A Universal Language and Tool for Visualizing Systems Thinking

Session: Systems Practice: A Solution to Address “Wicked” Problems?

Jessica Sokolow, Plectica, [email protected]

Abstract

Systems thinking offers us numerous methods to analyze, understand, and manage complex systems, but it can be hard to know where to start. Four cognitive patterns underlie all systems thinking methods and provide a common structural language that can be easily understood and applied to any systems analysis. The patterns are simple: make distinctions among ideas, organize ideas into part-whole systems, explicate relationships between ideas, and take multiple perspectives on any idea. These patterns—known as DSRP—lie at the root of how we think and facilitate the formation of collective mental models. Plectica, a visual, object-oriented, mapping software based on the DSRP cognitive architecture, makes applying systems thinking easy and accessible. This systems mapping tool allows any person, at any level of training, to understand and apply the core tenets of systems thinking to any domain. This session will utilize Plectica to better understand systems of all kinds and complexities to facilitate multi-stakeholder problem solving on issues related to water policy, research, and outreach. Examples of use cases to be covered include: Policy analysis to identify leverage points; Ecology mapping to support science, planning, and management; Stakeholder analysis to explore relevant perspectives, and; Flow mapping to model the movement of objects.