Communicating to Decision Makers: How One Simple Graphic Navigates Complexity and Uncertainty
Serious problems require information graphics; the guiding graphic is the one visual that can double an both informational and decorative.
A guiding graphic is the one simple graphic that technically trained professionals should use. Guiding graphics associated with projects with high levels of complexity and uncertainty should depict a logical process flow and at least some primary endpoint. Above all, senior management needs to know that the process of addressing a complex problem is moving toward some type of finality.
Use Information Graphics
Technical communicators should remember to avoid what Edward Tufte calls chart junk--visual images with no meaning and graphics that distract from the underlying data and information. Avoid depicting circular processes, overlapping circles, and boxes with triangles that nest in multiple dimensions without going anywhere. The internet and sales material are full of examples.
Decorative graphics are useless visuals developed by people without much technical depth and usually sell shiny objects. Problems with high levels of complexity and uncertainty require serious decisions made by people who need information. Information graphics are in order. The guiding graphic is the one information graphic that can double as a form of decorative graphic.
Features of a Guiding Graphic
Problems involving high levels of complexity and uncertainty are iterative as new information is gathered and additional analysis is performed. The guiding graphic depicts a logical flow and at least some primary endpoint.
The visual feel should be more of a bubble diagram rather than a flow chart because it should produce a feeling of warmth and confidence in the process. The guiding graphic should not require a deep and time-consuming technical understanding. Connecting lines should be minimized since we look for general flow, not technical precision. If a potential graphic can be more decorative than others, it is the guiding graphic.
The guiding graphic should include points or references to specific milestones where decision makers will be involved. Decision makers, with few exceptions, care little about how the technical "sausage" is made or the details of how hard the technical analysts work. They care when and where their input is needed and what kind of decisions will be required at those milestones. In short, the guiding graphic is most about them.
Applying It with FINESSE
The guiding graphic is the one simple visual that helps navigate problems with high levels of complexity and uncertainty. With one part information and one part decorative, the guiding graphic simultaneously provides clarity and vision. However, decorative elements should not be overdone. Serious decision makers require information, not shiny objects.
The illustration "Step, Step, Leap!" and excerpts from this article are taken from JD Solomon's book, "Communicating Reliability, Risk, and Resiliency to Decision Makers: How to Get Your Boss's Boss to Understand." The second edition is available on Amazon. Subscribe to Communicating with FINESSE for more information on our publications, webinars, and training.