Main conference presentation

Rich mapping and soft systems: new tools for creating conceptual models

Gene Smith, Matthew Milan

Sunday March 25 2007, 10:15 - 11:00AM

This session will introduce Rich Mapping and Soft Systems Methodology (SSM) to information architects. SSM is a holistic problem solving framework that can be used to design and model interactions between organizations, people, environments, products and services.

This session will focus on commonly used tools of SSM--including rich mapping, the CATWOE framework and action research — and how they can help information architects develop complex, context-dependent architectures.

The session leaders will talk about the opportunities that SSM can open up for information architects, including the using rich diagramming to model how client organizational systems impact the design process. Examples will be given from successful experiences in other fields, as well as exploratory work done by the session leaders in recent projects and engagements.

The expected outcome for session attendees will be an understanding of the key tenets of Soft Systems Methodology, how these concepts can be applied “off the shelf” to information architecture problems, and how soft systems thinking could be used to drive the development of new IA tools and practices. The Core IA related issues that will be addressed by this session will be strategic information architecture, enterprise IA, service design and the understanding of emergent information environments.