cothinkacademy.training

Who is Event Mapping for?

Once you have chosen a subject to work on, the first step in any well-structured problem solving process is to organise all the information available in a synthetic, easy to communicate manner. Obviously, the more complex the problem, the more important it is to do this.

Event Mapping, a proprietary methodology developed by CoThink, combines the best of several other problem solving methods such as Fault Tree Analysis, Barrier Analysis and the 5 Why approach.

Furthermore, it integrates all of the principles of high quality visual communication, using different shapes and colours for the classification of different types of information: Events, Effects, Causes, Contributing Circumstances, Breached Barriers….and other conventions which allow you to describe the nature of the relationships and the dependencies which exist between the sub-elements of any problem situation.

All of this combines to make Event Mapping a particularly powerful and versatile tool for evaluating complex problem situations and communicating about them with others.

Once the initial problem evaluation is complete, the Event Map then serves as a perfect template for identifying areas where immediate mitigating measures are required, areas where further analysis is required and for evaluating different approaches to problem resolution. After solutions have been selected, implementation and validation are also monitored with your Event Map.

For all of these reasons, we recommend Event Mapping for absolutely everyone whose activity requires them to be able to evaluate complex problem situations and communicate about them with others.

Extra Bonus. With a well drawn-up Event Map, 9 times out of 10, you’ll have a deep enough understanding of the problem situation to be able to start work on solutions without any further analysis being required!

What will you learn?

Designed to allow you to organize and effectively communicate complex information (to management, customers, partners…), with our on-line Event Mapping training you will learn the following:

• The benefits and importance of visualisation for communicating complex information
  
  
• The purpose and key points regarding the use if the different Event Mapping conventions: Events, Effects, Causes, Contributing Circumstances, Breached barriers…
  
  
• The nature of cause-effect relationships
  
  
• Key types of interdependency and their consequences in terms of problem solving
  
  
• How to use an Event Map to structure your problem resolution process
  
  
• When to use Event Mapping

Course Content.

• Two interactive on-line training modules:
  
  
  • Event Mapping Theory: Introduction to all the basic Event Mapping conventions illustrated through an example
  • Event Mapping Practise : Based on a case study, a guided, self-evaluation exercise to ensure understanding of all the concepts presented in the theory module
    
    
    
• One “homework” exercise + corrected solution : Based on a more complex case study, a further opportunity to gain practical experience using the different Event Mapping concepts and our Excel based, Event Mapping template
  
  
• An Excel based Event Mapping template
  
  
• An Event Mapping process card and a series of Event Map examples covering different types of problem situation

Time required. Depending on prior experience with formal problem solving methodologies and given the complexity of the practical exercises that are proposed (based on cases studies), this course requires 1.5 to 2 hours

Recommended prerequisites.

Event Mapping is a stand-alone methodology which serves as a particularly effective starting point for any problem resolution process. However, if you have no prior experience with formal problem solving methodologies we highly recommend that you first do the course below:

Information gathering and questioning technique: The quality of the information you have available will determine the quality of your initial problem evaluation. For those who have no formal training in this area, this course, which includes theory and practise exercises, provides very helpful guidelines on the key questions that need to be asked in any problem situation and how to ask them in a manner which ensures you get high quality answers.