Continuous play (entire module) | Feedback

In this module you will learn how to draw a Context Map in practice, and why it is a very good idea. You will follow a play demonstrating context mapping techniques, watch Eric explain the patterns of Strategic Design that fit the situations in the play, and do some exercises.

The situation in the play is set in the IT department of Peerless Shipping, a large container shipping company. The newly hired software development manager is worried about some of his projects, but can’t put his finger on the problem. The report from lower-level managers mostly paint a rosy picture, but the teams are always announcing delays, and more often than not they blame the other teams.

He likes to feel he sees the big picture of what is happening in his department, and he definitely doesn’t have that vision here. Shawn, a Strategic Design Consultant, has been hired to give him a Context Map, one kind of strategic view. In a series of interviews with various Peerless development leaders, Shawn will piece this together, with your help.

As we go through the play, listen to the characters descriptions of their projects for hints of the existence of distinct models (conceptual systems with distinct language usage) and how they relate to each other. We’ll stop several times to discuss what we are hearing and look at patterns that can help us describe them.