Introduction
This paper presents a very good overview of the ways I am currently thinking about analysis and communication of complexity.
Abstract
New visualization methods can help deal with social messes (also known as “ill-structured” or “wicked” problems). Social messes are more than complicated problems. They are very complex and ambiguous. They require visualization techniques that, we might say, are composed of smudges.
Our project at Stanford University been developing new forms of “information murals” to help task forces address such smudgy social messes. Some of the problems addressed are: severe limitations of ordinary prose documents to communicate complex subject matter; the necessity to help groups create common mental models; and the need to show context and multiple views for strategy discussions and decisions. These info-murals provide the scaffolding for thinking bigger thoughts. They facilitate seeing the big picture as well as needed details. They reveal new and novel patterns. They sometimes even enable us to connect the smudges.
Our visualization research addresses such challenges as how to: show large processes or larger contexts that form the background of public policy issues; represent serious and complex debates; portray different cultures; represent multiple strategies; understand ideologies; get a more comprehensive picture of unknowns; represent mindsets and worldviews, including one’s own. Examples of progress on developing different visualization scaffoldings will be presented and discussed.
Contents
1. Social messes
2. Problems addressed by info-murals and knowledge maps:
2.1 Visual Scaffolding for bigger thoughts
2.2 Use information design principles
2.3 Limited domain of our research—context and strategy
3. Focus of our research — on challenges to visualization
3.1 Challenge One – Representing Context
3.2 Challenge Two – Represent multiple strategies
3.3 Challenge Three – In issue management, represent serious and complex debates
3.4 Challenge Four – Understand ideologies
3.5 Challenge Five – Get a more comprehensive picture of unknowns
3.6 Challenge Six – Display multiple points of view: other challenges
4. Small group process
5. Novel displays permits more multi-sided and insightful reasoning
5.1 Example of analytic approach-terrorism
6. Benefits of info-murals and knowledge maps
6.1 Individual level potential benefits
6.2 Small group level potential benefits
6.3 Decision making level potential benefits
7. Research supports integrated diagramming
8. Use of info-murals on large high resolution computer-driven displays
9. Conclusion – visual logic of patterns of thinking
Presentation venue. This talk was first presented at the International Conference on Intelligence Analysis, 2005 (PDF)
Status
Version. Final
Copyright 2005 R. E. Horn
1. To download the article (in PDF format) click here.