Value Networks

 and the true nature of collaboration

   

Chapter 2: Mapping the Value Network

Facilitation Tips

 

 

Facilitation Tips

Value network mapping is a powerful sense-making exercise 
and is frequently used in workshops for defining strategy,
 improving operations, or better defining roles and collaboration.

If you are going to do the mapping exercise as a group exercise, it works best to facilitate the mapping with a small group of people working together in real time to complete the diagram. Working as a whole group leads to far greater accuracy and more powerful insights than if one person generates a diagram and circulates it. Much of the value in the mapping comes from the conversations it evokes.

 

These simple checklist items will help you design a successful mapping session as a collaborative exercise.

Make sure the right people are in the room.

 

Once you have determined the core issue or question, you can identify those individuals who have the greatest understanding of the roles and activities. It is impossible for any one person to fully understand a complex system. So the greatest success in this approach is achieved when "the whole system is in the room." This means that each key role of the network that you are trying to understand must be represented by a person who fully participates in or understands that area of the network.

A small group discussion in a facilitated workshop.

Have people think of the question they are dealing with and who the significant stakeholders and participants might be. What individuals or groups are engaged in activities pertaining to the question? Who else plays an important role?

 

An ideal number for a working group is 8-12 people, or at least one person per key role. In value network mapping there is a cognitive boundary around 8-12 roles that works best for a mapping exercise. You can always merge maps to generate a larger map. If you feel that more than that many people will be needed to create an accurate diagram then you may want to revisit Defining Scope and Boundaries. You can choose to work at a higher level or you can define the boundaries more narrowly to focus on a smaller system within the large system.
The mapping process will be most useful and productive for those people who actually have influence or control over the key roles, transactions, enablers, resources, or conditions that affect the value network. People who are not really part of the network but have insights about it can be useful at times to bring a fresh perspective, buy may not be real stakeholders in the outcomes. It is always valuable to determine who is most interested in the activity, what are their desired outcomes for the mapping, and what action or role, if any, they will play in any changes that might result. It may be useful to have one or two key stakeholders involved in the mapping session as well.

Room setup 

 

There are two ways to prepare the mapping surface: on the wall or on a table. For the wall setup you will need a large wall that is either whiteboard or of sufficient size to tape up large sheets of 4' wide paper. For a table setup you will need a large work surface that can hold sheets of 3-4' wide paper running to about 6 feet. You may use sheets of flip chart paper taped together. You want lots of space so the diagram can go where it needs to. 
value network mapping on a wall
Value network mapping on the wall.

It is good to have an additional chart stand or two, with paper and markers for harvesting ideas and posting insights that arise during the mapping process. Discussions are very rich and taking good notes will be helpful in debriefing the experience with stakeholders.

 

You will need markers or felt-tipped pens. Darker colors work best - such as red, green, blue, black, and purple. You will need square stickies for labels for deliverables. You will want to have some playful sticky notes too. Hearts are useful for identifying "pulse points" or "heartbeats" in the value network. Arrows help people point to places for further investigation. Stars and other shapes are sometimes colorful ways to identify roles. Colored dots can be used to identify high, medium, and low Perceived Value.

 

A digital camera is very useful for photographing the group working together and the completed value network map(s).

By far the biggest frustration is not having the right people in the room. People cannot map what they don't know about.

 

Keeping the mapping process neat and readable can also be a challenge. If you have any concerns, do a practice session or two to get a good feel for the right layout and things you might run into.

- Keep control of the mapping by making sure that there is general agreement with the group before any change is made to a role, transaction, or deliverable. It is helpful to have only one person handling the marker. Be sure the group is working as a whole, and not fragmenting into side conversations.
- People who struggle with visual thinking may find the mapping session a bit difficult or fail to see the value in it. There is no question that some people will enjoy the mapping activity more than others. 

- Value Network Analysis (VNA) supports both visual thinkers and linear thinkers. People who struggle with the mapping will probably be much more comfortable working with the analysis tables, worksheets, and spreadsheets as the method progresses. In fact, one of the pitfalls of this work is failing to continue into one of the deeper analysis options. Many people need these more structured analyses to feel grounded and find insights.

 

 

  

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