Problem Solving and Decision Making Tools – bCisive by Austhink

Problem solving and decision making are crucial activities for any organization, large or small – or for sub-organizations, mid-level or top-level – or even for individuals.  The usual approach to these activities or events is personal thinking and unstructured discussions.  Notes or records are often informal and impermanent.  Is it any wonder that these activities are risky and stressful?

Before computers, problems and decisions could be worked out with pen and paper.

A computer gives us more powerful and flexible tools.

Austhink — bCisive

Austhink – in Melbourne, Australia – has developed a decision and argument mapping tool called bCisive.  The program provides a flexible and easy to use ribbon user interface, so you can start with a problem, a decision, or other challenge, and then develop a map (visual image) of your thinking and your process toward a resolution.

This software provides several strong benefits.  You can structure, share, and present your thoughts and process.  You can share your bMap with others, to ask for their input.  As well, there’s clear value to being able to examine historical decisions – in the context of reviewing or confirming earlier work – and in the framework of earlier work supporting and improving later work.

The front page of Austhink’s web site says, “A step beyond mind mapping, decision mapping helps businesspeople streamline the decision process, improve collaboration and move more quickly to action through greater consensus.  Argument maps help users comprehend, evaluate, produce and communicate complex reasoning on any topic, and are particularly useful in teaching and learning critical thinking and logic skills.”

The bCisive program uses the ribbon user interface that Microsoft developed for Office 2007.  When Office 2007 was being developed, observers expressed concern that the new interface would present a steep learning curve, being so dramatically different from the traditional menu and sub-menu structure, and they were alarmed that Microsoft hadn’t kept the menu structure as an option.  Early users quickly discovered that the interface was intuitive, easy to use, and that the ribbon gave them easier access to a broader and deeper range of the program’s features than the menus did.  This interface bodes well for ease of use and for future development.

The current version is 1.0.6, released on July 25, 2008.  So the product is early enough in it’s evolution that it lacks some flexibility.  As the FAQ page explains, it lacks the ability to print a map across multiple pages.  But the FAQ page offers the suggestion to segment a large map across multiple files.  And it explains that multiple bCisive files can be open at the same time.

bMap Bundle viewer is their way to package a bMap, with it’s supporting documents, so it can be viewed with a web browser.  You can share a map with someone, and they don’t need to have bCisive.  If bMap Bundle is what was used for the bCisive web site map gallery, then I wasn’t thrilled that I couldn’t navigate the map with the keyboard arrow keys.  I could click arrow icons on the interface, or I could click-and-drag the map, but the keyboard arrow keys were ignored.  The web site “User tips and tricks” page shows several “Handy keyboard shortcuts,” so there is some accommodation for keyboard users built into the product.

The web site is generous and attractive, with lots of information and images and links.  There’s also a downloadable 10-day free trial version of the program.  After 10 days, the software reverts to a reader, until it’s activated with a purchased serial number.

bCisive is a tool.  It provides the ability to record, present, and preserve a decision and argument process and rationale.  But it doesn’t remove the need for leadership, management, and judgement.

Also, knowledge of thinking and decision tools and concepts would still be invaluable.  The most powerful and usable book of tools that I know is de Bono’s Thinking Course with his PMI (Plus, Minus, Interesting) tool – and his APC (Alternatives, Possibilities, Choices) tool, among quite a few others.

Text Document

An alternative to bCisive – or even a supplement to bCisive – is a plain, structured, text document.  I’ve used these for years – for problem solving, planning, and myriad other uses.

I format my document with tabs evenly spaced, every quarter inch, most of the way across the page.

By indenting, to show that a point is a child of the parent point above – or indent the same, to show that a point is a peer of the point above – by using a double-period, a double hyphen, or other key combination, to visually mark the start of points – by using font attributes and blank lines (vertical white space) where helpful – I can quickly create a flexible, inexpensive, and quite effective tool for using any problem solving or decision making structure I want to use.

Just as with bCisive, knowledge of thinking and decision tools and concepts is invaluable.  de Bono’s Thinking Course, with his PMI and APC, is part of my toolkit.

A marvelously powerful tool for developing and managing multiple structured text documents in one file is TreePad. (See: “TreePad – for every kind of note“)

Comparison Summary

bCisive would make a decision making or problem solving process simpler and more visual (John Medina, in his recent book Brain Rules, says, “Vision trumps all other senses.”).  It would be more structured (bCisive automatically arranges your map); it would be easier to present, and it would be easier for multiple people to collaborate on.

A text document would be less expensive, more flexible, and more compact.  I could do nearly anything with a text document that I could do with bCisive, it could just take a bit more time and care.

So …

The idea is to use the most helpful and appropriate tool available, whether we’re talking about computer software or a concept like de Bono’s PMI – and keep the situation as simple and manageable as possible.

I’d want to have a variety of tools available to me, since different tools have different strengths and weaknesses, for different kinds of problems, or for different points in a process.

The proper tools, powerfully used, could dramatically improve the risk and stress level, and they could solidly improve an organizations success level.

Use Austhink’s bCisive, or use text documents, or use both.