Figure 0.1
Every Friday afternoon KieranTimberlake holds Knowledge Community meetings to share new workflows and discoveries made by project teams. Here, researchers demonstrate projection mapping. (2018) Credit: KieranTimberlake.
Architecture and engineering (AE) firms are experiencing a crisis, brought about by failures of communicating their ultimate value, putting forward a competitive value proposition and viable business model, and an inability to assert their relevance. The people who could arguably lead these firms into the future – addressing and resolving these and other crises – are leaving the industry for startups and so-called vertically integrated companies (verticals) such as WeWork and Katerra, Autodesk, Disney and Amazon, among others. The problem, they say, is that AE firms can’t pay them enough to stay.
But economic and existential considerations are only part of the cause. More important than adequate remuneration, these firms haven’t been able to promise these future leaders a future. Today’s leaders haven’t paved a path for design technology specialists to firm leadership that takes their gifts and ultimate value to the organization – let alone the industry – into consideration.
Irrespective of their role, finding and nurturing talent remains the most critical concern for architecture, engineering, and construction organizations, while attracting, retaining, and developing our firms’ future leaders present both intractable challenges and unlimited opportunities. Besides going the traditional CTO or CIO routes, there is little precedence for design technologists to rise to and attain leadership positions within design firms. Thus, they are leaving our field for greener – i.e. more remunerative – pastures.
It is time we stanch the flow out of our industry – and this book proposes how.
Figure 0.1
Every Friday afternoon KieranTimberlake holds Knowledge Community meetings to share new workflows and discoveries made by project teams. Here, researchers demonstrate projection mapping. (2018) Credit: KieranTimberlake.
First, who are these design technology specialists and leaders, and what distinguishes them? They are our Superusers, design professionals who leverage tools and technology to do more, and be more, with the people skills to accomplish all they do with and by means of others, often to astonishing results.
Unlike the CAD, BIM, and IT-related roles that preceded them, their focus is on skillsets and mindsets; on hard skills and soft skills; on the specialist’s depth and wide social wingspan; on technology and design; on computation and multifarious interdisciplinary skills, leading our teams, firm, and industry into the future. At the risk of oversimplifying, they’re specialists with interpersonal intelligence, an ability to understand emotional behavior in others and leverage it to achieve results.
You may be one of them, or seen them: at Autodesk University, BILT, SmartGeometry, Acadia, or other industry events. They’re graduates of Stevens Institute, ETH, design technology programs such as that at Harvard GSD, and other institutions of higher learning. You’ve listened to them on the designalyze podcast, or donated with them to Colin McCrone’s gofundme after his 2018 bike crash. They’re seemingly everywhere – and nowhere. They’re Superusers, and they’re what we will all need to aim to become to be a design professional in the 2020s and beyond.
A Superuser isn’t just another name for design technology specialist or computational designer. Superusers differ from proficient software users, or for that matter, from high-performing design professionals. Because being a “specialist” only tells half the story. That’s because, “Superusers,” says Scott Crawford, Principal at LMN Architects, “are actually this generation’s version of the generalist architect.”
Superusers. It’s an admittedly imperfect perfect label. For starters, the word “user” can have a negative connotation – conjuring the image of a drug user, where technology is their drug of choice. “There’s always been a stigma attached to the word user,” argues Hilda Espinal, Chief Technology Officer at CannonDesign. “When I think of the term Superusers I think maybe I’m not even a ‘user’ at all,” says Dan Anthony, Design Computation Leader, NBBJ. “Sometimes when I think about my designers, I think about them as my users. And that would make me not a user.”
Despite the term’s inclusion of user, Superusers are not people sitting at a computer seeming to singlehandedly put a building together by hitting macros with their left hand while holding a sandwich in their right (though these folks certainly exist, and this book features one). Instead, with an emphasis on Super, a Superuser is somebody who, in addition to the requisite skillsets, is gifted with emotional intelligence and, when challenged with a problem, has the wherewithal to figure out what expert to go to; who serves as a liaison between IT and somebody with a problem that needs addressing; somebody who’s curious and who can connect the dots. As Dan Anthony explains:
That’s a strong hypothesis to explore, because it pokes around the edges of this distinction, both in defining something that people may not like, but also in defining something that may be an opportunity or opening in this whole practice.
