During my system innovation lab, I warn people of the danger of system maps because, as the Polish-American philosopher and engineer Alfred Korzybski said back in the 1930s, they never completely and accurately represent reality. Who would go into the mountains with a map and not look up from it to see a recent landslide blocking a route, recent snow causing an avalanche risk or, if you're unlucky enough to live in Australia, the snake on the track that could kill you!
The point is when someone says "system map", be careful to point out to them they are an abstract because we cannot map the true reality in a complex adaptive system. Hence, they are slightly treacherous!
But, they are also marvellous. They allow teams to convalesce around a visual tool that helps them make sense of what is happening inside and as a result of the system.
They are also great as a tool for telling stories to others about what you have seen, heard and inferred as you have engaged with the reality of the system and begun to feel how it flows. Donella Meadows coined a lovely idea of 'dancing with the system' describing what system inquiries should feel like. My goal is to understand and reflect the flow of the system. In fact, in my inquiry reports, I refer to "flows" as the term reinforces the point that systems are living, breathing things.
My system maps tend to be more giga-maps, as coined by Birger Sevaldson in the System Oriented Design studio. I blend multiple techniques - anything that can help me decipher what is going on in the system I'm interested in.
Below is a map of some of the stories I see surrounding health, safety and wellbeing in the construction sector.
So, here are some helpful things I've discovered about working with system maps.
Think storytelling and narratives. Your inquiry work will surface stories that build up the narrative of the system, so just look to map the elements and connections that are present and then show linkages between them all.
A tool like Kumu really helps. I'm at the start of my learning journey using the tool, but already, it's helping immensely in both sensemaking and storytelling.
Think levels of abstraction. Firstly, to make sense of the system as a team, then as a storytelling tool. Views and tags in Kumu are great ways to filter and take the level of abstraction up or down as required.
Blend techniques as required to visually demonstrate what is going on - stocks, flows, causal loops, agent mapping, elements - whatever works.
Keep models like the Water of System Change, Geels Multi-Level Perspective, the socio-technical model, Estuarine Mapping, etc., in mind as they help you checklist things to think about and search out.
Last tip - remember confidence, not certainty, is the name of the game, especially for your sponsors who are the ones who will unlock the budget to keep going.
Good luck! Oh, and watch out for those snakes!
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