The Model and the Problem

The Jidoka Problem.

I overheard an interesting conversation earlier this week. A problem was being discussed, and the adviser brought their favourite model to bear, one they were clearly familiar with and fluent in. As the conversation continued, the model, more than the problem, became the focus of the conversation and inexorably, the problem was defined to fit the model.

I didn’t hear the end of the conversation, although its direction seemed clear - a set of actions, defined by the model, comprising workshops and training with which the adviser was practised. All the delicious, unique bits of the problem, the ones that begged to be explored to see where they came from, were being gradually sidelined. Perhaps one of the reasons the conversation caught my attention in a busy coffee shop was that I had been reading a blog by Dave Snowden in which he referenced Jay Forrester’s definition of mental models: