Making Sense of Complexity: Using SenseMaker as a Research Tool

Susara E Van Der Merwe,Marcus Jenal,Rika Preiser,Reinette Biggs,Zhen Goh,Karen O’Brien,Marietjie Vosloo,Sonja Blignaut,David J Snowden,Charmaine Cunningham

doi:10.3390/systems7020025

Abstract

There is growing interest in studying processes of human sensemaking, as this strongly influences human and organizational behavior as well as complex system dynamics due to the diverse lenses people use to interpret and act in the world. The Cognitive Edge SenseMaker® tool is one method for capturing and making sense of people’s attitudes, perceptions, and experiences. It is used for monitoring and evaluation; mapping ideas, mind-sets, and attitudes; and detecting trends and weak signals. However, academic literature describing the tool-set and method is lacking. This introduction aims to guide researchers in choosing when to use SenseMaker and to facilitate understanding of its execution and limitations. SenseMaker can provide nuanced insight into system-level patterns of human sensemaking that can provide insight to nudge systems towards more desirable futures, and enable researchers to measure beyond what they know.

Highlights

Social systems continuously engage in sensemaking processes that shape behavior and emergent structure [1]
The purpose of this article is to introduce the SenseMaker tool, which is based on the Cynefin sensemaking framework
This article aims to help researchers understand SenseMaker and evaluate whether it is a suitable tool for their research

Summary

Introduction

Social systems continuously engage in sensemaking processes that shape behavior and emergent structure [1]. The process starts when people sense cues from the environment, make sense of it, enact their interpretation to express their identity and shape their world [2]. Sensemaking is a cognitive process that allows us to structure the unknown, to understand and explain the world, and to inform action [1,3,4,5,6,7]. Information is interpreted and meaning assigned so as to inform behavior on both the individual and collective scale [1,8,9]. All sensemaking processes are informed by culture, prevailing narratives, knowledge systems, and experiences [1,3].

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Conclusion