Visual Proceedings

Tue Oct 12 11:56:16 PDT 1999

Greetings Jay

I am not shure if this is, what you are looking for. Perhaps it is too
"qualitative" and too "process related" for your purpose.

I used  the following "simultaneous filing card documentation" with several
groups and perhaps you like it:

A) during the group work

1. Each group gets 6 white filing cards (about 8'' x  6'' large ) for each
session of group work and 3 markers.
2. Each group apoints a process documentary person (DP). DP gets the
material.
3. DP stays open to the process, like all the others.
4. DP feels, that something "important" is happening.
5. DP concentrates on finding an image, a symbol, a picture, ... which
represents the situation and puts it down.
6. DP fixes the filing card imediately at a prepared space on brown paper at
the wall, where all the group members can see it.
7. DP sits down & continues with step 3

Comments:
ad 1: if there are many groups and you have plenty of space at the walls,
the filing cards can be larger.
    color-code (e.g.): red: card visualizes emotional situation of the
group; blue: card represents process; green: card represents     results.
But there are many other possibilities to use color codes.
ad 2: as a part of the distribution of  functions in the group at the
beginning of the group work sessions
ad 4: "important" = group energy changes, group gets an important result,
somebody uses a strong metaphor, group gets             stuck, a key item is
reached, .... DP can decide, or the group can decide how they define
important.
    In these situations, very often the key word or metaphor is itself
emerging within the group, DP just has to visualize it.
ad 5: DP does the sketching in a rapid intuitive way, he/she is out of the
"public process" for only seconds.
ad 6: doing this openly, DP is part of the "public process"

Version: If there is a lot of fear or stress around, people, who are not
used to sketching will find it difficult to open their inner     eyes and
find visual representations of the important situation in a spontaneous way.
In such cases it helps to formalize the     visual online documentation
prozess even more (DP has to have a wrist watch): DP divides the two hour's
group work by 6     (cards) -> after each segment of 20 minutes, DP produces
a visual characterization of what had happened (no story, only     one
picture!)

B) During the breaks of group work

DP writes a  title (digital) below each of the sketches (analog). Although
beeing digital, it has not to be "logical".
Version: Each element of the group has the possibility to do so.

C) Presentation to the plenum

1. Each group takes its story - fixed on the brown paper and puts it at a
reserved space of  the plenary room.
2. All the groups walk around and see what they see at the walls.

Comments.
    The brown papers have to be well prepared: There are prepared grits for
the horizontally orientated cards and their titles
    The cards are 8 by 6 ", each one gets a space of 10 by 10 (including the
title space below). So you prepare a brown paper     of  5x5 ft. for 6
working sessions per group.  At the space where the cards will be fixed, we
always use to put 5 little rolls     of adhesive band at the 4 corners and
the center of the card's space. So DP then has just to tap the cards at
their space.         There are certainly more advanced solutions from 3M,
but that's our "african" way of doing it.

D) Presentation at the Intra- or Internet

You need a team of at least 2 persons, who are not involved into the group
working process and at least one digital camera and a computer with modem
and a website with well prepared links. If your client is interested to have
a "simultaneous" public discussion, perhaps you can use the already existing
technology of openspaceworld.com for that.

During the breaks, the fotographer takes the fotos of the last sessions card
documentation.
The computer-crack does then the uploading.
    Step 1: from the Camera to the Computer.
    Step 2: Insert fotos into the frames of a prepared file (e.g. 6x6 like
the grits of the brown paper)
    Step 3: ftp-uploading.
If they are well trained, the web-reflex can be externally accessible
within a delay of delta t =  1,5 h.

This documentation tecnique is based on the idea of “Visual Protocols” of
Reinhard Kuchenmüller (Visuelle Protokolle – ein neues Medium. In:
Zeitschrift für Organisationsentwicklung 2/99. 62-73), which I simplified
and adapted to OS contexts.

Bernd
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-----Ursprüngliche Nachricht-----
Von: Jay Vogt <JayWV at aol.com>
An: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU <OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU>
Datum: Dienstag, 12. Oktober 1999 14:51
Betreff: Visual Proceedings

>Greetings:
>I am working with a client that has a strong working bias for visual
>presentations of concepts and data.
>
>They have asked me to help them encourage the formatting of a Proceedings
for
>their upcoming retreat in Open Space with visual, as well as narrative,
>information.
>
>Now I wish I had paid more attention to the folks at OSONOS who were
posting
>digital images onto the web as part of the proceedings!
>
>Any experience with ways to explicitly encourage visual presentation of
break
>out group results, and with ways to document visual output?
>
>Thanks, Jay
>
>Jay W. Vogt
>Peoplesworth
>166 Hubbard Street
>Concord, MA 01742-2448 USA
>(978) 371-3134 - Voice
>(978) 287-5431 - Fax
>jaywv at aol.com - Email