How do you handle conflicting or contradictory information or perspectives when analyzing systems?

Hierarchical process mapping is a great tool for visually linking sources of conflict to processes in the organization and the people that are responsible for the main and supporting processes. This is a visual tool described in the following journal article: https://www.turi.org/content/download/9215/162678/file/Process%20Mapping.Pojasek.CE%20Conf.14%20April%202010.pdf These hierarchical process maps can keep information obtained from the worker and outside stakeholders that may be involved in a discussion on how the processes affected major stakeholders.

Instead of identifying the sources of conflict, one looks at the different process mapping levels to remove conflict and continually improve the process step by step while maintaining a rigorous accounting of the resources used and lost with each step of the process. The process can focus on materials used and lost in the process. It can alternatively look at the people involved in each of the steps and the processes they are using to contribute to accounting of resources above. Conflict can be a way of looking at uses and losses of people's time and the materials in the process that could be modified to create a working model of a process or the description of the deliberate work steps as seen by different sets of eyes.

Identifying the sources of conflict is crucial in resolving disagreements within a system. Conflicts may stem from varied data sources, assumptions, interpretations, goals, values, or interests. They could also be linked to differences in system detail, time horizon, scope, or boundaries. Additionally, cognitive biases, mental models, or perspectives can significantly influence perceptions and understandings of the system. By pinpointing these sources, you gain insight into the conflict's nature and scope, facilitating a more informed approach to addressing and resolving the underlying issues, thereby improving system coherence and functionality.

There is no single point of truth. There are triangulated points of truth. Aim to answer the same question with multiple data sources. then determine what the collective information is telling you.

The hierarchical process maps are supported by resource accounting so that all information known about a particular step in the processes can be described categorized and catalogued. The resource accounting information (i.e. seeking multiple perspectives) is then intermingled with the information already stored in the system. It has been widely used for process improvement and waste elimination.

There is nothing more effective than a hierarchical process map to seek multiple perspectives on the system and all of the supporting processes in the system. When I use hierarchical process maps, I have a map of the main process broken down in hierarchy. The subprocesses and supporting processes are linked to these maps along with the kinds of problems that are commonly searched for in systems thinking. The process maps can be linked to all of the items listed above. Think of them as the high level map of the processes with everything known being able to be linked to steps in the process, the people responisible for the process, people upstream and downstream. It is a very visual method and stores information by all kinds of people.

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, John Warfield's methodology, Interactive Management (IM) tackles each step in the sequence above. Please see my previous post. What is rarely recognised (and by this post too) is the existence of Spreadthink in the group assembled to understand and solve a complex situation. If this is not recognised, it is not surprising that conflicts will appear. IM will first show the level of Spreadthink in the group and then, through good facilitation and the supporting software, help the group (perhaps, now a team) structure their suggestions into what John called a tapestry describing and analysing the complex situation.

It would be interesting to use John Warfield's methodology (Interactive Management) in combination with Dr. Robert Pojasek's "Hierarchical process mapping and resource accounting. I suspect that it would make both tools more useful, alone or together. I have about 100 journal publications on the topic and have written several books on the topic. They include, "Organizational Risk Management and Sustainability: A Practical Step-by-Step Guide." Eliminating pollution is an important application for the analysis of all kinds of processes. https://amzn.to/33klga3