Day 12: Sketch the Situation

We have an alternative here, where you can either draw a rich picture again (but with a new focus), or draw an actor map. They capture overlapping details, but Rich Pictures include interactions, whereas Actor Maps gathers more notes on the perspectives, orientations, and so on, of the actors (and other stakeholders). So, either:

  • draw a Rich Picture that tells a visual story of the situation (that you described on Day 11). Identify who is involved (actors, groups, organizations, systems) and draw interactions among them, labelling the interactions and also jotting notes on the picture to capture the roles, cares and concerns, and orientations of the people, groups or entities. (See Rich Pictures on Day 4 to refresh.)

or

  • draw an Actor Map, where you briefly summarize the situation (described on Day 11) in the center of your map (in a cloud to make it distinct). (See diagram above.) Identify actors (individuals or groups) who are involved in and influence the situation, and add them around the (summary) situation cloud. (If there are many, use your judgment about who to focus on.) Alongside each actor (or group), cluster notes about the actor. These notes may include: brief description of the situation from their perspective; what the actor or group cares about (as it relates to the situation) and what they are concerned/worried about; how they orient to the situation; how they contribute to the situation; and what their expections are. Repeat, for each actor (or group) that you've identified to focus on. (You could do this with notes in a table, if you really want a break from pictures. However, seeing the different perspectives around the circle, allows us to notice shared interests and potential conflicts (of interest, orientation, etc.).)

"The richer this context, the more chance that fruitful avenues can be found to move forward."

— Kees Dorst, Frame Innovation: Create New Thinking by Design

'Sensemaking is the ability or attempt to make sense of an ambiguous situation. More exactly, sensemaking is the process of creating situational awareness and understanding in situations of high complexity or uncertainty in order to make decisions. It is "a motivated, continuous effort to understand connections (which can be among people, places, and events) in order to anticipate their trajectories and act effectively."'

— Gary Klein, Brian Moon and Robert Hoffman, Making Sense of Sensemaking