Triopticon
This technique has been developed to conform with the three principles of anthro-complexity systems interventions:
- Optimise the granularity
- Distribute and diversity the cognition
- Disintermediate decision-makers
It ritualizes the process of conflict.
The name Triopticon results of the combination ot two words: trichotomy and the Panopticon.
Contents
Supporting theory
The technique uses silent listening which implies presenting and then listening to people discussing what has been said without the ability to clarify or explain. As a result individuals listen better and improve communication, at a group level we radically reduce first respondent bias and increase the range of information scanned during situational assessment. So the idea of observation and reflection is important.
Preparation
Different groups of people need to be involved. Each group has specific roles:
- Eagles: Three people with deep expertise from different backgrounds who soar above the field and have enough differences to be interesting, but not so much as to be in major conflict (there is a variation that handles conflict but I am not describing that here).
- Raven groups: Three members of the wider audience, they are the canny ones, they are there to make sense of the ideas.
- Beaver groups which are the recombination of people from the Raven groups (if you have nine Raven groups of three each, then you can have three Beaver groups with nine people in each. As numbers increase you might have parallel Beaver Groups but the idea is these groups synthesis the material, they are the builders and makers.
- An Eagle facilitator who is rather like the conductor of an orchestra and needs subject matter expertise (they could occupy the Eagle role and are there as backup)
- A Raven facilitator who managers the Raven and Beaver Process.
- Owls (normally two or three) who stand aside and act as scribes and reporters.
- A technical team to handle the recording of sessions and also standard forms, electronic capture of ideas etc.
Workflow
English text with any general instructions to be given at the start
For a minor method the table may be omitted
| STAGE INSTRUCTION | COMMENTARY & TIPS |
| Act one, scene one: the three Eagles sit in a circle with the Raven Groups surrounding them and one of the Eagles presents their perspective on the subject and the other two Eagles act as respondents (normally 40 minutes for Eagle❶ and ten minutes each for Eagle❷ and Eagle❸). The Eagle Facilitator manages some interaction with and between the Eagles to complete the session. The Ravens are silent, listening, and taking notes. | |
| Act one, scene two: the Raven groups move out of the main space and are given time to discuss what they have heard, record learning, ideas, and questions on physical or virtual forms. They nominate themselves to be Raven❶, Raven❷ & Raven❸. During this time the Eagles and the Eagle facilitator act as a Raven Group but will have no rights or presentation in scene three. | |
| Act one, scene three: all the Raven❶ people from each group sit in a circle with the rest of the Ravens behind them (generally wedge formations work) and with the Eagles on one side. They discuss what they learned, their own ideas and thoughts, and all other participants listen in silence. | |
| Act one, scene four: there is a general discussion and question session between Ravens and participants before a break. | |
| Act two: repeats Act one in four scenes but this time Eagle❷ presents, Eagle❶ and Eagle❸ respond and then, when we reach scene three the have a circle comprised of all the Raven❷ | |
| Act three: repeats again but now it is Eagle❸ who presents with Eagles❶ and Eagle❷ responding and Raven❸ forming the groupie scene three | |
| Act four: the Raven groups are split, into three Beaver groups and they share knowledge and experience while all three Eagles rotate around the group. They focus on generating concepts to explore, methods to develop, and such like. | |
| Act five: all of the output from the Beaver Groups is captured and clustered by the group as a whole and (optional) mapped onto the five domains of the Cynefin framework, individuals or groups then take on each cluster and take it through to completion |
Do's and Don'ts
Simple bulleted list including common mistakes
Virtual running
Default is to state that it cannot be until we have developed and tested practice. If it can be run virtually then we describe it here.
It is acceptable to add a third column to the workflow if needed
References
Link to other articles on this wiki if they are relevant.
Articles
Specific articles can be referenced here
Blog posts
Cases
Link to case articles here or third party material
