Flying Logic Pro
This past winter I discovered a relatively new little application called Flying Logic. It’s designed – specifically – to represent decision graphs. Gone is the tweaking with placement of boxes and shapes of arrows and you’re left with the ability (requirement) to focus on how to model the logic of your problem / solution / system. It’s based heavily on the Theory of Constraints and there is information on the web site describing how to use the tool using that paradigm. Basically the idea is that systems are finite. Some systems are more finite than they need to be because there are bottlenecks (constraints) that can be worked on and elevated / removed, making the system more efficient and productive.
One built-in model, the Prerequisite Tree, I find particularly useful (see diagram). Basically it provides a simple structure to document your goals and then map out the things you need to overcome to achieve those goals. Finally you document milestones that, if achieved, mean that what needs to be overcome is completed.
If you want to find out more about Flying Logic, it is best to see it in action and there are a couple of good videos on the site that are worth looking at.
Interestingly, the pro version allows you to create your own classes (the other versions can accept templates, but not create new ones). I have found that feature helpful in arranging thoughts, arguments, etc. in relation to my thesis. The diagram below (click for a bigger picture) was a draft to organize my thoughts in framing various potential research questions on diagrammatic reasoning.
I set up some research elements, based on a framework published by Weber and Wand, attached my questions to those elements and then built down my methods. Finally I mapped out phases for the research and “promoted” some questions to key questions as they were summations of several others.
In the end, we are focusing on the question “In what ways do physicians reason differently about EMR requirements when using conceptual diagrams as compared to textual requirements?” thanks, in part, to Flying Logic Pro.
Of course, we have gone through some more iterations since I sketched this out, but it gives people an idea of a more complex map.
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