Situational mapping

Revision as of 15:58, 9 May 2023

Created and edited by S154259 (talk) 16:56, 9 May 2023 (CEST)

Abstract

Whenever a project, program or portfolio is conducted it is oftentimes with the intention of changing the status quo of the current situation. It is therefore not so irrelevant to know what the situation is and what impact the offered change (a so-called translation) in the status quo will have on the situation. Any given situation consists (for the most parts) of the same elements; human and non-human, material and symbolic/discursive elements as framed by those in it and the analyst ^[1] The "human" element is everything human related and can in relation to PPPM best be described as "stakeholders". Knowing stakeholders and their relation to the situation is important but to understand all elements of the situation is even more important. By knowing the other elements of the situation a project/program manager can mitigate even more risks and uncertainties that are dwelling in the complexity of their activities.

Situational mapping is an analytical tool and a prerequisite to another situational analysis tool Development Arena^[2][1], when used can give a better understanding of the situation the project or program is trying to change. Situational mapping consists of three different maps; Messy map, Ordered map and Relation map. The maps can be worked with in a chronological order with the last being the relational map or all three maps can be worked with simultaniously, continuously reitereating the maps diving deeper into the analysis, if the time frame allows for greater abstraction. The nature of projects being that they have a set time frame may result in working with these maps somewhere in the middle of these two options. For programs and portfolios which doesn't have this set time fra, one could imagine that the maps would be reiterated upon throughout the entire lifespan of a program or portfolio.

As one goes through the steps of analysing the situation with the three maps the important aspects becomes clearer and subsequently the different actors human or non human each with their unique relationship to eachother or maybe the same common concern, commitment to action or shared objects will form based on these three into Actor-worlds ^[3], which in this article is presented as a fourth additional map. Eventually they will start to populate the Development Arena^[2].

Situational mapping can be seen as an advanced stakeholder analysis where not only the stakeholders are populating the arena but literally everything else that can have a sizeable impact on the project, program or portfolio is mapped a nd accounted for.

Introduction

Prior to delving into the methods of situational mapping, it is imperative to know and understand how the method came to be, as this establish the basis for the acknowledgement of the tool.

Situational mapping is a situational analysis (SA) tool developed by the American sociologist Adele E. Clarke as an extension of another socioligical analysis theory called "Grounded Theory" (GT). GT was developed by Barney Glaser and Anselm Strauss’ back in 1967, when they published "The discovery of grounded theory: strategies for qualitative research"^[4]. It is possible, that some may already know, that GT is a qualitative social research methodolgy that can be accomodated when trying to understand and analyse imperical data. The method uses the inductive reasoning framework, which seeks to formulate a theory based on the actual data rather than having a set of theories and models fit the data (deductive reasoning)^[5]. Theory that blossoms from the collected data is more likely to be true and look like the real world, compared to theory that stems from experiences and speculations of how one believes things should be^[5]. Adele E. Clarke was a student of the two and had therefore worked with GT for a long period of time before she in 2005 published the book: "Situational Analysis: Grounded theory after the Postmodern Turn"^[1].

In her book Adele E. Clarke put forwards three main situational maps; "Situational maps", "Social Worlds/arenas maps" and "Positional maps" (the lather being a strategy for plotting positions articulated and not articulated in discourses, which is not covered in this article). With these, Clarke articulates a different way of codifying the imperical data which instead becomes much more visual drawing parallels to another theoretical framework used in qualitative researh, namely Actor-network theory (ANT) ^[6]. Although, these two framework come very close to describing many of the same elements and mechanism in a social context, the difference lies in the nature of the focus and scope of the analysis. While SA seeks to develop a theory of the social context^[1], ANT is more concerned with the broader view of the creation and maintenance of socio-technical networks^[6]. In the context of project, program and portfolio management, it is relevant to set aside their differences, as these are mainly rooted in the study domain and not so much of the practicalities of the methodology.

