Flowscapes : Novel Solutions to Complex Problems – Applied Tech. Sector Thinking

Visualising Your Organisational and Thinking Strategy & then sharing it with others for better outcomes

‘If you are at the top of a mountain, the landscape is spread out before you. A landscape is for looking at the land, looking at the terrain. In an exactly similar way, a ‘flowscape’ is for looking at flow. Flow is the essential of ‘water logic’. We see it as a picture or a map. In this way we get to ‘see’ our thinking [objectively]. We can then start noticing things about it just as we notice things about a landscape. Later on, we might try to intervene in order to see what could be done to change our thinking – or change our situation.’

There is no doubt that solving complex issues requires ‘out of the box’ or lateral thinking. ‘Water Logic’ theorised by the same writer as ‘lateral thinking’, provides a route into understanding the influence of ‘perception’ in impacting our decisions and presenting it as a flowscape with flow states that can easily be understood. Needless to say, perception is a subjective topic, defined as ‘being the way the brain organises the information received from the outer world via the senses.’ This may sound fluffy and unnecessary but believe it or not, it unconsciously influences much of our decision making and thought processes. Understanding it and even better, seeing it, can lead to greater efficiency in problem solving.

How you ask? Let me explain.

Using the example of the Tech Sector, I will draw parallels with the digital world where User Experience Design is integral. Why? Because it works on understanding human psychology and perception. The same thinking can be applied to all other sectors and guarantee a shift in solution finding. This is where principles of water logic can be found. In User Experience Design, market research using customer feedback is undertaken first and foremost. This can be likened to the subject of ‘flowscapes’ within water-logic which suggests a need to identify a ‘stream of consciousness’. This means, to identify, without pre-conceived notions, reasons behind why the problem occurred. The next stage in UX, assembles the feedback and thematically arranges it based on either recurring issues or importance. The ways of doing this is not exhaustive. Similarly, in water-logic the same stage could be understood as ‘giving each item a letter’ and then taking the items on the list and asking yourself, ‘to which other item does this lead’. Visually, arrows are used to indicate the flow and following this process can provide deeper insight into the complexity of the problem leading to a more accurate solution. While neither UX nor water-logic has been fully explained in this blog, the idea behind a comparison is to showcase a strategy for the breakdown of complexity into patterns that can be separately evaluated.

Ultimately you may wonder - why does this matter? Well, simply put, most businesses, whatever their sector depend on public perception. Without the concept of lateral thinking and ‘water logic’, complex issues related to human behaviour would be impossible to fully understand. However, it is important to note that perception is highly subjective therefore it’s success as a measurement tool is greatly reliant on open feedback loops, which as we all know are the crux of customer satisfaction.

For references and more details on this topic, please read:

Edward de Bono, Water Logic: A Powerful New Technique for Dealing with Complex Situations

The Design of Everyday Things, Don Norman

Lean UX, Jeff Gothell, Josh Seiden