Master Thesis: Designing in Complexity:

A Systems Oriented Design Approach to Improving the Case Handling of Financial Assistance in Oslo

Marcela Urbano, Maria Haukali Nørregaard, Tabea Glahs

Executive Master Thesis, 2024
The Oslo School of Architecture and Design // The Municipality of Oslo

This thesis presents how systems oriented design has been integrated into design practice by us – three service designers in the digitalization agency Oslo Origo at the municipality of Oslo. The thesis follows a specific project which is about finding out how to streamline the case handling of financial assistance, a public welfare service. Throughout the text, we highlight the contributions and limitations of using systems oriented design while working with the project. We end our reflections by supplementing Sevaldsons (2022) suggested shifts in mindset, bringing more attention to the humbleness, courage and emergence we have encountered in SOD, in order to move towards a more systemic approach in design.