In reality, it becomes even clearer to what extend the two line of thoughts cross paths with eachother, when Clarke mentions the notion of Social worlds/Arenas maps as the second "situational map". Evidently, the construction of Social worlds and Arenas maps is closely linked to the theories of Actor Worlds ^[3] and Development Arenas articulated in ANT, given the founding theories, being GT and ANT their spatial aspect respectively.

Even though, the theories originate from their seperate domain, it doen't make the method less useful for project, program and portfolio managers. In this article, it is argued that situational mapping can be used as a precursor for the development arena, which admittedly is where the real use lies. However, one can't just without preparation, thoughtlessly jump into the method of the development arena. In order to make the most out of it, one should go through the preliminary steps of situational mapping to reveal and fully understand the situation of which the project, program or portfolio engages.

In the following section, the methods of situational mapping is described.

Situational maps - a precursor for the Development Arena

As it is reasoned in the introduction, the SA framework of situational mapping can be used together with the Development Arena framework to gain a more comprehensive understanding of a complex social situation. Situational mapping provides the necessary starting point for analysing the situation, while the development arena only then can provide the broader framework for understanding the context of the elements in which that situation is taking place. Situational mapping consists of three different maps, these are the top three in the list below. The fourth on the list is not a map persay but instead a concept for which the two frameworks (Situatinal mappnig and development arena) are bridged together. The concept is called actor worlds or social worlds^[1] (as Clarke frames it).

1. Messy Map
2. Ordered Map
3. Relational Map
4. Actor Worlds

In the next feew sections an explanation of the maps and how to use them is described.

Situatinal Mapping Part 1: Messy Map

The messy map^[1] is the first part of the situational mapping tool (see fig. 1). The principle with the messy map is to identify and also define different types of elements both human (individuals and groups) and non-human (objects, discourses, issues etc.). It feels much like a brainstorming activity, which is exactly what it is suppose to. It is also not the objective of the mapping to finish it but rather the process of the mapping itself, which is what makes up the analytical results. It is however important to keep this part of the analysis messy, as one may feel reluctant to order and structure the empirical data from the get go. if one were to order the data as it came into light, the usual suspects of elements could obstruct and impair the field of view of other elements or how the elements act. When engaging in the situational mapping, one could argue, that the first thing to overcome is the cribbling anxiety, that the chaos and mess the first map encourage one to do. It does make it easier, that the name of the map itself is 'messy map' and that chaos is preferable and it is the sheer premis of the map, that elements may vary in the level of abstraction^[7].

With the messy map every conceivable thing related to the situation can be put down, but to make the tool even more applicable to new users, the list below should give some ideas to what these elements might be and what to look for in imperical data one has gathered about the situation.

• Who are the main human actors; - individually, social groups, organisations etc.
• What are the nonhuman actors; Technology, Weather, infrastructure, material things
• What are the discourses; discourses within social groups, organisation or even society
• What are the major issues; related to the situation
• What are the sociocultural or symbolic elements; religion, race, gender, sexuality etc.
• What are the spatial elements; geographical aspects, local, regional, national, global etc.

The list is not a 'check list' and what is relevant in one social context might not that relevant in another. The analytical method only sets the framework and should not dictate the content or outcome of the map, which could lead to a controlled production of empirical data, that would in advance fix the observations ^[7]. This would mean, that the elements that really matters to the current problematisation or 'concern' is completely overlooked. However, it is of course necessary to have some analytical boundary of the data collection, so that it in turn dosn't become an accumulation of facts, that can't be used for anything.

Figure 1: Messy Map ^[1]

So when is the mapping done and good enough? The messy map can be iterated upon until it feels 'saturated'. From one map-iteration to another, different elements can become obsolete and others can become more important. The map becomes saturated when one has worked with the maps repeatedly, made adjustments and when... "it has been quite a while since you felt the need to make any major changes"Cite error: Closing </ref> missing for <ref> tag

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