Reflection – Mind Mapping
Challenge & Selection
The first tool I used was the tool of Mind Mapping, or brainstorming representation, to achieve a
shared understanding of a problem space among a diverse group of stakeholders before attempting
to identify and define possible solutions to the problem. I use this approach often with our
customers, who are government agencies working to apply technology innovations to modernize
their mission or the delivery of their services to their customer, which may be U.S. citizens,
businesses, and non-citizens. I have used the technique of using a straw man Mind Mapping of a
problem domain with a set of questions or prompts for discussion to allow a diverse group of
stakeholders to learn from each other in the process of defining the scope, boundaries, key
elements, and relationships between elements to consider when identifying pain points and
opportunities for improvements or solutions.
Application
I start the process by creating a straw man graphic of the problem domain. To develop the straw
man graphic, I will draw from any existing material available to understand the environment.
Theexisting material may be operational or procedural documents, training materials, marketing
materials, GAO or other auditing reports. If materials are not available, then I conduct informal
interviews with one-three of the stakeholders who serve as my main points of contact on the
initiative.
If appropriate to the situation, I will borrow the concept to “front-stage/back-stage” from previous
research,anddiscussedinDavidGray’sbook,“TheConnectedCompany”. Thefront-stage/back-stage
approach helps to reinforce the notion that every service – even an internal service – has customers
with whom the service provider interacts and internal processes that enable the organization to
provide the service. The template I often start with also has a column on the left to identify Partners
and Value Chain Providers and a column on the right to identify Oversight Organizations, such as
Congress, GAO, labor unions, advocacy groups, and other entities that may add constraints to how
the organization operates. The straw man graphic is simple, using simple shapes and icons
available in Visio or on the Internet. If the front-stage/back-stage view doesn’t work, then I will
create a different type of visual, either based on a high-level process flow with swim lanes for
different stakeholders, or another format.
For the activity, I will divide the stakeholders into groups of 5-6 participants each representing a
different organization or area of interest. Each group receives a poster-size copy of the straw man
change about the graphic to make it more accurately reflect your problem space? 3) What key
insights do you have about the relationships between the entities in your problem space? I give
them approximately 20 minutes to discuss the questions and mark up the graphic. Then I have
each group report out on their answers to those three questions while pointing to the mark-ups on
their poster. As each group reports out, I record commonalities in the insights of each group, and
then additional insights that come from the group discussion on an additional copy of the graphic.
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Afterthesession,I digitize each group’s poster as an artifact, create a view that combines the shared
and new insights from the group discussion, and then create a revised graphic that incorporates
their feedback and proposed graphic that they can write on directly, or use sticky notes to make
comments. I give them two-three questions to answer, such as: 1) What key elements are missing
from the graphic? 2) What would you changes that they agreed to as a group.
Insight & Approach
What I have learned from conducting this exercise with several groups is that while the graphic –
especially the revised graphic that incorporates their feedback – is important for reinforcing their
space. The graphic gives the diverse group of stakeholders a focal point for discussion that allows
them to share their perspectives and develop insights into potential root causes of their problems.
While they could create the graphic from a blank slate in a collaborative manner, starting with a
straw man jump starts the conversation for them. They can quickly identify where they are in the
graphic – or if they are missing – and can more quickly gain new insights about relationships
between key entities instead of taking time to identify them. They can also identify variables in
the problem space – that is, it helps them to identify what they don’t know, in what areas they
need to obtain information or data to provide the values for the variables.
Since I discovered that the most valuable aspect is the shared insights and learning, next time I
would use the Mind Mapping activity as a starting point for a series of design thinking activities.
Then the revised graphic that incorporates their combined feedback can serve as a reference tool
throughout the remainder of their work.