(Inspired by Leyla Acaroglu’s Tools for Systems Thinkers: Systems Mapping)
The analog approach to systems mapping, using posters and sticky-notes is effective for working with large groups or to introduce a team to systems thinking. I’ve done analog mapping in contexts ranging from a 2nd grade classroom, the Rhode Island School of Design, a neighbor’s basement, to the Executive Office of the President. The format is flexible and all purpose.
The embodied, participatory nature of the analog format is often a respite from the tyranny of the screen and weltschmerz of telework/cubical hell. There a simple joy to analog design and mapping sessions that echoes the creative freedom of the arts and crafts rooms of childhood.
The meta-processing of an analog mapping must also address the limitations of analog: the inability to easily scale up and down, and the need to physically rearrange elements in order to make way for new elements and structures. Since one cannot anticipate where the findings and connections will go, decisions about how far/close to position elements will necessarily be made with imperfect foresight. Significantly adapting and evolving an analog map is cumbersome at best.
How often do the analog systems maps we create lead to a group “presentation?” And after the performance, how quickly does the map go stale with no further additions and attention? Where do the ideas go? What decisions do they inform? What actions do they inspire? How do we determine the long-term benefits of the systems mapping exercise?
In order for systems mapping to change how we work, systems thinking as a practice must transcend the “suspension of disbelief” ghetto where most professionals encounter the techniques: the offsite retreats and training enclaves. Too often these contexts are received as “working vacations” from routines. These practical, vexing issues and others — including accessibility, longevity, scalability, adaptability — are why we bump up against the digital question when doing systems mapping. Because for many people, knowledge work is necessarily and unequivocally online, on a screen.
When my colleagues and I looked around for a digital tool to do systems mapping collaboratively, we were disappointed. Existing tools were either too complicated / technically demanding for generalist users (Kumu, Neo4j), too focused on graphics and presentation functions (Vizio, Prezi), or too simplistic / methodologically underpowered(most Buzanian mindmapping tools.) What we wanted was the power of systems thinking, on personal scale, for our personal and collective knowledge management. Is the perceived lack of a “goldilocks tool” another reason why we continue to be drawn back to analog?
I raise these questions to suggest that the very real and poignant appeal of analog may need to be separated from the potential benefits of unlocking the networked, digital format for systems mapping. (On this, a must see is “Lo and Behold,” and Herzog’s interviews some of the early pioneers of the digital age.)
Nor should we assume a tacit goal to put everything of importance in a cloud application. The best technology is ultimately liberating — creating more time and value outside of itself. This begs a final question: how can systems mapping replace entire elements of old business process? Are systems mapping tools additive to the digital workers load, or will they be subtractive and time-creating?
Making a long story short, where my colleagues and I have ended up in attempting to answer some of these questions is the development of a new systems mapping tool: Kingfisher. An app is hopefully equal to at least 2,000 words, so I’ll offer only a brief introduction. We are striving for ascetic simplicity and aesthetic appeal. Our main competitors are the napkin, whiteboard, and sticky-note…
The Kingfisher team would very grateful for your feedback and continued dialogue… Thank you in advance! 🙏
(Feel free to contact me if you have questions about how to use Kingfisher in your work, or if you would like a quick online introductory session: @kgcentral on Twitter.)
