Conceptual mapping, visualisation, and systems thinking in engineering

Carol Russell

Research output: Chapter in Book / Conference PaperChapter

5 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Diagrams and maps have uses beyond the purely technical representations that engineers routinely use as part of their work. Diagrams can also help to clarify and resolve non-technical aspects of an engineering project, by visualizing hidden assumptions, values, and priorities that might remain tacit and unresolved in a purely technical discussion. This chapter shows how systems thinking and mapping allows soft interpersonal and social aspects of an engineering project to be represented and discussed alongside hard technological activities. Any map or model of a complex and dynamic socio-technical system requires simplifying assumptions. Complex adaptive systems theory provides a conceptual framework for identifying the limitations from different types of simplification. Examples from educational technology and from mining engineering show how various types of conceptual map can help in clarifying, negotiating, and combining different perspectives on technologies in a complex human context – to overcome barriers of specialist language and tacit assumptions.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationNew Media Communication Skills for Engineers and IT Professionals: Trans-National and Trans-Cultural Demands
EditorsArun Patil, Henk Eijkman, Ena Bhattacharyya
Place of PublicationU.S.
PublisherInformation Science Reference
Pages72-93
Number of pages22
ISBN (Electronic)9781466602441
ISBN (Print)9781466602434
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2012

Keywords

  • engineering
  • systems thinking
  • visualization

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