The OPMS One Page Management System A language designed for problemsolving and decision making on co

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The OPMS One Page Management SystemA
language designed for problem-solving and
decision making on complex issues

• Fundamentals

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Tackling problems and issues effectively
Claim By and large, we do NOT tackle the
problems and issues facing us as individuals or
as groups - as effectively as could be done and
should be done
Question How to tackle the problems and issues
confronting us as effectively as possible?
Alternatively Is it possible to enhance the
effectiveness with which we resolve our problems
and issues that confront us from day to day?
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Some Principles of Problem-Solving

• A problem or issue is best resolved by the people
  involved in it
• Based on above principle, effective means are
  needed for gathering the ideas of people involved
  in problems and means for putting together the
  ideas provided

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Effective problem solving depends on

• Effective means for gathering and clarifying the
  ideas of various people involved (with
  appropriate help if required)
• Effective means for integrating the ideas of
  various people involved (your own and others)
• Practical means to minimize unproductive
  conflicts
• Creating effective Action Plans in consensus
• Implementing agreed Action Plans

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Some important steps in problem solving
Items 1,2 and 3 are handled through developments
of brainstorming idea writing etc
Professor John N. Warfield has developed powerful
modeling tools to enable individuals and groups
to accomplish Items 4 and 5 in complex systems

• Create an appropriate agreed Mission to tackle
  the problem
• Ask people involved well-designed Trigger
  Questions in order to elicit and clarify their
  ideas about the Mission
• Gather the ideas together into lists THINGS TO
  DO to accomplish the Mission BARRIERS that may
  hinder accomplishment of Mission other important
  dimensions.
• Integrate elements in lists into models showing
  how the THINGS TO DO may impact each other in
  particular, how do they contribute to each
  other and to the Mission these are Action
  Plans
• Implement the Action Plans!

We find that the use of these modeling tools can
help to minimize, quite significantly, conflicts
that often arise in the conventional way between
different people with different backgrounds
Warfields view of systems enables us to handle
ideas, and the relationships between ideas, most
effectively!
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Based on Warfields approach to complexity in
systems, weve developed a powerful generic aid
to problem solving and decision making based on
the above-noted principles, which can enable
significant enhancement to the way we tackle
individual, organizational and societal issues
The One Page Management System
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Using this tool demands a small enhancement to
the language we conventionally use we call this
enhancement prose structural graphics
The structural graphics enable us to perceive
with exceptional clarity the relationships that
are usually left ambiguous in conventional prose
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A Language to discuss complex issues
prose structural graphics
So what is structural graphics?
Heres a simple structural graphic
Idea 1
Idea 2
and the relationship between the ideas, shown as
an arrow
The arrow stands for a specific relationship,
e.g.leads to (in this case)
The picture and its translation (along with any
other explanation required) constitute prose
structural graphics
In prose, the above structural graphic means
Idea 1 leads to Idea 2. That sounds just too
simplistic to deserve to be stated, but check out
what follows in the next slides!
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John N. Warfield has invented a powerful modeling
tool, Interpretive Structural Modeling (ISM),
that enables us to clarify our understanding of
the structure of the systems under consideration
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Using well defined methodologies, we create
graphical pictures showing inter-relationships
between elements to represent our mental models
of the systems we wish to create.
Develop and market a world-class ERP for SMEs
Develop all needed skills
What are the THINGS TO DO to accomplish this
Mission?
Challenging each member of staff to take up a
huge and demanding project
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The relationships in these pictures are
transitive, which means
This simple idea has enormous ramifications (in
regard to construction of these models as well as
to their interpretation), some of which will be
hinted at in the following slides
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One part of this structure is blown up in more
detail, next slide
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Interpretive Structural Model (ISM)
(This process of adding elements as and when
needed works because of the transitivity of the
relationship in the model)
Develop and market a world-class ERP for SMEs
Make an effective start on this huge and
challenging project
Ensure we have needed skills in the organization
Hire people with the specific needed skills
To challenge each member of staff develop needed
skills for a world-class project
Obtain needed financing
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To minimize costs for the organization
To maximize profits for the organisation
To minimize waste in organization
To develop a great software design team in the
organization
Various other concerns to be added to the
structure will be shown next
To become a CMM-5 organization
Adding such concerns to the elementary structure
developed lead to sizable and very complex -
structures that could reflect the whole
organisation and all its concerns (next slide)
To align individuals in organization to the
organizations goals
To become a .NET expert
To learn to use Powerpoint to create an effective
presentation
To improve my personal communication skills
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Even when the model comprises hundreds or
thousands of elements, we can always focus on a
small number of those elements in the full
confidence that we have not lost sight of
anything.
This is an Interpretive Structural Model (ISM),
one of the two powerful modeling tools we use
based on the seminal contributions of Professor
John N. Warfield to systems science
Interpretive Structural Modeling (ISM) enables us
to view systems in the context of specific
transitive relationships that may be relevant
in the system at specific periods of its evolution
THINGS TO DO

