Rich Pictures - WLA1 - This is the rich picture instructions PDF

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Rich Pictures – Understanding the Context of a Problem Situation

UnderstandingtheContextofaProblemSituation It has been said that managers, of all types and at all levels in today’s business world, spend their lives dealing with “messes”. A mess is any crisis or conflict situation where there is uncertainty or unease between a number of people. Sometimes it is possible to address, or at least improve, such messy problem situations by introducing a new or rejuvenated business information system. It is important, however, that before jumping to conclusions about the need for and functions of an information system, the context or situation within which it will have to operate must be clearly appreciated. Any evaluation of the functionality and usability of technologies that might be adopted occurs within a specific context or, more commonly, a range of contexts. It is essential therefore that an organisation must appreciate the organisational culture, problems, opportunities, constraints, requirements and strategic objectives of an organisation, before specifying a business information system, possibly implemented using computer technology.

UsingRichPicturestoUnderstandtheMess To appreciate a business context or situation, business systems researchers at Lancaster University (UK) have developed an approach to business analysis called the soft systems methodology (SSM). Soft systems thinking and tools can be used to describe situations perceived to exhibit conflict, uncertainty or unease in relationships between people. In the first stage of SSM, the client or owner describes the problem situation as they see it. This is one viewpoint. Ideally, however, at this stage viewpoints should be collected from all (or at least representative) stakeholders (i.e. anyone interested or with a vested interest in the situation being resolved and who is involved in the situation under investigation). In this way a business analyst can build up a comprehensive picture of the situation, upon which options for action can be proposed. Visualisation is a key aspect of SSM. Once the necessary data and information (both hard and soft data and information) have been collected from stakeholders, a cartoon or rich picture is drawn representing the problem situation, the structures, processes, situation, relationships and issues. Drawing the rich picture is one of the most enjoyable aspects of soft systems work. All stakeholders can participate in the drawing of a rich picture (or possibly multiple rich pictures). The drawing doesn’t need to be a work of art; hand-drawn cartoons using stick figures are sufficient. The rich picture diagram should, however, be self-explanatory and easy to understand, as during the rich picture drawing process, hidden assumptions, conflicts, issues,

Rich Picture Workshop Activity 1

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Rich Pictures – Understanding the Context of a Problem Situation

concerns and worries may come to the surface. Having an awareness of other people’s perspectives is a step closer to having a shared understanding. While there are no absolute rules for drawing rich pictures, some useful guidelines have emerged over the years. Some of these are listed in the appendix at the end of this workshop, for your reference.

Activity1 To develop an initial understanding of what a rich picture is, and how it can help us, we first have a look at a completed rich picture that has been developed to help understand a particular problem situation that Hammer Wines is facing.

Problem/Opportunity Hammer Wines P/L is run by Marilyn and Colin Hammer and is situated in suburban Melbourne. It is an importer and distributor of wines, spirits, beer and ready-todrink beverages from a number of different countries throughout the world. Marilyn and Colin have a sense of deep unease about their ability to direct the work of their sales representatives. They have called in a business analysis organisation to consider their situation and advise on the way forward. Following the collection of various hard data (facts and figures) and soft data (primarily interviews with stakeholders) the business analysts have worked with the stakeholders to draw the rich picture shown in Figure 1. Note that this rich picture is computer drawn. However, rich pictures are drawn to help analyse a situation, and so do not need to be neatly computer-drawn. Hand-drawn is fine!

“Reading” a Rich Picture If the rich picture shown in Figure 1 has been well drawn you should be able to understand the key insights gained by the business analysts concerning the problem situation at Hammer Wines by simply looking at it - it should be self-explanatory and easy to understand! Task: Examine the rich picture shown in Figure 1 and answer the following questions: (Hint: You may find it helpful to consult the guidelines for drawing rich pictures at the end of this workshop whilst answering these questions.) • • • • •

Can you identify the boundary between Hammer Wines and the immediate environment in which Hammer Wines operates? What are the structural areas/departments within Hammer Wines? Who are the key stakeholders/stakeholder groups within Hammer Wines? Who are the people who operate or control the situation? Who are the people, organisations, departments etc that affect the situation from outside?

