{"id":1483,"date":"2012-04-28T12:19:15","date_gmt":"2012-04-28T12:19:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.saasoft.com\/blog\/?p=1483"},"modified":"2012-04-28T12:19:15","modified_gmt":"2012-04-28T12:19:15","slug":"the-big-picture","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hcse.blog\/?p=1483","title":{"rendered":"Building a Big Picture from the Small Bits"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>We are all a small piece of\u00a0a complex system that extends well beyond the boundaries of our individual experience.<\/p>\n

We all know this.<\/p>\n

We also know that seeing the big picture is very helpful because it gives us context,\u00a0meaning and leads to better decisions more effective actions.<\/p>\n

We feel better when we know where we fit into the Big Picture – and we feel\u00a0miserable when we do not.<\/p>\n

And when our system is not working as well as we would like then\u00a0we need to improve it; and to do that we need to understand how it works so that we only change what we need to.<\/p>\n

To do that we need to see the Big Picture and\u00a0to understand it.<\/p>\n

\n

So how do we build the Big Picture from the Small Bits?<\/p>\n

Solving\u00a0a\u00a0jigsaw puzzle is a good metaphor for the collective challenge we face.\u00a0Each of us holds a piece which we know very well because it is what we see, hear, touch, smell and taste every day. But how do we assemble the pieces so that we can all clearly see and appreciate the whole rather than dimly perceive a dysfunctional heap of bits?<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>One strategy is to look for tell-tale features that indicate where a\u00a0piece might fit – irrespective of the unique picture\u00a0on it. Such as the four\u00a0corners.<\/p>\n

We also use this method\u00a0to group pieces that\u00a0belong on the sides – but this\u00a0is not enough\u00a0 to tell us which side and where on which\u00a0side each piece fits.<\/p>\n

So far all we have\u00a0are some\u00a0groups of bits –\u00a0rough parts of the whole\u00a0– but no clear view of the picture. To see that\u00a0we need to look\u00a0at the detail – the uniqueness of each piece.<\/p>\n

\n

Our next\u00a0strategy\u00a0is to look at the shapes of the edges\u00a0to find the pieces that are complementary – that leave\u00a0no gaps when fitted together. These are our potential neighbours. Sometimes there is only one bit that fits, sometimes there are many that fit well enough.<\/p>\n

\n

Our third strategy is to look at the\u00a0patterns on the potential\u00a0neighbours and to check for continuity\u00a0because the picture should flow across the boundary – and a mismatch\u00a0means we have made an error.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\u00a0What we have now is the edges of the picture and a heap of bits that go somewhere in the middle.<\/p>\n

By connecting the edge-pieces we can see that there are\u00a0gaps and this is an important insight.<\/p>\n

It is not until we have a framework that spans\u00a0the whole picture that the gaps become obvious.<\/p>\n

But\u00a0we do not know yet if\u00a0our missing pieces\u00a0are in the heap or not –\u00a0we will not know that until we have\u00a0solved the jigsaw puzzle.<\/p>\n

\n

Throughout the\u00a0problem-dissolving process we are using three levels of content:
\nData<\/strong>\u00a0that we gain through our senses, in this case our visual system;
\nInformation<\/strong> which is the result of\u00a0using context to classify the data –\u00a0shape and colour\u00a0for example; and
\nKnowlege<\/strong> which we derive from past experience to help us make decisions – “That is a top-left corner so it goes there;\u00a0<\/em>that is an edge so it goes in that group; that edge matches that one so they might\u00a0be neighbours and I will try fitting them together; the picture\u00a0does not flow\u00a0so they cannot be neighbours and I must\u00a0separate them”<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The important point is that we\u00a0do not need to Understand<\/strong> the picture\u00a0to do this – we can just use “dumb” pattern-matching techniques,\u00a0simple logic and brute force to\u00a0decide which bits go together and which do not. A computer could do it – and\u00a0we or the computer can solve the\u00a0puzzle and still not recognise what we are looking at,\u00a0understand what it means, or be able to make a wise decision.<\/p>\n

\n

To do that we need to search for meaning – <\/em>and that usually means looking for and recognising symbols that are labels for concepts and using the picture to reveal how they relate to each other.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>As\u00a0we fit the neighbours together we see\u00a0words and phrases\u00a0that\u00a0we may recognise – “Legend<\/em>” and “cycle<\/em>” for example (click the picture to enlarge)\u00a0\u00a0– and\u00a0we can use these labels to start to build a conceptual\u00a0framework, and from that we create an expectation. Just as we did with the corners and edges.<\/p>\n

The word “cycle<\/em>” implies\u00a0a circle, which is often drawn as a curved line, so\u00a0we can use this expectation to look for pieces of a circle and lay them out – just as\u00a0we did with the edges.<\/p>\n

We may not recognise all the symbols – “citric acid<\/em>”\u00a0for example – and that finding means\u00a0that there is new knowledge hidden in the picture.\u00a0By the end\u00a0we may understand what those new symbols mean from the context that\u00a0the Big Picture creates.<\/p>\n