Current focus
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Interpretive Structural Model (ISM)
Develop and market a world-class ERP for SMEs
Make an effective start on this huge and
challenging project
WHY?
Ensure we have needed skills in the organization
Hire people with the specific needed skills
HOW?
To challenge each member of staff develop needed
skills for a world-class project
Obtain needed financing
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Some features of ISM
The relationship contributes to is probably the
single most important of all relationships that
can help us arrive at a working understanding
from scratch of the systems under consideration

• ANY transitive relationship may be modeled
  through ISM (a single relationship per model)
  contributes to leads to enhances
  supports precedes (useful for the PERT and
  Gantt Charts of conventional Project Management)
  aggravates is more important than, etc,
  etc. Different relationships are relevant at
  different times in the consideration of issues in
  the system.
• An ISM based on on contributes to clarifies the
  HOW? and the WHY? of things done or to be
  done!
• ISM enables individuals and groups to explore the
  relationships between factors in their systems to
  any depth and degree of detail as required
• ISM is a powerful tool to enable individuals and
  groups to become clear in their minds about their
  systems
• ISM is one of the powerful modeling techniques
  created by Warfield that help individuals and
  groups to explore complexity in systems.

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• John Warfields Interactive Management
  comprises a whole set of methodologies to
• enable problem solvers to generate clarify
  ideas along with
• two powerful modeling tools to enable them to
  structure, or organise ideas generated. Youve
  just seen ISM, one of the modeling tools.

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Apart from ISM, Warfield has created another
powerful modeling tool, Field Representation and
Profiling Method (FR) designed to help us put
elements in a system into appropriate similarity
classes or categories which then help us
explore the relationships (transitive and other)
between elements and categories.
We illustrate the Field Representation Method
with a couple of examples one example being of
the utmost simplicity the other example is
fairly complex
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Heres a list of some Missions that could be
taken up

• To become a top level software designer
• To double organizational turnover within one year
• Garibi hatao!
• To master my math syllabus and thereby get
  excellent results in my math exams
• To get myself a satisfying and well-paying job
• To create an effective system of governance to
  meet Indias needs
• To align individuals in the organization to the
  organizations goals
• To qualify myself for the best job opportunities
  available
• To launch a new product in the US market in 2008
• To set up my own consulting business
• To become a global leader in software services by
  2015
• To ensure 90 true literacy in India within 10
  years
• To align individuals in the organization to the
  organizations goals

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Inserting elements into categories
In your opinion, is ---------- (element
A) similar to (/in the same category
as) ------------ (element B) keeping in
mind the kind of organizational structures that
may be needed to accomplish the specific
Mission?
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FR System of Types of Missions

• A Individual Missions
• To become a top-level
• To master my math syllabus
• To get myself a satisfying and well-paid job

• B Organizational Missions
• To double organizational turnover
• To get over the attrition problem
• To align individuals in organization
• To launch a new product in US market

System Tie-Line
C Societal Missions O Garibi Hatao! O
To create an effective system of governance for
Indias needs O To develop an effective
educational system for our needs O
Important!The titles of the categories are
arrived at only after all elements are
appropriately inserted into blank categories
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Dimensions developed of Types of Missions
IMPORTANT The appropriate titles of the
Dimensions of this Field Representation came to
light only AFTER all elements were inserted into
those Dimensions via an appropriate modeling
question!

• A Individual Missions
• B Organizational Missions
• C Societal Missions

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A Individual Missions

• To become a top level software designer
• To master my math syllabus and thereby get
  excellent results in my math exams
• To get myself a satisfying and well-paying job
• To qualify myself for the best job opportunities
  that become available
• To set up my own consulting business
• To become more effective at what I do
• To learn to use PowerPoint effectively

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• All the Missions in the Individual Missions
  category (and many others besides) have been
  successfully worked on by various persons
• Many have done this after the prototype software
  was created a few were able to do this even
  before the software was developed!

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B Organizational Missions

• To obtain needed financing for a major project
• To align individuals in the organization to the
  organizations goals
• To double organizational turnover within one year
• To get over the attrition problem
• To launch a new product in the US market in 2008
• To become a global leader in software services by
  2015
• To obtain needed financing to market globally

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• A few of the Missions in the Organizational
  Missions category have been successfully worked
  on at different levels.
• I have been conducting OPMS workshops for
  organizations only after the prototype OPMS
  software had become available.

