ABSTRACT
This chapter has explored the background and approaches to causal mapping. One thing a strategy practitioner should always bear in mind is that organising the map is in itself a form of analysis. By just organising and reducing crossing lines and bringing ideas together into logical groups will reveal useful information. This may feel more of a craft than a formal analysis, but it does enable group thinking, priorities, and the key cognitive areas of attention and interest to be displayed. Our advice when first attempting analysis of any cognitive map is first to organise the map, then just look at it, establish where elements of density appear, what groupings are most populated, and what the central constructs are. Does the map keep emphasising a single set of themes? Doing this first can help reduce the background noise of a complex map and help the strategist focus on the key areas for attention and discussion.
