Why Do We Need Visual Models ? (Part 2)

Posted at April 5, 2009

In my previous post “Why Do We Need Visual Models ?” I talked about how visual models help simplify complexity in technical problems and various applications of visual models in software development. In this post, I would like to explore alternate uses of visual models and the application of visual modeling to solve complex non-technical problems in business and life.

Visual Thinking

Visual thinking is our brain’s natural way of solving problems by picturing the problem and it’s various outcomes visually in our mind. It enables us to abstract out the complexity in a complex problem or information and present the same in a much simpler and more meaningful way that is easy to comprehend. Going back to the map example, it’s far easier and natural for us to visualize the route from point A to point B instead of remembering the textual directions in a list form. We use visual thinking consciously or unconsciously quite often in our daily life – whether it is a sketch of an idea we drew up in a coffee shop or a brainstorming session using a white board or a more fancy presentation for the board. In business world, power point presentations with fancy graphics, excel spreadsheets with charts and executive dashboards with all kinds of visual gadgets remain the most popular way to present complex business concepts and information. Here is an excellent example of using visual thinking to describe the concept of Twitter.

Another excellent source of information on visual thinking is this video of David Armano, VP of Experience Design with Critical Mass, speaking at a conference on thinking visually. According to David Armano, thinking visually may one of the most sought after abilities of the 12st century.

Effective communication is everyone’s job—whether you are trying to sell in a concept or convince a client. Visual Thinking can help us take in complex information and synthesize it into something meaningful. In an increasingly fragmented and cluttered world, simple imagery, metaphors and mindmaps can get people to understand the abstract and make your ideas tangible.

Click here to see some excellent visual thinking artifacts from David Armano.

Mind Maps

A mind map uses visual thinking to create a visual representation of the problem and the possible solutions in a diagram that mirrors the way our mind naturally processes information. It is a diagram used to represent words, ideas, tasks, or other items linked to and arranged around a central key word or idea. Mind maps are used to generate, visualize, structure, and classify ideas, and as an aid in study, organization, problem solving, decision making, and writing. By presenting ideas in a radial, graphical, non-linear manner, mind maps encourage a brainstorming approach to planning and organizational tasks (Source: Wikipedia).

For example, if we wanted to draw a mind map for capturing all the activities surrounding starting a business – we can start with a central idea called “Start a Business”. Radiating from this central idea, we can add branches for “Business Objectives”, “Business Plan”, “Market Research”, “Project Plan”, etc. Each of these branches will now become the central idea for the creation it it’s own mind map thus enabling us to create a high level view and a detail view of what’s involved in starting our business.

Start a New Business Mind Map - Drawn using MindMeister

Mind maps can be used to capture and solve complex problems in personal life or in business – for example, you can use a mind map to capture ideas during a brainstorming session or take notes during a lecture or create a non-liner to-do list, etc. Mind maps enable us to start with a bird’s eye view of the problem and drill down into specific areas that require further exploration. In addition, each area or branch within a mind map can be enhanced by attaching an artifact that is relevant to that branch — for example, a spread sheet with budget numbers or an email received from a customer, etc. Mind maps can be drawn by hand or by using any of the several commercial and open source software available in the market. Here are a some resources to explore the concept of mind maps a bit more:

Mind Mapping Software Blog, By Chuck Frey
The Mind map Blog, by Chance Brown
Idea Mapping Blog, by Jamie Nast
The MindJet Blog: 20+ Mind Mapping Resources, By MindJet
30+ Mind Mapping Tools, By Mashable

Visual Modeling for Complex Business Problems

Visual modeling is also used to model and solve complex business problems that are non-technical such as, business strategy, vision, business models, communication models, knowledge integration, etc. During one of my recent online explorations about visual modeling, I ran into a company called Idiagram owned by Mr. Marshall Clemens, that uses visual modeling based approach to solve complex business problems such as strategic planning & decision making, product innovation & design, dialog facilitation, knowledge management, creative thinking and marketing strategy. I was very impressed with Idiagram’s approach and the way Mr.Clemens described the art of complex problem solving. I also loved the fact that Mr.Clemens used visual models and his own technique to describe all concepts on the company’s web site — which not only makes it very easy to understand but also provides a great example of using visual models to abstract and simplify complexity in any domain.

Mr.Clemens does not define what a “visual model” should look like — instead uses any diagram or style (diagrams, maps, charts, pictures, etc.) that represents the concept under consideration effectively. Here are a few samples of Mr.Clemens’s work and more samples of his work can be found here.

Idiagrams Process (copyright 2005 Marshall Clemens)

In essence, irrespective of the target domain and the potential application of visual modeling within that domain, the underlying premise of using visual models remains the same — minimize complexity, visualize concepts, facilitate communication and increase collaboration to realize a common goal.

Modeling, Technical, Visual Modeling

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Prashant

I wonder.... Nice article BTW

But I wonder, do we really "think" visually?
Or should we totally do away with the fact that no one thinks visually and that Visual people imagine better...