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C Societal Missions

• Garibi hatao! (Indira Gandhis famous slogan,
  which has alas never been effectively worked on)
• To create an effective system of governance to
  meet Indias needs
• To develop an effective educational system for
  Indias needs
• To ensure 90 true literacy in India within 10
  years
• To become one of the least corrupt nationals
  in the world within 10 years (instead of being
  one of the more corrupt nations)

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• Thus far, Ive not managed to get any group,
  government or NGO, to take up any of the many
  potential societal Missions that OPMS could be
  used for.
• I have identified a huge number of potential
  projects even a quick glance through any days
  news will fetch at least 10 potential projects
  that are crying out for the OPMS treatment!

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FR System of Types of Missions
The SYSTEM TIE-LINE stands for any of the
relationships that may be inherent in the system
under consideration

• A Individual Missions
• To become a top-level
• To master my math syllabus
• To get myself a satisfying and well-paid job

• B Organizational Missions
• To double organizational turnover
• To get over the attrition problem
• To align individuals in organization
• To launch a new product in US market

System Tie-Line
C Societal Missions O Garibi Hatao! O
To create an effective system of governance for
Indias needs O To develop an effective
educational system for our needs O
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FR System of Types of Missions

• A Individual Missions
• To become a top-level
• To master my math syllabus
• To get myself a satisfying and well-paid job

• B Organizational Missions
• To double organizational turnover
• To get over the attrition problem
• To align individuals in organization
• To launch a new product in US market

System Tie-Line
C Societal MissionsO Garibi Hatao!O
To create an effective system of governance for
Indias needsO To develop an effective
educational system for our needs O
D Type of organization E Resources reqd.
Required O Self- organization O
Incorporated Company O Government or
non-governmental organisation
T
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Why do this categorization?

• It is easier to get an overview picture of the
  whole by looking at a few categories rather than
  looking at a large number of disparate elements
• By creating such a Field Representation of
  Missions, we are enabled to understand the
  structures of the kind of systems needed to
  accomplish each type of Mission
• Most importantly, such representations, when
  effectively done, are models that satisfy the
  fundamental Ashbys Law of Requisite Variety

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Ashbys Law of Requisite Variety
(Simple Simon version) The dimensions of a
proposed solution to any problem should match the
dimensions of the problem itself
A great many of our organizational and societal
systems are designed without the designers having
kept this fundamental law in mind which
explains why so many of our systems do not
perform optimally or even may fail
catastrophically
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I illustrate Field Representation (FR) method
again now with a second-order model -- a
model of models, the One Page Management
System (OPMS) The OPMS leads to and enables
the developments illustrated thereafter.
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All aspects of ANY Mission no matter how
large or ambitious, can be captured on a single
page, with linkages to all details!
This is a generic model, applicable to any
Mission!
The SYSTEM TIE-LINE provides us a practical
means to show how elements in various Dimensions
may impact on the Mission and on the THINGS TO DO
in our Action Planning e.g. how do the various
BARRIERS impact on the activities to be performed
to accomplish the Mission?
This is a 2nd order Field Representation a
model of models it comprises of ALL the
elements and ALL the models arising during the
course of any Mission into appropriate classes
that have been found useful through years of
people working on Missions.
Its an Operating System for the Human Mind!
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The Fundamental Model
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Trigger Questions
ACTION
Real World
Mental Models
Representations of Mental Models
Elements
This fundamental model, through the OPMS, enables
a powerful problem-solving loop to develop in
the individual/group mind
Comparison
We claim that OPMS is by far THE most effective
means available to create needed changes in our
mental models, and to guide appropriate action on
the real world!
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Our powerful Business Process Model develops by
systematically building on this loop
Problem-solving loop
Fundamental Model
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Industry Verticals
Strategic Vision Implementation Mechanisms
enable(s)
Management Tools
Enabling Process
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Enables
The Business Process Model a macro picture
Enables
Enables
The type of enablement is somewhat different at
each level
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Information about John Warfields books
http//www.jnwarfield.com
For more information about OPMS/access to the
OPMS software, contact G.S. Chandyemail
gs_chandy_at_yahoo.comBangaloreTerrapin Station
(near Delhi Public School)Bagalur P.O., PIN
562149Bangalore, IndiaTel. 91-80-65700814 Mumb
aic/o Sahi Oretrans Pvt LtdWestern India
House, 3rd FloorSir P.M. Road, FortMumbai - 400
001, IndiaTelephone 91-22-40335454