The Metaphorum Group

Practical Applications through a developing Enterprise Toolbox

Last updated 2nd March 2004

Ian Perry, Mike Jackson, Nick Green, Stefan Wasilevski.

Hoverstadt's Enterprise Toolbox

Patrick Hoverstadt of Fractal Consulting was a critic of the Toolbox Team and produced detailed recommendations. He asks for feedback.

Patrick writes:

One of the tasks that came out of Scarborough was the collation of an "enterprise toolbox". We started this in the 2nd session of the dark blue team and I undertook to take this forward for the website.

Attached is a table setting out some of the stuff we collected at the meeting.

Can you add to this or amend it as you see fit and return to me.

If you send it back to me with any changes - particularly obviously

which tools you use
any that should be there that aren't
any uses that aren't described
are wrongly described or attributed etc.

Can you do your amendments in a different colour please so I can spot them, and I will collate the amendments.

Also any comments of which bits of this should / should not be on the website - there may be a view that we shouldn't be saying who uses what for example, or who has IPR or whatever.

Enterprise Toolbox

The purpose of the enterprise toolbox is to assemble a set of tools and methodologies that practitioners have used in their work with organisations and pan-organisational systems. Initially, this is intended to be a shorthand version which can be expanded later as required, and which may be linked through to case studies.

Tools needed / required are in red.

Notes (S3 etc.) refer to subsystems within the VSM where particular tools have been or are typically applied.

“Who uses” are Metaphorum members only, in Bold if they actually do use it and in normal if they can use it but don’t habitually, in italic if they can do this through associates.

Tool	Purpose	Who uses it	IPR
Practice & Project Methodologies
Socratic Method	Eliciting information, creating client insights. Managing client interactions & process	Hoverstadt	Socrates (!)
Soft Systems Methodology	General purpose methodology for interventions. Understanding systems, project context, problem definition, solution generation etc.	Hoverstadt	Checkland
Appreciative Enquiry
Viplan Method	Toolkit for use with VSM	Hoverstadt	Syncho Ltd.
Cybernetic Methodology			Raul Espejo
Mosaic Transformation	Methodology for structuring and managing change programmes.	Hoverstadt	Hoverstadt
General Tools (typically could be used anywhere in the system)
Project Management
System Dynamics	Modelling dynamic systems for better understanding, developing effective mental models, predicting outcomes in non-linear systems.	Hoverstadt	J.Forrester
Variety Balance Diagrams	Analysis & design of amplifiers & attenuators in communication channels	Hoverstadt
HR tools e.g. psychometrics, job descriptions etc.	Role definition, and matching people to roles	Hoverstadt	Various
Conan	Negotiation strategy	Hoverstadt	N. Howard
Data Mining	Analysis of data correlations
System 1
Process Mapping	Process analysis & design	Hoverstadt
Quantified Flowcharts	Subsystem interactions, contribution analysis, synergy analysis	Hoverstadt
Structural Models	Complexity drivers & rationale for recursive structure / sequencing	Hoverstadt	Syncho Ltd.
System 2
Variety Balance Diagrams	Analysis & design of amplifiers & attenuators in communication channels	Hoverstadt
System 3
Real time reporting & Feedforward	Performance measurement in real time & Bayesian forecasting of probable future performance	Current joint development
Empower	Performance measurement and enterprise dashboard		Metapraxis
Enterprise Dashboard	Assists integrated decision making in real time	Hoverstadt
SPC	Process behaviour & control	Hoverstadt
Other stats methods	Process behaviour & control	Hoverstadt
System 4
CATWOE	Stakeholder Analysis for problem situation		Checkland
TASCOI	Stakeholder Analysis for system definition & environment structure	Hoverstadt	Syncho Ltd.
PESTLE	Environmental Analysis	Hoverstadt
Market segmentation	Environmental Analysis	Hoverstadt
System 3, 4, 5 Homeostat
Syntegration	Building a homeostatic structure & process for integrated decision making	Hoverstadt	S. Beer
Enterprise dashboard	Assists integrated decision making in real time.	Hoverstadt
Software Tools & Packages
I-think	Systems Dynamics
Powersim	System dynamics	Hoverstadt
Flowmap	VSM modelling, Process Mapping, SPC, Critical Path	Hoverstadt
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