Rich Picture Workshop Activity 1

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Rich Pictures – Understanding the Context of a Problem Situation

What relationships are shown between people with lines and arrows? Have these been labelled with icons or words that help you understand the nature of the relationships, or do the thought or talking bubble help you understand the relationships? Are there any conflict relationships (often shown with crossed swords or a cross) or loving or close relationships (often shown with a heart)? What are the key views, worries and concerns of the stakeholders? (Hint: consider the thought or talking bubbles.) Are there any examples of using symbols to convey insights? Are they clear and understandable? What do you believe the analysts consider the most important insights they have gained? (Hint: In rich pictures the most important things should be BIG).

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• • • •

Consolidating Insights from the Rich Picture To consolidate the insights gained, analysts sometimes reflect on the rich picture that has been created to identify the primary task(s) in the situation i.e. What key activity was the organisational situation seeking to perform? Further, the analyst will identify what the key issues and concerns shown in the rich picture are? Finally the analyst will advise on what the organisation might now need to do to survive in the face of the present problem situation? These reflections can be recorded in a table, such as that shown below (Table 1), which has been completed for the problem situation shown in Figure 1.

What are the key issues What task(s) was the organisational situation and concerns shown in created to perform i.e. the picture? primary tasks? •

Import, sell and distribute wines, spirits, beer and ready-to-drink beverages from a number of different countries throughout the world

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•

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unable to quickly analyse sales unable to determine the commission earned by the sale representatives cannot analyse the product data to determine appropriate changes to the product mix need to determine which products and areas require more focus by the sale representatives

What tasks might the organisation now carry out to survive? •

develop a process and a tool to analyse both the level and the type of sales, which can be used to produce reports as required that will aid in the performance management of the sales representatives (might possibly use a spreadsheet to prototype the tool)

Table 1 – Consolidation of Rich Picture Analysis – Situation at Hammer Wines

Task: Together with another person or group in your workshop, discuss and identify which particular parts of the rich picture in Figure 1 will have led the analyst to draw the insights summarised in Table 1. Rich Picture Workshop Activity 1

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Rich Pictures – Understanding the Context of a Problem Situation

Figure 1: Rich Picture – Situation at Hammer Wines

Rich Picture Workshop Activity 1

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Rich Pictures – Understanding the Context of a Problem Situation

Activity2 Now let’s see if you can take another problem situation at Hammer Wines, but this time you will develop your own rich picture and reflect on it in order to gain insights into how Hammer Wines might improve that situation.

Problem/Opportunity Marilyn and Colin Hammer of Hammer Wines, have recently met with Jamie Seller, the director of sales at Hammer Wines, and Margaret Brand, the director of marketing. Colin has been pressuring Jamie to increase beer sales. The Sales Department have been monitoring sales over the last two quarters, but say they are struggling to find new clients. When Colin questions Margaret, she says that the Marketing Department has been placing advertisements in the normal magazines etc, but is not finding that this is increasing awareness of the Hammer beer brands. In response to the above, Colin calls in an external business analyst to review the situation at Hammer Wines. The analyst interviews: Marilyn and Colin Hammer (Managing Directors, Hammer Wines); Jamie Seller (Director, Sales Department); Margaret Brand (Director, Marketing Department); and Luke Data (Director, IT Services Department). The analyst also conducts two focus group meetings – one with a set of hotel managers, and one with some typical beer drinkers, to ascertain their awareness of the Hammer Wines brands of beer. Some insightful quotes from the interviews and focus groups conducted by the analyst follow: “All this worry about our sales figures is not helping. Colin cannot cope – something must change” (Marilyn Hammer) “Sales have stagnated. I think the Sales Department is letting us down. They are really not putting sufficient energy into their sales pitch to the clients.” (Colin Hammer) “It is not our fault. When we talk to the owners of the hotels and wine bars that are the points of sale for our products they tell us that the demand for our beers is just not growing. People just don’t ask for our beer. It is almost as if they don’t know our beer brands exist.” (Jamie Seller) “We are advertising in the normal magazines etc but people simply do not recognise the brands of beer we sell.” (Margaret Brand) “Hammer Wines just don’t have it right. Our local beers are sold from the tap – not from bottles, which is what Hammer does. From the customer’s side of the bar, the customer can clearly see the colourful logo on each tap, designating the brand of beer available from each tap, and the barman has access to the dispenser from his side of the bar. This means that the brand recognition increases at the pointof-sale and so sales increase! Why doesn’t Hammer operate this way?” (Joey Cheers – Owner of Cheers Hotel – during one of the focus groups) “There are also lots of savings for us if we sell from the tap. A beer tap will enable us to achieve higher economies of scale as we will be buying beer in bulk (a keg) rather than in bottles. There will be fewer