The title “design technologist” may be too limiting because it contains the word design. Titles seldom pinpoint what we do as design professionals, especially now as technology continues to evolve. Take Dan Anthony’s title. Is being a Design Computation Leader similar to being an enlightened BIM manager? Anthony explains:
Yes, right now we treat computational method as a compliment to BIM. In some ways, it’s an artificial distinction, and becoming more and more so every day. But at the same time, we have a BIM manager on a project. They end up being a little more tactical due to their role. BIM managers are often also more useful day to day, since computation isn’t always in play in a project.
Is Superuser an unnecessary label and/or distinction? An identity is important to distinguish the folks from those who primarily address IT, technology, and tools, at the expense of human qualities. For if anything, as we’ll soon see, Superusers are all about their distinguishing human qualities, and while they diminish pain points and connect uncooperative tools, improving processes and workflows, they exist first and foremost in service not to the technology but to fellow design professionals: people.
Given how quickly design practice is evolving, does “design technologist” still accurately describe this person or role? Is the title necessary? “Yes, it’s necessary,” says Brian Ringley, Senior Researcher at WeWork, continuing:
It’s necessary both practically, the way the industry has turned out so far, and historically, but I also think it’s just necessary in theory. What I mean by that is, there’s always been a specialist, at least as long as I’ve been in practice, whether that’s a CAD manager or somebody who specialized in BIM. There’s always been something thought to be extra-technological to the architectural delivery process, certainly all the more so today, from design computation and programming, custom applications for practice and delivery, to still having traditional BIM manager roles.
All Superusers share certain traits – but each Superuser also represents a special case. Again, take Dan Anthony. Does he see himself and self-identify as a design professional, design technologist, or part of IT? He explains:
My role is both defined and amorphous. The official title on paper is that I am a Design Computation Leader at the firm level. Which puts me under our Chief Information Officer, CIO Paul Audsley. Myself and two other people – currently Marc Syp and Nate Holland are Design Computation Leaders – we sit in different studios. Our goal is to organize all of the different efforts in every studio across the firm. There are currently about 12 people in our group that do this kind of work, with the three of us leading the way.
The book explores how to identify and where to find Superusers; and when you can’t find them, how to make them, and better yet, how to become a Superuser yourself. We’ll look at habits of high-functioning Superusers, how firm leaders leverage Superusers as in-house consultants or integrate Superusers on teams, keep Superusers energized and engaged, and from leaving for startups.
In terms of the hiring and promotion of Superusers, discussed in more detail in a later chapter, most firms have placed traditional architecture jobs squarely into three boxes: project designer, project architect, and project manager. But what if your career path doesn’t fit cleanly into any of these three boxes? What implication does that have for promotion? Jordan Billingsley of Hord Coplan Macht is a design technology specialist. He might also answer to computational designer, or even computational BIM manager. So, where do these titles fall in our typical three boxes? According to Billingsley:
Designer can’t really make it to computational BIM manager, but a designer could make it to a computational designer, where they’re doing more parametric modeling. A project architect would be a good computational BIM person, because they understand what information’s important, and they just lack those skills of how to lift that out of a project. I’m not sure that there’s a computational side to being a project manager. The project manager, if it would splinter off into a design technology role, would be a design technology director, where they’re not experts on how to use any of the tools, but they can see the direction of the industry, and they know how to fight within their firm to get time protected for training and for onboarding.
Following this logic enables Billingsley to splinter off three boxes into six, opening a way for discussion of future promotion.
Figure 0.2
Exploded Skin study for UC Riverside Recreation Center. (2018) Credit: CannonDesign.
Superusers is about design technologists and who they need to become to lead teams and firms. Superusers leverage technology – but they do so as much for their distinctive skillsets as for their mindsets, attitudes, and emotional intelligence. In fact, of the ten defining features that make up a Superuser (as explained in Chapter 1), no fewer than nine are considered soft skills. In the past, they may have gone the project designer, project architect, or even project manager route. But in many cases these fields were crowded – especially around the time of the last economic downturn – so they turned to technology as an opportunity to stand out from the crowd, to deliver value, but also as a career differentiator. This choice – in some cases, a deal with the devil – has implications for their identity, fulfillment at work, as well as their career paths and opportunities for promotion. The amount of risk this requires on their part is discussed at length in a later chapter – and, importantly, labeled with a memorable moniker.
