Designing for Resilience: How Project Management, Design Thinking, and Systems Thinking Shape Crisis Response
From Flames to Frameworks: How Strategic Thinking Transforms Crisis Response and Recovery
In moments of disaster, the world watches as communities rise or fall based on their preparation, response, and recovery efforts. The January 2025 California wildfires have been among the most devastating in recent history, fueled by an unprecedented Santa Ana windstorm. Entire neighborhoods in Los Angeles County have been reduced to ashes, power lines have fallen, and thousands of residents have fled as walls of fire swallowed homes and forests.
As of mid-January, fires like the Palisades and Eaton fires have claimed at least 16 lives, destroyed over 12,000 structures, and forced evacuations across cities like Pacific Palisades and Altadena. The harsh reality is that each year, these events grow more catastrophic. Yet, for every story of destruction, there are also stories of resilience—first responders moving swiftly, volunteers organizing aid, and communities coming together to endure.
Behind these efforts lies a common thread: the ability to manage complexity in the face of chaos. Disciplines like project management, design thinking, and systems thinking transform disorder into coordinated action, providing a framework that improves outcomes when lives and livelihoods are at stake.
1. The Crisis Life Cycle: Preparation, Action, and Aftermath
Crisis management unfolds in distinct phases:
Preparation: Mitigating risk through resource allocation, planning, and training.
Active Crisis Phase: A coordinated response that prioritizes speed, communication, and decision-making.
Recovery and Aftermath: Rebuilding in ways that restore normalcy and strengthen resilience.
A severe wind event ignited the January 2025 fire season that sent embers flying across Los Angeles neighborhoods. In places like Pacific Palisades and Pasadena, agencies that had emergency protocols experienced fewer delays in coordinating evacuations, while others struggled to establish communication amid chaos. This contrast highlights how preparation—or the lack thereof—can determine life-or-death outcomes.
2. Project Management: Precision in Execution
"A plan without a timeline is just a wish." — Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Project management offers a structured approach to handling complex, multi-stakeholder efforts. When crises strike, the difference between chaos and coordination often lies in project managers' ability to anticipate risks, define clear responsibilities, and manage timelines.
Preparation Phase:
In this phase, project managers develop contingency plans, assign responsibilities, and establish communication channels. Tools such as Gantt charts and RACI matrices (Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, Informed) help ensure every team member knows their role during an emergency.
During the Palisades Fire, some communities had pre-established incident command structures that designated evacuation routes, shelter locations, and resource stockpiles. This pre-planning allowed responders to avoid overlapping efforts and reduce confusion when fire alerts spread on January 7.
During the Crisis:
When disaster strikes, project managers serve as the tactical nerve center, tracking supplies, monitoring timelines, and resolving issues in real time. The difference in response times between different fires during the 2025 season shows the importance of structured coordination.
For example, while the Kenneth Fire in Ventura County was contained relatively quickly, delays in coordinating evacuation announcements during the Eaton Fire in Pasadena led to traffic congestion and panic, slowing rescue efforts. By contrast, teams that had detailed communication plans in place avoided delays, deploying aid and personnel where they were needed most.
Recovery Phase:
In the aftermath of wildfires, project management ensures transparency and helps restore community trust by setting clear rebuilding milestones. Restoring homes, schools, and infrastructure requires funding and meticulous coordination of tasks and timelines.
3. Design Thinking: Empathy and Adaptation Amid Chaos
While project management ensures operational precision, design thinking puts people at the heart of crisis response. This approach focuses on empathy—understanding the needs of affected individuals and adapting solutions accordingly.
Preparation Phase:
Design thinking encourages proactive outreach to vulnerable communities to understand their unique needs before a disaster strikes. This can mean co-designing evacuation plans or safety kits that consider real-world constraints, such as limited mobility or language barriers.
For example, the 2025 wildfires highlighted how some residents—particularly the elderly and disabled—had difficulty evacuating. Organizations that had previously interviewed these populations during preparation phases incorporated features like wheelchair-accessible transport and multilingual alerts in their evacuation plans.
During the Crisis:
Design thinking allows responders to adapt on the fly based on real-time feedback. Shelters can be reconfigured, communication materials adjusted, and relief kits redesigned as new needs emerge.
When evacuees from the Lidia Fire arrived at shelters in West LA, feedback highlighted the overcrowding of family areas and the lack of privacy for vulnerable groups. Responders quickly adjusted shelter layouts to create separate, quieter areas for children and elderly residents.
Recovery Phase:
Post-crisis recovery requires more than rebuilding structures—it requires addressing emotional and psychological trauma. Design thinking in this phase prioritizes dignity and community input.
For instance, during the recovery from the Palisades Fire, some organizations set up design workshops where affected residents helped shape plans for their neighborhoods' rebuilding. This inclusive approach ensures survivors feel heard and have a stake in their community's future.
4. Systems Thinking: Understanding the Whole Picture
Disasters don't just affect isolated systems—they ripple across transportation networks, power grids, healthcare services, and supply chains. Systems thinking allows leaders to see these interdependencies and anticipate cascading failures.
Preparation Phase:
Systems thinkers use mapping exercises to identify weak points in interconnected systems. For example, many fire-prone communities have started investing in microgrids—local power networks that can operate independently during outages. These microgrids ensure critical services like hospitals and fire stations remain operational even when the primary grid is compromised.
During the Crisis:
During active fires, systems thinking helps responders understand how interventions in one area affect others. In wildfires, poorly coordinated evacuation plans can create dangerous feedback loops of panic and congestion, blocking emergency vehicles.
During the January 2025 firestorm, predictive traffic models informed evacuation routes in places like Pacific Palisades, preventing the kind of gridlock seen in earlier disasters.
Recovery Phase:
Post-crisis, systems analysis identifies what worked and what failed. After the Eaton Fire, systems thinkers noted that the destruction of key transit routes hampered recovery efforts. This led to proposing multi-modal evacuation corridors incorporating bike paths, buses, and emergency routes in future designs.
5. The Power of Integration: A Collaborative Framework
Crisis management becomes exponentially more effective when project management, design thinking, and systems thinking work together:
Project Management: Provides a framework of timelines and responsibilities.
Design Thinking: Ensures solutions are human-centered and adaptable.
Systems Thinking: Creates a comprehensive view of interdependencies to avoid unintended consequences.
During the response to the 2025 fires:
Project managers organized supply chains and task assignments.
Design thinkers tailored resource kits to meet diverse evacuee groups' cultural and dietary needs.
Systems thinkers used fire progression models to prioritize evacuation zones and resource allocation.
6. Conclusion: Resilience Through Coordination
The fires of January 2025 have reinforced a harsh truth: no community is immune to disaster. However, when project management, design thinking, and systems thinking unite, response efforts become faster, more empathetic, and strategically sound. From the flames of destruction can rise a stronger, more resilient future.
7. Call to Action: Support California Wildfire Relief Efforts
As the fires continue to rage, thousands of Californians remain displaced. Here's how you can help:
Donate to Verified Organizations: Support the Red Cross, Direct Relief, and local fire relief funds.
Volunteer Your Skills: If you're a project manager, UX designer, or engineer, contribute your expertise to rebuilding efforts.
Crisis preparation saves lives. Your donations, time, and skills can help Californians recover and rebuild stronger today.