Patterns & Metaphors
Conceptual screens
Other Names:
Conceptual frameworks
Conceptual models
Template:
Developing screens for a conference operating models that help people to stand in some perspective and to view some reality. It is a way of interpreting reality, and although limited, it may be the only way. Screens provide contexts out of which to make decisions.
A helpful screen is relevant, internally consistent, simple, elegant and beautiful. In order for a screen to be of use it must be consistent with the experience of people using it. To be readily understandable it needs to be built on a rationale which is consistently applied throughout the model and its component parts. Multiple rationales may be used but their application must be consistent in order for the screen to be effective. Simplicity enhances the ability of any design to be communicated and to be used with flexibility. Elegance increases its effectiveness as a screen. Beauty motivates people to use it.
A screen is developed out of the synthesis of an abstract conceptual framework and practical experience. An ideal is created of the phenomenon for which the screen is being developed. This ideal includes a number of components, the rationale for that number and the rationale for each part of the number. For instance polarities might be used to describe conflicting concepts in which parts are seen in the rationale."is and is not". A triangular rationale might be used to describe stable tensional relationships in which components are seen as "limiting, creating and sustaining" or in which dynamics are either "foundational, communal or significating". This ideal is placed in dialogue with experience. Using the rationale forces new relations to be brought to consciousness as more levels of the screen are developed. As the screen is created the experience of the group doing the development, writings about the topic and other peoples' insights are used to test the screen. As the dialogue goes on, the overall rationale may change, the specific components may be reinterpreted to fit the rationale or experience may be understood in new ways in light of the rationale.
A certain dogmatism and a certain openness to change are required for the screen to be developed. The dogmatism lies in maintaining the existing rationale until there is overwhelming evidence of the need for a different one. It is also including every insight or experience in the screen.
The openness lies in being willing to reinterpret the data, rework the rationales and rethink the dynamics of the screen. Naturally, the more developed the screen becomes, the more it is tested against experience and the more resistant to major change it becomes. This resistance is the result of increasing confidence in the viability of the screen and in its capacity to interpret data in helpful ways.
The most effective way of presenting screens to participants in a conference is for them to actually develop them in the process of preparing for the event. This of course is not always desirable or possible. The next best way is for the participants to use the screens in a variety of ways.