In Part one, Chapter 1 looks at the Superusers’ C-Factors, the qualities and attributes that make these superpowers possible. The attributes – ten X-factors starting with the letter C and described in this chapter – are the bedrock for what separates Superusers from someone who specializes in technology. We look at what drives Superusers and their defining qualities. In the research for this book, ten distinguishing features or attributes common to all Superusers were mentioned, and observed, again and again. Superusers exhibit a predilection and expertise, not only at the technologies they master but, perhaps more importantly, the aforementioned finesse at human interaction. While design technologists and computational designers are needed for their output, it is in the end their outlook and consideration for other’s interests and needs that truly separate them from ordinary technologists.
Chapter 2 looks at ten Superuser superpowers to look for when identifying people for your team. These superpowers cover problem-solving and communication skills, including interpersonal and conversational skills, question-asking, thought leadership, and storytelling. Next, we look at the most often-mentioned superpower, teachability, or a thirst for learning; not applying computational processes but how to think computationally, identify repeatable tasks, and how to recognize when to ask, “Is this something we can automate?” We’ll also look at entrepreneurialism and how Superusers contribute to something bigger. Finally, the chapter ends with intangibles – hard-to-define qualities that all design technology specialists share, their employers recognize, value, and reward – and looks at Superusers as 5-tool players in architecture.
There are certain “tells” in design professionals that cause them to stand out. “I grew up in a rural area and you can figure out who’s a farm kid and who’s a city kid,” says Ryan Cameron, Project Architect at DLR Group. “Not everybody knows everything. I’m willing to admit that about myself. Everybody’s got their niche.” The mindset of the design technologist is I’m going to integrate these new technologies into standard practice to elevate practitioners so that the definition of practice is dynamic.
Chapter 3 focuses on the roles Superusers play on teams and in firms, each in an effort to determine which are more prevalent and which more effective, resulting in more value for firms. The chapter opens by looking at Superuser roles as they compare with more traditional titles and roles within AE organizations. Next, we compare and contrast the differences between generalist vs. specialist design technologists, the generalist/specialist hybrid role, and how teams and firms benefit from this grey space. The chapter next looks at whether Superusers provide the most value when billable (where e.g. computational design should be billed on a project) vs. overhead; when integrated on teams vs. sitting in the corner; and, hands-on vs. primarily strategic, providing leadership in a management role. The chapter concludes looking at the role of the Superuser in practice in a Superuser team case study. We’ve covered the ten Superuser qualities and ten Superuser superpowers. Now it’s time to put these skills into action. This chapter looks at the roles Superusers play on teams, in firms, and in the industry. Firm after firm, Superusers roles fall into predictable categories: either generalists or specialists, or sometimes along a continuum. Design technology specialists often serve as internal consultants, where they are considered overhead, or integrated into project teams, and billable, or some combination.
Superusers – and their employers – see what they do in terms of providing value. Part two opens with Chapter 4, looking at the value Superusers bring to their teams and deliver in terms of increased productivity, via agile processes, automation, and automating repetitive processes. Next, we look at the impact of AI and at two potential professional paths where we’ll either be augmented and informed (AI) vs. being fully automated (AI). We’ll also discuss how Superusers provide an improved user experience, by easing use and accessibility of tools, while connecting tools, people, and processes, reducing user pain points. The chapter concludes looking at how Superusers seek out and leverage new technologies and participate in software developments, tool creation, and the potential commercialization of these tools.
