Linda Blaasvær, Miriam E. N. Begnum, Karina Ludwig, and Radostina Tsvetkova
This paper explores how systems-oriented design (SOD) can be used by organisations to analyse and engineer compliance assurance. The study draws on experiences and strategic work from the Universal Design team at the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration (NAV), framed as a longitudinal case study. Our previous work (Ludwig et al., 2020) revealed that the system lacked sufficient mechanisms to support universal design compliance. In response, a strategy for system interventions was developed to create a balanced, compliant and stable system blueprint.
This paper investigates the systemic mechanisms that emerged from these interventions and examines whether they led to the intended system changes. The case study employs GIGA-mapping and SOD theory to support continuous, longitudinal system analysis, focusing on mechanisms for ensuring compliance with legal regulations on universal design in Nav’s product development. A developmental systems evaluation approach facilitates improved organisational compliance. To analyse the effects of the interventions, we evaluate their systemic impact (leverage), their synergies and whether system resilience has been strengthened.
Three contributions are made:
1) Reflections on Nav’s system for ensuring universal design compliance in 2025 compared to in 2020. We find that system mechanisms for universal design have improved over this period, and that the organisational focus on universal design has increased.
2) An evaluation on whether Nav’s system mechanisms have been successful and whether they may be suitable for other organisations seeking to ensure compliance with universal design legislation or maintain system sustainability over time. We conclude that applying a SOD approach has positively informed the strategic work to ensure universal design in Nav’s product development and encourage other organisations to adopt SOD perspectives for compliance assurance purposes.
3) A discussion of the effects of applying a SOD analysis utilising intervention points and systemic evaluation to inform strategic compliance assurance work. We highlight how systemic interventions can enhance the effectiveness of compliance assurance while also emphasising the importance of maintaining a balanced and resilient system.
Keywords: universal design, system thinking, systems-oriented design, developmental evaluation, leverage points, systemic evaluation, GIGA-mapping, systemic design