Mapping Complexity
The Fishbone Diagram
Dear collaborative discussion friends,
This week we are highlighting an activity that introduces participants to a tool called the fishbone diagram to help them engage with and explore the complexity of a topic. This activity helps participants to not shy away from complex topics or jump to quick conclusions without fully understanding the issue and all of the factors involved.
This activity is contributed by Jack Byrd Jr., Professor of Industrial Engineering at West Virginia University and President Emeritus of the Interactivity Foundation, and is one of the many activities in the Critical Collaboration Module.
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This week's activity:
Activity 3.8 – Mapping Complexity
Using the fishbone diagram to map out a complex topic
This activity introduces participants to the fishbone diagram and guides them through the steps to map out the various factors and dimensions of a topic using this diagram. Participants are invited to discuss and think about various aspects of a particular scenario, such as different dimensions of the issue, the stakeholders involved, and the benefits and costs of proposed solutions. They are then asked to use the ideas generated during their discussion to fill in the fishbone diagram, laying out the primary issue described in the chosen scenario, the major dimensions, and other detailed aspects of the topic that fall under these dimensions. Participants are then encouraged to examine the diagram they created and explore the issue’s contrasting elements and tensions that are apparent in the diagram.
Prepare for the Activity
Select a scenario from the collection of What IF…Scenarios or create your own based on a topic that is relevant for your group.
Share the scenario as a handout or shared document.
Share the Fishbone Diagram as a handout or create copies of the file for each group and share electronically.
Organize participants into small groups (4-6 ppl). Begin by introducing the learning goal of this activity:
Successfully employ visualization tools to help discussion groups organize, structure, and discuss complex issues.
Review the Scenario
Ask a participant to read the scenario out loud from the handout or shared document while the full group follows along.
After reviewing the scenario, ask if there are any questions.
Facilitator Tip: Participants may ask for clarification or additional information; resist offering too much additional information. The next step is designed for the participants to imagine different dimensions and aspects of this issue.
Break into Small Groups and Discuss the Scenario
Invite participants to break into small groups (4-6 ppl) and explore the following prompts. Choose one participant in each group to facilitate the discussion and record notes on a whiteboard, flipchart, or shared document that can be viewed by everyone in the group.
Discussion Prompts:
What is the key issue, concern, or dimension of this scenario? What’s at stake?
What are the primary dimensions of this topic that we should consider?
Who are the stakeholders in this scenario? Who is affected? Who are the decision makers? Helpers? Influencers?
What are the benefits of the proposed policy or course of action? Costs? Trade-offs?
What is making us feel uneasy or uncomfortable? What is giving us pause? What unintended consequences should we anticipate?
Fill in the Fishbone Diagram
Provide each group with an empty Fishbone Diagram. Invite each group to fill in the diagram based on their discussion of key dimensions and concerns. For example:
In the head of the fish (light pink shape on the right), place a 1-3 word description of the primary issue or topic being discussed.
Then identify the major dimensions of the issue (approx. 4-6 items). Place these in the boxes that form the body of the fish (green, orange, and pink boxes on the top and bottom).
Then identify specific or more detailed aspects of each dimension. These form the bones of the fish (white boxes below each colored box).
Facilitator Tip: If the group is new to this activity, you can share parts of a completed diagram to help illustrate how to organize the different dimensions and aspects of an example scenario or topic.
Review and Discuss the Diagram
Ask each group to use their completed fishbone diagram to identify contrasting and competing dimensions of the topic. Provide the following prompts:
When we look at this diagram, how does it help us to see the tension of the scenario?
Which part of this diagram seems most prominent or concerning?
Now that we are examining the scenario with this visual tool, what are we seeing differently? What could we add to this diagram?
Share Diagrams with the Full Group
If time permits, invite each small group to share their completed diagrams on the board or a wall and ask participants to walk around the room to review the diagrams. If meeting online, review them one at a time on a shared screen with the full group.
Debrief as a Full Group
Discuss the following questions:
What are the major dimensions and contrasts within your small group diagrams?
What are some common themes across the small groups? Which dimensions stood out most to you?
Where do you see the most contrast? Are there any outlier topics?
Now that you have a sense of all the diagrams, what’s missing?
How does visualizing and organizing dimensions of this topic help us to better explore it together as a group?
In addition to these debriefing questions, the full description of Activity 3.8 Mapping Complexity includes reflection questions and a practice journal prompt to help participants dive deeper.
Dive Deeper by Pairing Activities Together
Activity 3.8 can be clustered together with Activity 3.5 Seeking Divergent Thinking and Activity 5.2 Developing an Awareness of Stakeholders to help both discussion groups or facilitators explore a complex topic. Start with Activity 3.5 Seeking Divergent Thinking and use the Surround the Topic diagram as a brainstorming tool to generate multiple dimensions and facets of a particular topic or issue and craft questions (using this Crafting Questions worksheet) related to these dimensions. Then use Activity 3.8 to further help organize thoughts and ideas about this complex topic by using the dimensions generated in Activity 3.5 as a starting point. The dimensions, questions and others detailed aspects of the topic generated in these first two activities can then be used in Activity 5.2 Developing an Awareness of Stakeholders to guide a facilitator or group’s thinking and expand the list of stakeholders affected by or involved with the issue.
If you try out this activity, please share with us what you think:
We hope this toolkit activity helps participants engage with the complexity of an issue and explore all of its different dimensions and inherent tensions.
Upcoming Events
Congratulations to our Collaborative Discussion Coaches who are concluding a certificate program at the end of this fall semester! Please remember to email Shannon Wheatley Hartman at esw@interactivityfoundation.org to receive the link for the Retrospective Participant Survey and to have your participants complete this survey at the conclusion of your program. The results of these surveys will provide valuable feedback to help us better understand the impact of Collaborative Discussion Certificate Programs.
Looking forward to collaborating,
Ritu Thomas & the Collaborative Discussion Team