Reflection – Making Rich Pictures

Challenge    I was invited to facilitate a half-day workshop on disaster management. The workshop  aimed to highlight some of the critical challenges in disaster response and come up with  some ideas to deal with these challenges. The 12 workshop participants included people  from various emergency service agencies and elected officials from different local  government organizations.     Selection    I used a visual thinking tool called “making rich pictures” to surface different worldviews  around disaster management. This tool is part of an approach called soft-systems  methodology (SSM) used to tackle messy real-life situations.    SSM is an action-oriented approach to inquiry used by researchers and practitioners to  explore alternative solutions to wicked problematical situations. It is used to organize  thinking about perceived problematical (social) situations so that action to bring about  improvement can be taken (Checkland and Poulter 2006).    Application    The problematical situation was poor coordination between different disaster response  agencies. I used rich pictures to draw attention to how participants from various agencies  perceived the problematical situation.    Workshop participants were randomly split into three groups of four people. Each group  had 30 minutes in which to draw a rich picture describing their worldview of the  problematical situation in terms of social dynamics and resource flows. Group members  could work individually or together to produce their rich picture. Nobody was allowed to  write any words on their rich picture. After the 30 minutes were up, each group was given  10 minutes to reflect on their collective effort. One member was nominated to explain their  drawing to the other workshop participants. From the ensuing discussion, one could identify  different human activity systems and see how these related to the problematical situation.  This information was captured as notes onto a flip chart. After each group had described  their picture, we worked together to pick out common themes and prioritized these.  Untimely and poorly targeted communication was highlighted as a major issue in effective  coordination of disaster response.    Each group was then asked to draw a second picture that depicted an ideal future scenario.  Again, the groups were given 10 minutes to reflect on their image. From the ensuing  discussion, one could see how different human activity systems could work together  optimally. We compared and contrasted the information provided by the problematical and  idealized situations and identified possible changes/improvements.

Workshop participants took photographs of both the rich pictures and flip chart notes to  take back to their respective agencies for further discussion.

Insight    Participants were initially uncomfortable with the idea of drawing rich pictures. They  doubted their drawing ability. I asked the participants to trust the process and said the aim  was not to produce a work of art but to gain insights into a wicked problematical situation.  Once people started to draw, the focus of attention shifted from themselves to the piece of  paper, and soon everyone was having fun. I find egos tend to get in the way when discussing  complex situations. People often talk over one another or fail to listen to what others are  saying. Egos seem to disappear when people work together on their drawing. The need for  active listening becomes less critical when drawing rich pictures.    Making rich pictures lets the facilitator stand back and allow ideas to emerge in a more  spontaneous and meaningful way. People drawing rich pictures control the process, which is  very empowering. They own what they draw and are more invested in addressing the  problematical situation.    Some of the workshop participants indicated they would use rich pictures to tackle other  problematical situations in their agencies, which was deeply satisfying for me.  Although  SSM predates design thinking, design thinkers would be well advised to learn how SSM can  help their thinking processes.    Approach    I would have loved to take what we learnt from making rich pictures to the next level by  applying all the other elements of the SSM approach. Unfortunately, one can only achieve  so much in a half-day workshop.     What I would do differently next time is explain the SSM approach more fully so that  participants can see how making rich pictures contributes to the problem-solving process.  This would include providing a brief handout on the SSM approach and how it relates to  design thinking more generally.    References    Checkland, P., & Poulter, J. (2006). Learning for action: a short definitive account of soft  systems methodology and its use for practitioner, teachers, and students (Vol. 26).  Chichester: Wiley.


Reflection – Making Rich Pictures Challenge I was invited to facilitate a half - day workshop on disaster management . The workshop aimed to highlight some of the critical challenges in disaster response and come up with some ideas to deal with these challenges . The 12 workshop participants included people from various emergency service agencies and elected officials from different local government organizations . Selection I used a visual thinking tool called “ making rich pictures ” to surface different worldviews around disaster management . This tool is part of an approach called soft - systems methodology ( SSM ) used to tackle messy real - life situations . SSM is an action - oriented approach to inquiry used by researchers and practitioners to explore alternative solutions to wicked problematical situations . It is used to organize thinking about perceived problematical ( social ) situations so that action to bring about improvement can be taken ( Checkland and Poulter 2006 ) . Application The problematical situation was poor coordination between different disaster response agencies . I used rich pictures to draw attention to how participants from various agencies perceived the problematical situation . Workshop participants were randomly split into three groups of four people . Each group had 30 minutes in which to draw a rich picture describing their worldview of the problematical situation in terms of social dynamics and resource flows . Group members could work individually or together to produce their rich picture . Nobody was allowed to write any words on their rich picture . After the 30 minutes were up , each group was given 10 minutes to reflect on their collective effort . One member was nominated to explain their drawing to the other workshop participants . From the ensuing discussion , one could identify different human activity systems and see how these related to the problematical situation . This information was captured as notes onto a flip chart . After each group had described their picture , we worked together to pick out common themes and prioritized these . Untimely and poorly targeted communication was highlighted as a major issue in effective coordination of disaster response . Each group was then asked to draw a second picture that depicted an ideal future scenario . Again , the groups were given 10 minutes to reflect on their image . From the ensuing discussion , one could see how different human activity systems could work together optimally . We compared and contrasted the information provided by the problematical and idealized situations and identified possible changes / improvements . Workshop participants took photographs of both the rich pictures and flip chart notes to take back to their respective agencies for further discussion . Insight Participants were initially uncomfortable with the idea of drawing rich pictures . They doubted their drawing ability . I asked the participants to trust the process and said the aim was not to produce a work of art but to gain insights into a wicked problematical situation . Once people started to draw , the focus of attention shifted from themselves to the piece of paper , and soon everyone was having fun . I find egos tend to get in the way when discussing complex situations . People often talk over one another or fail to listen to what others are saying . Egos seem to disappear when people work together on their drawing . The need for active listening becomes less critical when drawing rich pictures . Making rich pictures lets the facilitator stand back and allow ideas to emerge in a more spontaneous and meaningful way . People drawing rich pictures control the process , which is very empowering . They own what they draw and are more invested in addressing the problematical situation . Some of the workshop participants indicated they would use rich pictures to tackle other problematical situations in their agencies , which was deeply satisfying for me . Although SSM predates design thinking , design thinkers would be well advised to learn how SSM can help their thinking processes . Approach I would have loved to take what we learnt from making rich pictures to the next level by applying all the other elements of the SSM approach . Unfortunately , one can only achieve so much in a half - day workshop . What I would do differently next time is explain the SSM approach more fully so that participants can see how making rich pictures contributes to the problem - solving process . This would include providing a brief handout on the SSM approach and how it relates to design thinking more generally . References Checkland , P. , & Poulter , J. ( 2006 ) . Learning for action : a short definitive account of soft systems methodology and its use for practitioner , teachers , and students ( Vol . 26 ) . Chichester : Wiley .