Visualisation Methods

Visualisation methods can help you to see your processes the way they are, not necessarily the way you are used to. One of the hardest steps in process improvement can be recognising that things can be different.

So what are visualisation methods?

A visualisation method is a systematic, rule-based, external, permanent and graphic representation that depicts information in a way that is conducive to acquiring insights, developing understanding or communicating experience.¹

A simple example is a Swim Lane Diagram, which shows the flow of a process back and forth between functional departments.

The best summary of available visualisation methods is produced by Visual-Literacy.org, a joint venture between the universities of Lugano, St. Gallen and Geneva, and the Technical College of Northwest Switzerland. They have arranged 100 methods using the metaphor of the Periodic Table to illustrate and classify the methods (the Periodic Table is used by chemists to represent relationships between elements and record their basic properties). To view the Periodic Table of Visualisation Methods click the periodic table thumbnail.

A paper by Lengler and Eppler of the University of Lugano explaining the thinking behind the table can be viewed here.