Dialogue Mapping Revealing the Deep Structure of Conversations

Dialogue Mapping: Revealing the Deep Structure of Conversations Dr. Jeff Conklin Cog. Nexus Institute cognexus. org 1

Overview n n Opportunity Driven Problem Solving Wicked problems Surface Structure – how we communicate about an issue Deep structure – the organization of the content n Linear Process & Media Non-linear Process & media Dialogue Mapping: mapping linear process into non-linear media © 2008 Cog. Nexus Institute 2

Work is planned as a linear process … Gather the data about the problem Analyze the data Formulate a solution Implement it Time © 2008 Cog. Nexus Institute 3

… but cognition is non-linear. Guindon, R. (1990) “Designing the Design Process: Exploiting Opportunistic Thoughts”, Human. Computer Interaction, Vol. 5, pp. 305 -344. “Opportunity Driven” Problem Solving Time © 2008 Cog. Nexus Institute 4

Key Characteristic of “Wicked” Problems Conklin, J. (2006) “Wicked Problems and Social Complexity”, white paper, Chapter 1 of Dialogue Mapping book Every proposed solution … reveals aspects of the problem … that cause revision of the solution Problem wickedness trumps linear process © 2008 Cog. Nexus Institute 5

Characteristics of problem “wickedness” n n n n cannot be easily defined so that all stakeholders agree on the problem to solve; require complex judgments about the level of abstraction at which to define the problem; have no clear stopping rules; have better or worse solutions, not right and wrong ones; have no objective measure of success; require iteration-every trial counts; have no given alternative solutions-these must be discovered; often have strong moral, political or professional dimensions. © 2008 Cog. Nexus Institute 6

Some consequences of not distinguishing wicked problems n n n n Less clarity and agreement about the problem space More non-linear problem solving process Less productive communication More fragmented and polarized stakeholders Less trust, more blame and second-guessing More power and politics dominate the process Deeper issues go unaddressed (avoidance, denial) © 2008 Cog. Nexus Institute 7

Issue Mapping IBIS - Issue Based Information System n Horst Rittel n Basic argumentation structure: n – Questions (issues) – Answers (options, alternatives) – Pros & Cons (arguments) © 2008 Cog. Nexus Institute 8

Conversational structure versus Issue structure The basic unit of conversation is a ‘comment’ a comment The structure of conversation is ‘turn taking’ – each person’s comment follows the one before © 2008 Cog. Nexus Institute 9

Conversational structure Structure based on individual judgments of relevance and importance Issue-based structure Structure based on mapper’s judgments about implicit relationships among comments © 2008 Cog. Nexus Institute 10

Conversational structure Issue-based structure © 2008 Cog. Nexus Institute 11

Conversational structure Issue-based structure Issue mapper infers the question that the comment addresses © 2008 Cog. Nexus Institute 12

Conversational structure Issue-based structure © 2008 Cog. Nexus Institute 13

Conversational structure Issue-based structure © 2008 Cog. Nexus Institute 14

Conversational structure Issue-based structure © 2008 Cog. Nexus Institute 15

Conversational structure Issue-based structure © 2008 Cog. Nexus Institute 16

Conversational structure Issue-based structure © 2008 Cog. Nexus Institute 17

Conversational structure Issue-based structure Again, inferring the ‘missing’ question clarifies the map © 2008 Cog. Nexus Institute 18

Conversational structure Issue-based structure © 2008 Cog. Nexus Institute 19

Conversational structure Issue-based structure © 2008 Cog. Nexus Institute 20

Conversational structure Structure based on individual choices about relevance and importance Issue-based structure Structure based on mapper’s judgments about implicit relationships among comments © 2008 Cog. Nexus Institute 21

Meeting notes Which structure is more coherent? Which structure is more meaningful? Issue Map Which structure better supports exploration of complex topics? http: //www. youtube. com/Dr. Jeff. Conklin © 2008 Cog. Nexus Institute 22

Linear vs Issue Based Structure Linear structure Issue-based structure Normal surface structure Content deep structure Traditional, familiar Specialized, dense Chronological: each successive element based on salience & relevance with previous Optimized to minimize load on working memory Elements organized by key questions - sequence factored out Optimized for large scale coherence © 2008 Cog. Nexus Institute 23

Dialogue map follows the non-linear conversation process © 2008 Cog. Nexus Institute 24

Dialogue map follows the non-linear conversation process “The problem is that process X doesn’t work well. ” © 2008 Cog. Nexus Institute 25

Dialogue map follows the non-linear conversation process “The problem is that process X doesn’t work well. ” “I’m not so sure. I think the real problem is that Y doesn’t work very well. ” © 2008 Cog. Nexus Institute 26

Dialogue map follows the non-linear conversation process “The problem is that process X doesn’t work well. ” “I’m not so sure. I think the real problem is that Y doesn’t work very well. ” “Yeah. There have been big improvements in X lately. …“ © 2008 Cog. Nexus Institute 27

Dialogue map follows the non-linear conversation process “The problem is that process X doesn’t work well. ” “I’m not so sure. I think the real problem is that Y doesn’t work very well. ” “Yeah. There have been big improvements in X lately. I think we should just implement Plan A, like we discussed months ago!” © 2008 Cog. Nexus Institute 28

Dialogue map follows the non-linear conversation process “The problem is that process X doesn’t work well. ” “I’m not so sure. I think the real problem is that Y doesn’t work very well. ” “Yeah. There have been big improvements in X lately. I think we should just implement Plan A, like we discussed months ago!” “Plan A won’t work, because it doesn’t address process Z. The truth is, Z doesn’t work at all!” © 2008 Cog. Nexus Institute 29

Dialogue map follows the non-linear conversation process “I agree. We need to start over with a new Plan B and start getting upper management input. ” © 2008 Cog. Nexus Institute 30

Dialogue map follows the non-linear conversation process “I agree. We need to start over with a new Plan B and start getting upper management input. ” “Wait a minute. What’s the problem with Z? I thought we had that fixed? ” © 2008 Cog. Nexus Institute 31

Dialogue map follows the non-linear conversation process “I agree. We need to start over with a new Plan B and start getting upper management input. ” “Wait a minute. What’s the problem with Z? I thought we had that fixed? ” “Z costs too much, and the costs are increasing, and in any case it doesn’t meet the new interoperability standards. ” © 2008 Cog. Nexus Institute 32

Non-linear cognition means jumping around between issues What is the problem? … What are the criteria? … What does ‘xxxxxx’ mean? … What are the facts? … What should we do? … How should we do X? … Time © 2008 Cog. Nexus Institute 33

Bridging the Structural Gap Surface Structure – how we communicate about an issue Linear Process & Media Deep structure – the organization Non-linear Process & of the content media We need tools that show both surface & deep structures and the connections between them Article about global warming Map of deep structure of article © 2008 Cog. Nexus Institute 34

Cog. Nexus Institute Knowledge Mapping for Nonlinear Processes http: //cognexus. org © 2008 Cog. Nexus Institute The book 35