I have developed tools to help with my learning, action research and consultancy work that draw on inspiration from sources like rich pictures from SSM, thinking maps from Hyerle and program thinking from Pirsig.
Peter Checkland created rich pictures as a way to gain a rich appreciation of a situation. Early descriptions of SSM talked about this as a process of taking notes and drawing pictures, while later ones emphasized the creation of a literal rich picture, one that showed the situation of interest and elements such as participants, assets and connections to help understand the various interrelationships at play.
What makes a tool rich?
A rich tool adds dimensions to an underlying tool structure. These dimensions can be visual, spatial or cognitive. Visual dimensions use elements such as line, colour, shape and white space to arrange information. Spatial dimensions use location and layers to expand information or move up and down levels of detail. Cognitive dimensions help us understand the information better by using annotation and archetypes to structure understanding.
What are the tools?
The tools include:
- Rich Notes
- Rich models
- Rich maps
- Rich diagrams
- Rich presentations
- Rich canvases
- Rich spreadsheets
- Rich frameworks
- Rich analysis
- Rich lectures
Handcrafted insight 