1 Thinking Visually. 2 Mapping the business: The System Map A System map of a company or a department is related to the activity of people rather than.

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Thinking Visually

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Mapping the business: The System Map

• A System map of a company or a department is related to the activity of people rather than of land mass.

• The significant features to be noted when reading a System Map are:– Boundary

– Environment

– Elements

– Sub-systems

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• Elements and sub-systems are generally referred to as components. • The boundary separates the central components from components in

the environment. • The system environment is always there. The environment is said to

consist of people, things, and events which are said to influence certain people, things and events inside the boundary.

• The elements are people or things that we are not wishing to reduce further; they stand alone. Typically a person, or one specific activity, can be seen as an element.

• The sub-system in contrast will be seen as containing a number of elements and can be broken down into smaller parts.

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Ministry of Transport

Transport Policy

Road Lobby

Local Authority

Other Private Transport Providers

Transport integration

Vehicle maintenance

Scheduling

Marketing

Finance

Transport Minister

Potential passengers/customers

Managers

Employees

Passengers/Customers

Vehicles

System Map of public transport

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System Map of public transport

• A System Map of public transport helps us reduce much of the complexity into manageable chunks

• The shaded area represents the system, while everything outside the shaded area represents the external environment.

• The system and its environment are divided using a boundary. The boundary is critical in showing a clear difference between the central components of a public transport company and the many influences that exist within the system’s environment.

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Mapping sources of information/data

• A System Map of information sources shows in a clear way where to look for the acquisition of information or data.

• The task of identifying these sources is important as channels needed to tap them may not already be in place.

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Product information

Management information

Financial information

Sales information

Marketing information

Government statistical services

Professional journals

Financial data services

Internet search services

Newspaper

Government information periodicals Trade

magazines

Taxation information

services

Company/team working

Individual networking

Company information

Employment gazettes

Mapping sources of information/data

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The Mind Map

• Mind maps are based upon the efficient use of key words linked together in such a way that they represent the diagrammer’s way of thinking about the subject.

• The central bubble provides a focus: the main subject being mapped.

• From the central subject the key issues surrounding the main subject are mapped.

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Mind Map of Public Transport

Vehicle

Cost

Flexible

Relative

Pleasing

Dependable

Image

True Size

Timing

Acceptable

Relative Cost

Public

Not for Profit

Service

Reliability

Vehicles

Pleasing

Dependable

Route

Scheduling Effective

Investment

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Mind Map Explanation

• From the central subject the key issues surrounding decisions about vehicles are mapped.

• Immediately it is obvious that the three major issues attached to a vehicle are its cost, reliability, and acceptability.

• These are just broad issues, which are further broken identifying detailed factors.

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Business purposes of the mind map (1)

• Before writing a report, or even making comments about something, map out your perception and ideas about what is involved, showing how they are related to each other.

• This leads to a more organized and thought-through presentation.

• When discussing a problem, or an opportunity, with colleagues, a mapping of your ideas can be compared with their maps to produce a master picture of what can be done.

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Business purposes of the mind map (2)

• When needing to hold in memory information that includes complex relationships, a Mind Map on paper will provide an overall picture that can be more readily recalled than the same information on lists.

• When planning a marketing exercise or a sales promotion, the mapping of target areas and subjects can focus more exactly on what is to be done.

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 Fishbone diagram

• This diagram is given this name because it looks like a fishbone complete with head.

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Fishbone diagram • Using a fishbone diagram we can look at a specific problem,

recognize the main areas of fault that can lead to this problem.

• The key problem is placed inside the head of the fish, then an area of fault is put against each larger bone.

• The result may be a small, large or very large fish. • The smaller bones are used to show the possible causes that

can be associated with a fault area.• The aim is to recognize where common causes exist across

the whole diagram, and then explore what interaction could exist between these causes.

