1 Dialogue Mapping: Dialogue Mapping: Dr. Jeff Conklin CogNexus Institute cognexus.org Breaking the Chains of Linear Process

© 2008 CogNexus Institute 2 Overview nYou and I are engaged in ‘knowledge work’ nOur tools do not support knowledge work nKnowledge work is … –Design (creating something new) –Sense making (‘don’t know what we don’t know’) –Non-linear (creative, not mechanical) –Conversations (not documents) –‘The perfect is the enemy of the good’ nDialogue Mapping & Compendium support this kind of work

© 2008 CogNexus Institute 3 Overview nDialogue mapping supports: –Process control and creative dynamics –Stakeholders who disagree strongly –Conflicting, contradictory information –Large amounts of data –Non-linear process –Context of decisions, actions

© 2008 CogNexus Institute 4 Cognition of Design: The Old View Time Gather the data about the problem Analyze the data Formulate a solution Implement it PlanDo

© 2008 CogNexus Institute 5 Cognition of Design: The Data Time Guindon, R. (1990) “Designing the Design Process: Exploiting Opportunistic Thoughts”, Human- Computer Interaction, Vol. 5, pp

© 2008 CogNexus Institute 6 Cognition of Design: The New View Time Plan Do Plan Do Plan Plan Plan Do Do Do

© 2008 CogNexus Institute 7 Design process is non-linear, ‘Opportunity-Driven’ Early attempts at solutions Experiments Prototypes Hunches Late efforts to understand the real problem How We Humans Actually Approach Novel Problems

© 2008 CogNexus Institute 8 Key Characteristic of “Wicked” Problems Every proposed solution … You have to “do” to “plan”. … exposes new aspects of the problem. Conklin, J. (2006) “Wicked Problems and Social Complexity”, white paper, Chapter 1 of Dialogue Mapping book The red line fails on wicked problems!

© 2008 CogNexus Institute 9 Wicked Problem Deliberation A metaphor nA building has surface structure (walls, floors, doors, etc.) and deep structure (load bearing walls, wiring, plumbing, etc). nInhabitants interact with the surface structure, while architects and craftspeople interact with the deep structure.

© 2008 CogNexus Institute 10 A Metaphor about Representing Deliberation nWe’re all familiar with the surface structure of policy issues: articles, speeches, debates, editorials, blogs, etc. nBut most of us have never seen their deep structure their deep structuretheir deep structure nSurface structure is familiar and comfortable … but also simplified and superficial. –Policy deliberation thru speeches and debates tends to polarize participants and over-simplify issues and arguments. nDeep structure is dense & complex, but also robust and comprehensive. –Policy deep structure captures disagreements in a semi-formal way that promotes clarity and rigor even as the amount of information grows.

© 2008 CogNexus Institute 11 Dialogue & Issue Mapping Getting at Deep Structure

© 2008 CogNexus Institute 12 The “Secret Sauce” of Dialogue Mapping nFacilitation and mapping –A designated listener nIBIS (Issue Based Information System) –Question-based knowledge representation nShared Hypertext Display –Shared: Depersonalizes conflict –Hypertext: Non-linear

© 2008 CogNexus Institute 13 IBIS: The Deep Structure of Conversation n The basic elements of design conversations: –Questions –Ideas (possible answers) –Arguments n Pros for and Cons against Ideas n Robust representation of design process – Allows for inconsistent facts, incompatible options, contradictory points of view n Preserves context of action items and decisions

14 Demo What should we do about global warming?

© 2008 CogNexus Institute 15 Getting Traction in Deep Mud nAction items are followed up and results captured (“Do”) nDecisions and their rationale are captured in context (“Think”) nRepetition is dramatically reduced nHypertext: Maps embed, structure scales, links connect nNetworking: Maps publishable as outlines, web-sites, pictures, …

© 2008 CogNexus Institute 16 Buy the book Download Compendium White papers on our website: “Wicked Problems and Social Complexity” “The Age of Design” “Designing Organizational Memory” Further information go to …