Title: Conversation Mapping
Author: Bruce McKenzie
Details:
A systems practitioners way of approaching the complexity generated by different perspectives about an issue is to generate a model or diagram that captures the perceived parts of the system and their relationship to each other to enhance an understanding of a particular perspective.
The modelling technique outlined here is more akin to what Checkland (Soft Systems Method) calls a Rich Picture. However, the technique goes further than Checkland’s perspective, as it is generated by bring many different perspective of the problematic issue into the same model (called a map). The goal is to enable a ‘reframing’ (after Schon and Rein) of the problematic issue through observing the emergent properties when the different perspectives interact, revealing the depth of knowledge and energy they contain.
