one major stakeholder session.

Multi-cycle, multi-year program. Large transition projects (city sustainability, corporate transformation, national policy) with multiple stakeholder sessions, progressive cycles over months, and ongoing management. The Schiphol Airport Catalyst project, for example, ran three SiD sessions: a 5-day core team session, a 4-day session with 22 people, and a 4-day session with 40 stakeholders in revolving groups.

The appropriate format depends on your budget, timeline, scope, and the number of stakeholders who must be engaged for the results to stick.

The SiD Process Room

For any project longer than a day, reserve a dedicated room for the SiD process. Keep all materials on the walls: system maps, trend analyses, stakeholder maps, precedent posters, the evolving roadmap. This room ties the project together spatially and psychologically. Team members can drop in, review progress, add ideas, and maintain immersion in the system between formal sessions.

This is distinct from the SiD Session room, which is set up specifically for intensive co-creation sessions with stakeholders and may require different configuration.