Rich Picture Workshop Activity 2

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Rich Pictures – Understanding the Context of a Problem Situation

breakages from storing crates of beer bottles and so our profitability will increase.” (Joey Cheers – Owner of Cheers Hotel – during one of the focus groups) “You are asking me about all these foreign beer brands that Hammer Wines import in bottles. Frankly I’ve never heard of them. I drink the local beers that are available from the taps. I see the taps when I walk in to the hotel so I know what they have for sale.” (Freddy Carlton – Beer drinker - during one of the focus groups) “If we were to start offering beer on tap we would need to encourage the venues to participate in the roll out of taps across their establishments. To do this we would need to work with our beer suppliers and together subsidise the purchase cost of taps into the respective hotel venues” (Colin Hammer) “The suggestion that we sell beer from the tap rather than bottles is good, but our computer systems are just not set up to provide all the required information to manage this. For example, we would need a database to generate reports on our customer contact list including names of associated venues, tap costs, tap maintenance schedules and maintenance costs etc.“ (Luke Data)

Drawing a Rich Picture Task: Based upon the problem/opportunity outlined above, draw a rich picture that captures the important elements of the problem situation. To do this, work through the eight helpful guidelines listed in the appendix to this workshop. Then review your rich picture against the five review guidelines listed at the end of that appendix.

Consolidating Insights from the Rich Picture To consolidate the insights gained from your rich picture, reflect on the picture you have created to identify the primary task(s) in the situation i.e. What key activity was the organisational situation seeking to perform? Further, identify what the key issues and concerns shown in the rich picture are? Finally, advise on what the organisation might now need to do to survive in the face of the present problem situation? Task: Record these reflections in a table, such as that shown below. What task(s) was the organisational situation created to perform i.e. primary tasks?

What are the key issues and concerns shown in the picture?

What tasks might the organisation now carry out to survive?

How successful have you been? Task: Swap your rich picture, and the table you have created, with those developed by another group/person in your workshop, and offer each other feedback on the clarity of the rich picture/table developed as a means of capturing and reflecting on the elements of the problem situation. Did you both generate similar insights, or have you seen different issues/concerns in the problem situation?

Rich Picture Workshop Activity 2

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Rich Pictures – Understanding the Context of a Problem Situation

How successful has the rich picture drawing technique been in allowing you to understand the context and gain insights into the problem situation at Hammer Wines?

Appendix: Some “Rich Picture” Drawing Guidelines A set of helpful guidelines for drawing rich pictures follows: 1. 2. 3. 4.

5. 6.

7. 8.

Start by drawing a large cloud or bubble to represent the boundary of the problem situation. Add in the people (stick-figures are OK) who are concerned about the situation. Add in the people who operate or control the situation. Add people, organisations, governments, departments, unions—anything that affects the situation from outside. Label the pictures. Show external observers, for example an analyst who has been called in, or the government that sets constraints on the organisation’s operations. Make important things BIG. Show relationships between people with lines and arrows. Label relationships with a diagram or words. Conflict relationships are often shown with crossed swords or a cross; loving or close relationships with a heart. Use thought or talking bubbles to show people’s views, worries, concerns. Use any symbols you like as long as they are clear and understandable. Some useful symbols include ears (listening), documents, lorries (pickup/delivery), houses, factories, cloud 9 (unrealistic expectations), 1-tonne weight (under pressure), brick wall, black cloud, question mark (uncertainty), exclamation sign (source of wonderment), two hands shaking (friendship), light bulb (bright idea), forbidden sign, axe (sackings), lifesaver ring (help), rope knot (knotty problem).

Then, review your diagram for the following: 1.

2.

3.

4. 5.

Does it show all the relevant organisational structures that support the situation? Include structures that tend to change slowly over time and are relatively stable—for example, departments, management reporting lines and physical locations. Does it show the primary tasks that the organisation was originally created to perform, and must do to survive? For example, the primary task of a car manufacturer is to make cars. In order to survive, the car manufacturer needs to stay competitive, improve relationships with distributors and customers, improve business operations, and maintain a quality image. Sometimes it is difficult to identify the primary task. For example, is the primary task of the police force to protect the community or to catch criminals? This review process provides the opportunity to look at the situation from a different perspective. Does it show all the processes or activities involved in the situation? In order to carry out the car manufacturer’s primary task of making cars, certain activities or subsystems may be required, such as production, sales, stock control and finance. Have you illustrated their issues, worries, concerns and complaints? Does the rich picture represent the climate of the situation?

Rich Picture Workshop Appendix

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