T-110.5290 Seminar on Network Security and T-110.5190 Internetworking Seminar

What is a Good Dialog Map?

Drawing a dialog map

The basic nodes of dialog maps are questions, answers and justifications. They are suitable for conversational design, problem solving and organizing knowledge. Dialog maps illustrate differences in way of thinking and provide balanced picture of possible solutions and their justifications. Following table lists some applications and describes the role of elements in a map:

Discussion	Question	Answer	Supporting reasoning	Opposing reasoning
Problem solving, design	Problem	Solution	Benefits	Drawbacks
Creation (new ideas), design	Topic	Idea	Good sides	Bad sides
Decision-making, conflict solving	Controversial issue	Viewpoint	Supporting reasoning	Opposing reasoning
Requirement specification	What need?	How to fulfil?	What is gained?	What problems?

Dialog maps can be used either in groups as meeting minutes or organizing own knowledte. Maps can grow very big and thus submaps are useful for illustrating more detailed study.

Criteria for good dialog map

1. Simple nodes

Write only one thing to a node. For example, do not combine two questions, two ideas or two justifications but do separate nodes for each of them.

2. Sort texts

The text that is visible on the map should be sort. It should provide prestented factual content. Details and clarifications can be added to eihter inner information of the node or, in some cases, to other nodes that are connected to this node.

3. Open questions

Questions should be always open. Open questions are such that can have several answers. There are less hidden presuppositions and the discussion will be more fruitful and creative.

Closed questions can usually be transformed to be open. For example, "Is the plan ready" can be replaced with "What shortages the plan still has?". Question "Should costs be cut?" can be replaced with "What should be done?" with an answer "Cut costs.

4. Clear questions

Questions should be free from unneccessary presuppositions. For example "Why we never hire competent leaders" is more a comment with attitude rather than a question, and it offer bad starting point for discussion.

5. Questions are not justified

Do never include justifications to questions.

6. Direction of the arrows

Usually arrows are from right to left (or from down to top). An arrow points from an answer to the questions where the answer is linked, and from a justification to the answer where the justification is linkded. The arrow describe the context of the node: relating to what node, this node is understandable

7. Middle questions

In a map, solutions/ideas can be specified with subanswers/ideas. If all the subanswers are related same way to the larger answers, this has no problesm. If the relationship is different, middle questions should be clarify the relationship.

8. Revealing hidden questions

The main question can change or new questions may rize. Building dialog map is a way to reveal hidden questions of the discussion or material.

9. Maturity of the map

Questions of the dialog map can be divided to following main categories.:

1. Obligation/needs: What should be done? (Mitä pitäisi tehdä?)
2. Means: How it can be implemented? (Kuinka toteutetaan?)
3. Criteria: How the alternatives can be evaluated? (Kriteerit?)
4. Meanings: What 'X' means? (Mitä 'X' tarkoittaa)
5. Facts: What is 'X'? (Mikä 'X' on?)
6. Background: What is the context? (Mikä on tausta?)
7. Partiest: What parties are involved? (Mitä osapuolia tähän liittyy?)

Usually, discussion provides following map (including all above mentioned questions in Finnish):

Maturnity of the map (or vice versa its incompleteness) can ve avaluated with following criteria:

1. The map has at leat one 'big' commitment or a question that ask the means, and there are some ideas connected to it.
2. There is a criteria question linked to the 'big' questions, and there are some ideas.
3. Key ideas have justifications (pros and cons) that are related to the criteria.
4. Map has a question about parties and some questions about importance and facts.

Seppo Törmä's and Esko Nuutila's orginal page What is a good dialog map (in Finnish).