What are the rules and guidelines of PrOH Model drawing?
There are a few rules that cannot be broken in when drawing a PrOH Model.
1. The template is the starting point for all PrOH Models
2. Entities, in other words bubbles, cannot be repeated in a single model and are only ever shown once
3. Sentences in PrOH Models must be composed of alternate between human bubbles and non-human bubbles either physical artefact (green) or an intangible artefact (white)
4. Arrows never cross other arrows. However an arrow can cross through a compound bubble.
5. Sentences that support the core process statement will start and eventually finish at a person (red) bubble in the core process statement. Occasionally they can also link to the previous of following process phase.
There are a few guidelines should be followed to make the model better:
1. Models should have at least one decision (an ‘or’ function) bubble.
2. Bubbles in the core process statement are likely to be (‘and’ function) containment nodes.
3. Sentences should form at least one feedback supporting sentence and at least one feedforward supporting sentence.
4. All bubbles should have arrows going into them and out from them.
5. A single model should fit on a single sheet of paper and be readable when printed at A4 size.
The above rules and guidelines increase the quality of the model in terms of its systemicity where systemicity is defined as the extent to which something display systems properties.
How and why is storyboarding done for PrOH Models?
When a detailed PrOH Model has been formed its purpose is usually to present it to a wider audience to spread the knowledge contained within it. This is often to help built consensus about systemic success factors of change and allocate change tasks to those present. However it is often the case that there is so much knowledge in a PrOH Model that it is overwhelming and that is why storyboarding is used where parts of the model are shown scene by scene.
In each scene the latest scene of the model is presented and then its systemic success factors are given. A PrOH Model with a good level of systemicity will normally have between 4-7 scenes to present.
Why is PrOH Modelling used in action research?
PrOH Modelling is usually used in action research for when researchers are exploring a particular topic within an organization to make improvements. Action research enables researcher to make changes to practice and contribution to theory through abductive rationalisation. Often cycles of action research are performed to make iterative changes to practice and incremental knowledge creation. Classic ways to do this would be to take either a top-down approach starting with strategic issues, or a bottom-up approach starting with operational issues. PrOH Modelling can do either. Alternatively modelling can be produced on a phase by phase basis or a topic by topic basis, whatever the researcher / modeller and subject / modelled think is most useful.
What are the benefits to using PrOH Modelling?
It is anticipated that users of PrOH Modelling will become advocates of impactful action research, authentic contributors to practice based theory and active members of the PrOH Modelling user group and wider systems thinking community.
What next?
Further details are provided in published research papers and in a forthcoming book, or can be obtained by contacting prohmodelling.org.
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