To me thinking seems like a logical series of steps where as imagining allows you to make jumps and incorporate lateral thinking. With that distinction, Visual "thinkers" have the natual advantage of lateral thinking and being able to more creative...

Any reactions to that?

Ashok Nare

Isn't imagining a version of "thinking" though ! My take is -- everyone does "think" visually and creative (right-brain dominant) people can imagine and express better than the rest of us. All of us do have the capabilities to think visually and express visual thoughts -- the creative can express the thoughts better than the rest of us. I can doodle a sketch of my thoughts -- and most of the time I am the only one that can make any sense out of it :-).....but that does not mean that I am not thinking visually though !

To me, lateral thinking also is part of "thinking" and when we think there is a combination of logical and visual thinking. As I mentioned in my earlier comment, people with dominant left brain do think in terms of logical steps (with visual mixed in) and right brain dominant people think more visually (with logical mixed in) -- and what we do and how we are trained to do the job we are doing also affects the way we think. Taking the software world for example, most of the software developers are trained to think in terms of steps of code instead of visual models. An architect, on the other hand, need to see the big picture and has to visualize the architecture to make sense of all the moving parts. On the other spectrum, there are graphic designers, who are creative, think and imagine visually more so compared to the rest of the roles in the spectrum. With the introduction of MDD or Executable UML into the development process, a developer also is trained to use the visual side of the brain more compared to traditional development processes.

Ashok

Praveen

This article (both parts)are at very high level which many people will find in many books or many sites. It would be useful to people if some granular details are provided on how to do visual modelling ..

I think it is very important to create a correct map than just a map.

Thanks,
Praveen.

Ashok Nare

Praveen,

Thanks for the feedback.

The intent of the two articles was to remain high level -- glad you could find the same concepts in other blogs and text books. My thoughts came from my 8 years of experience implementing business solutions using visual (executable) UML models.

I am afraid blog posts are not the right medium to get into the details of how to do visual modeling -- that's what tutorials and demos are for. However, I do intend to do a post with specific focus on creating executable visual models sometime soon. In the mean time, if you would like more information, please check out the demos at the following URL:

http://www.intelliun.com/Developers/OnlineDemon...

Ashok

Ashok Nare

Micheal, Christopher and Aaron,

Thanks for the comments and feedback -- I appreciate the contribution.

Christopher,

I agree -- visual solution may not always be the best solution. It really depends on the context and domain of use -- and must be used with other channels to convey the information effectively. However, in most cases visual solutions, even if they not used exclusively, will certainly add clarity to non-visual solutions. In the maps example, the same sites that offer turn-by-turn directions also provide a visual overlay of these directions either directly on the map or next to each turn, there by enhancing the clarity of the textual directions. Some might use that feature and some might not -- either ways, visual details can add clarity and context to the textual directions there by making it easier to navigate even for someone who does not "think" visually.

I am not sure if one must really be taught to be able to think visually though. As I said in my post, I think that capability comes naturally to us human beings - and we do visual thinking and visual expression almost unconsciously every day. However, the extent of visual thinking & expression might vary depending on whether a person has a dominant right brain (visual, creative, big picture) or left brain (logical, analytical). Right brain dominant people (typically tends be artists, designers, etc.) can think visually and express those visual thoughts much more clarity than a left brain dominant person. For example, my wife prefers turn by turn directions over a map when it comes to directions but when it came to planning my daughter's birthday party, she started describing her vision much more visually in the form of rough sketches of where things go, what colors to use, how the place settings would look like, etc. -- the sketches, while not great looking, certainly conveyed her ideas better to me. So, I really think all of us do think visually to varying degrees naturally depending on the context -- some do more so than others.

While I think most of us "think visually" quite naturally, I agree that training can help us not only fine-tune or sharpen that ability but also help us express those visual thoughts clearly to the outside world within a given context. For example, I am trained to use visual models in a technical context and I can model any business domain using UML models -- but I should certainly keep away from painting portraits on a canvas.

Ashok

MichaelDeutch

Ashok , thanks for including the Mindjet blog! We have quite a few posts about applying visual thinking to solve complex problems!

Christopher Fahey

Going back to the map example, it’s far easier and natural for us to visualize the route from point A to point B instead of remembering the textual directions in a list form.

I wouldn't bet on that. While you and I might both be visual thinkers, you probably have met hundreds of people in your life for whom maps make no sense at all. The whole reason why so many map sites offer step-by-step driving directions is because so very many people are completely incapable of reading a map. The "big picture" is incomprehensible to them. Memorizing a series of turns is far easier for these people.

I think visual thinking is a wonderful thing, but for many people -- possibly a majority of people -- it is something that needs to be taught. As long as people exist who are not taught to think visually, you simply cannot assume that a visual solution is the best solution.

It's sad but I'm afraid it's true.