By searching for meaning\u00a0we are doing more than mechanically completing a task – we are learning, expanding\u00a0our knowledge and deepening our\u00a0understanding.<\/p>\n

But\u00a0to do this\u00a0we need to separate the heap of bits\u00a0so they do not obscure each other and so we can see each clearly. When it is a\u00a0mess the new learning and deeper understanding will elude us.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

We have now found some pieces with lines on that look like parts of a circle, so we can arrange them into an approximate sequence\u00a0– and when we do that\u00a0we are delighted to find that the pieces fit together, the pictures flow from one to the other, and there is a sense of order and structure starting to emerge from within the picture itself.<\/p>\n

Until now the only structure\u00a0we saw was the artificial and meaningless boundary.\u00a0 We now see\u00a0a new and unfamiliar\u00a0phrase “citric acid cycle<\/em>” – what is that? Our\u00a0curiosity is building.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>As we progress we\u00a0find\u00a0repeated symbols that we now recognise but do not\u00a0understand\u00a0– red\u00a0and gray circles linked together.\u00a0In the top right under the word “Legend” we see the same symbols together with some we do recognise – “hydrogen, carbon and oxygen”.<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

Ah ha! Now we can translate the unfamiliar symbols into familiar concepts, and now we suspect that this is something to do with chemistry. But what?<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>We are nearly there. \u00a0Almost all the pieces are in place and we have identified where the last few fit.<\/p>\n

Now we can see that all the pieces are from the same jigsaw,\u00a0there are none missing and there are no damaged, distorted, or duplicated pieces. The Big Picture\u00a0looks complete.<\/p>\n

We can\u00a0see that the lines\u00a0between the pieces are not part of the picture – they are artificial boundaries created when the\u00a0picture was broken\u00a0into parts – and\u00a0useful only for helping us to re-assemble the big picture.<\/p>\n

Now they are getting in the way – they are distracting us from seeing the picture\u00a0as clearly as we could – so we can dispense with them – they have served their purpose.<\/p>\n

We can also see that the pieces appear to be arranged\u00a0in columns and rows – and we could view\u00a0our picture\u00a0as a set of interlocked vertical stripes or as a\u00a0set of\u00a0interlocked horizontal strips – but that this is an artificial\u00a0structure created by our artificial boundaries. The picture we are seeing\u00a0transcends\u00a0our artificial linear decomposition.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>We\u00a0erase all the artificial boundaries and the full picture emerges.<\/p>\n

Now we can see that we have a chemical system where a series of reactions are linked in a cycle – and we can see something called pyruvate<\/em> coming in top left and we recognise the symbols water<\/em> and CO2<\/em>\u00a0and we conclude that this\u00a0might be part of the\u00a0complex biochemical system that is called cellular respiration – the process by which the food that we eat and the oxygen we breathe is converted into energy and the CO2 that we breathe out.<\/p>\n

Wow!<\/p>\n

And we can see that this is just part of a bigger map – the edges were also artificial and arbitrary!\u00a0But where does the oxygen fit? And which\u00a0bit is the energy? And what is the link between the carbohydrate that we eat and this new thing called\u00a0pyruvate?<\/em><\/p>\n

Our bigger picture and deeper understanding has generated a lot of new questions, there is so much more to explore, to learn and to understand!!<\/p>\n

\n

Let us stop and reflect. What have we learned?<\/p>\n

We have learned that our piece was not just one of a\u00a0random heap of unconnected jigsaw bits;\u00a0we have learned where our piece fits into a Bigger Picture; we have learned\u00a0how our piece is an essential part of that picture; we have learned that there is a design in the picture and we have learned how we are\u00a0part of that design.<\/p>\n

And when we all know and we all understand the whole design and how it works then we all have a much better chance of being able to improve it in a rational, sensible, explainable and actionable way.<\/p>\n

Building the System Picture from the disorganised\u00a0heap of Step Parts is\u00a0one of the key skills of an Improvement Science Practitioner.<\/p>\n

And the more practice\u00a0we get, the quicker we recognise what we are looking at – because there are a relatively few\u00a0effective system designs.<\/p>\n

This is insight is important\u00a0because most of the unsolved problems are system problems – and the sooner we can diagnose the system design flaws that are the root causes of the system problems, then\u00a0the sooner we can\u00a0propose, test and implement solutions and experience the expected improvements.<\/p>\n

That\u00a0is a Win-Win-Win strategy.<\/p>\n

That is systems engineering in a nutshell.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We are all a small piece of\u00a0a complex system that extends well beyond the boundaries of our individual experience. We all know this. We also know that seeing the big picture is very helpful because it gives us context,\u00a0meaning and leads to better decisions more effective actions. We feel better when we know where we … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Building a Big Picture from the Small Bits”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,25,35,42,45],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1483","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-design","category-information","category-reflections","category-how","category-what"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hcse.blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1483","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hcse.blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hcse.blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hcse.blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hcse.blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1483"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hcse.blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1483\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hcse.blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1483"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hcse.blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1483"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hcse.blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1483"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}