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Fishbone diagram of failure to meet project deadlines

C Information Technology

1 Inadequate networking skills

2 No role for overall IT responsibility 3 Inappropriate

software

Problem: Failure to meet project deadlines

1 Project- management techniques poorly understood

2 Inadequate briefing

3 Weak planning strategy

B Project management

1 Poor delegation to team members

3 Priorities not clearly defined

3 Wrong setting of budget

4 Brief not fully understood

A Planning

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Fishbone Diagram

• The larger bones can be labeled from A to however many bones are shown to indicate some key features about the broad problem area.

• The smaller bones, showing possible causes, are numbered from 1 in priority order.

• The order of larger bones and smaller bones is based on frequency of occurrence, estimated impact or any other criteria used for prioritizing.

• It allows us to capture in one picture, all aspects of a particular problem. 

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Relationships• By ‘relationship’ we mean some sort of

connection, but no more than that. People or things are connected and can be related together in some way.

• These connections are not always obvious unless we have some method of capturing on paper what is the pattern of relationships.

• The relationships are normally picked up from reading, listening or observation and reflect someone’s perspective of how things are in reality.

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Relationship diagram of project working

Production manager

Production process

Project manager

Project leader

Project team Project leader’s line manager

Team members Team members’line managers

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Relationship Diagram Explanation

• There are no arrows indicating the direction of flow or influence of the relationship. Instead the diagram illustrates the line of relationships between people or things.

• If the relationship is uncertain then a dotted line is used.

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Business purpose of the relationship diagram

 • Consider how many complex business problems

are characterized by many different relationships between people, and between people and things. Use the diagram to illustrate in a holistic way the many relationships that exist, or could exist. The diagram provides an essential first step to understanding an existing pattern of relationships.

• Relationships can take many forms, the relationship diagram highlights where they exist.

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Business purpose of the relationship diagram (continued)

• This diagram then provides a means of directing attention to specific relationships.

• The gaps that can exist within a pattern of relationships, can go some way to explaining a difficulty. The diagram is a very effective way of highlighting gaps, where possibly much needed relationships ought to exist.

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Influence Diagrams• People or the roles they hold, may be said to carry influence

– a major factor in business, where it can be demonstrated through persuasion, threat, charisma, causation or inducement.  

• The links drawn on an influence diagram shows the existence of any kind of influence between components shown on the diagram.

• There are different strengths which can be shown on the diagram by making lines of influence of different thickness.

• Sometimes influence is unconscious in so far people achieve objectives through others without any deliberate effort. At other times influence comes from conscious effort.

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Influence Diagram Example 1

• The arrows show direction of influence, from person A to person B, and an estimate of the relative strength of influence is shown by varying the thickness of arrows.

• Here a reciprocal influence is being shown, A to B and B to A.

• This way of showing influence can only be valid when the strength of influence is judged to be equal in both directions.

Person A Person B

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Influence Diagram Example 2

Person A Person B

•Where the influence is not equal in both directions then two separate lines are needed.

•In the above example A has greater influence on B than B has on A.

•The Influence diagram is often supported by a short text.

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Influence diagram of public transport provision

Civil servants’ decisions on

Cost of public transport

Amount of private-car use

Individual’s need to travel

Amount of road building

Investment in public transport

Amount of public transport provision

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• Drawing an influence diagram of a public transport provision is critically important to a business responsible for delivering this service. It highlights the complexity and range of influences affecting decisions on public transport provision.

• Not all influences are two way, a lot are only going in one direction and range in degree of influence.

Influence diagram of public transport

provision

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Business purposes of the influence diagram • A useful approach is to begin with a System Map to establish the

relative position of components, and then develop arrows of influence. This two-stage approach helps people in business see where the key influences exist either in the whole organization or in one area.

• Initially, it helps to draw the arrows in lightly; then after thinking about influence, or discussing with others, fill in the different thickness for each arrow to show relative strengths.

• Think about how to describe the actions of someone, or something that can be said to have an influence, so as to give more clarity to the diagram. Simply naming people or their role can be a way of showing influence, which in this case could come from a certain kind of power or charisma – effectively an unconscious influence.