Chapter 5 looks at the hiring (and poaching) of Superusers, the seemingly never-ending search for design technologists – finding, recruiting (and the reality of looting or pilfering) – Superusers. Next, we’ll look at leadership and design technologist buy-in and hiring Superusers as a design challenge. The chapter concludes with hiring for tool virtuosity vs. soft skills. Today, design technologists – and especially design technology leaders – are expected to be both hands-on and to have a strategic outlook from which the firm can benefit. Filling this role, while never easy, has become easier. Some of my own architecture major students who minor in computer science would be ideal candidates for such a role. Following the advice and suggestions in this chapter should make the process easier still. Some firms, especially those who have seen how hard it can be to hire from outside their firm, opt to grow them from within. The key thing is to keep constantly on the lookout, not just when you’re in need of filling a position, and not to let finding a promising candidate with lesser technology skills dissuade you from having a conversation. They may just turn out to be the very person your firm so badly needs.
Engaging and retaining Superusers really has to do with the proper care and feeding of Superusers: how do you keep them, and keep them from leaving for richer pastures?
Chapter 6 opens with the ways firms keep things moving, interesting, and relevant for design technologists. Next, we look at when Superusers leave architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) firms for startups and other industries, why they leave startups for AEC, and how firms compete with these startups for Superusers. The chapter concludes with a look at training and upskilling of Superusers. Technology specialists in AEC are a special breed, and engagement is about retaining these valued employees. The usual go-to tactics – an attaboy/attagirl, or gift card – just won’t cut it. Engaging and retaining Superusers involves nurturing the 10 Cs, the soft skills, mindsets, attitudes, and hard skills possessed by every Superuser.
The career paths of Superusers vary. Part three opens with Chapter 7 covering the career paths and Superuser risk journey, the qualifications for career advancement of design technology specialists, including leveraging your talent for tech on building design projects, leveraging your architect status for a role in tech, and leveraging your talent for tech on managing people. Next, we look at the career risk journey of design technologists. For computational designers, by not following the traditional path, they take on a lot of risks career-wise, and the professional trajectory becomes more of a risk journey rather than a career path. Finally, we’ll look extensively at the career provenance of Superusers – including emerging, mid-career, and firm leaders; including the IT path, BM manager path, and internal consultant role – through career path case studies. At the same time, they have commonalities. Challenges of some Superusers include how to keep one’s hands on the technology while minimizing the managing of people. Others accept the role of people, budget, and schedule management as an inevitable part of becoming a firm leader. No matter the specifics, Superusers are the next generation of the profession.
Having looked at design technologists as architects and managers, Chapter 8 focuses on design technologists who are, or aspire to become, designers: digitally savvy designers who are computationally savvy, influencing the design process through computational means. Design technologists who also design, or who become full-time designers, leveraging their talent for technology on building design projects. Design technologists who have an interest in being a designer, whether technology is an impediment or expediter to their becoming designers. Do designers, technical project architects, or managers represent the future of design technologists? The chapter concludes with a look at the third space, where design technologists are proactively designing the design process. Design and technology. A false dichotomy at the start by the artificially siloed college curricula and largely perpetuated by the profession. Additionally, technology has been misused in the formal obsession with weird and twisty buildings and complex geometry, and a too-narrow and sterile definition of optimization. Design technologists return technology to design, figuring out how to incorporate both analog and digital technology into projects, team workflows, and their firms’ work processes – not for its own sake but to improve the design, functionality, and affordability of projects. They’re always looking for opportunities for technology to make them better designers. Earlier defined, more rapidly iterated, higher-quality design.
Part three concludes with Chapter 9 which looks at the leading of Superusers: what design technology leaders do, what it takes to lead and support Superusers, and the need to identify what is advancing in our space that we’re not seeing, staying relevant, and the regular need for skill rebuild. It looks at what it takes to create an environment that fosters a computational mindset from one’s team. The chapter closes with marketing a firm’s use of technology, and winning projects by emphasizing technology and the Superusers who create and use it. When design technology specialists become design technology leaders, there’s an understandable shift in priorities and responsibilities. This chapter explains in what way and how.
As with all of my books, Superusers is based on practice-based research. Unless otherwise indicated, all quotes are from the author’s own interviews with these individuals that took place in 2018. Superusers: Design Technology Specialists and the Future of Practice makes the case that design technology specialists are this generation’s generalist architects – reason alone that firm leaders need to take them seriously and give them their uninterrupted attention. This book aims to help start this critically important conversation.