Products
What is Sketch? Link to heading
We built our primary modelling tool, Sketch, to help teams make fast but rigorous decisions when facing dynamic, uncertain, and novel situations. Sketch supports all three stages of rapid decision making under deep uncertainty, helping users to understand a complex system; to plan a response; and then to refine the plan by assessing its effectiveness. It also facilitates onward communication, explanation, and iteration.
Although modelling is a powerful decision support tool, the production of models for complex situations is often well beyond the means of most organisations. Traditional, more accessible modelling approaches are designed to support simpler decisions in repeatable contexts. They are not optimised for novel or urgent situations. In these situations, we need a tool that enables a planning team to rapidly explore and test the behaviour of a complex system, to understand the potential outcomes of proposed actions, and to do so in a timescale that at least matches the pace of the situation.
Fast but rigorous: Based on graph theory, Sketch enables rapid and collaborative model building, analysis and communication. This results in a testable model which can be interrogated, iterated, and easily communicated in order to support the planning process. In order to optimise Sketch for application as a planning aid with a firm scientific foundation, we have researched the breadth of decision making from individuals, through groups, and into the structured environment of fast-paced planning, exploring the tools and methods used in support of all types of decisions, particularly in high pressured environments where ease of use is critical.
Understand: Sketch facilitates the team in rapidly mapping out the problem they are trying to solve, using their own knowledge and wisdom to create shared mental models of the challenges they face. Sketch uses AI to both stimulate and merge the ideas of individual team members.
Plan: Sketch enables the team to explore their shared mental model to identify opportunities, threats, strengths and weaknesses. It helps the team to rapidly brainstorm ideas and identify key points of leverage and the actions necessary to achieve their objectives. Sketch’s highly visual interface enables rapid communication of ideas and the rationale behind them between users, and to other stakeholders, whether they be in the room or remote.
Refine: Uniquely, Sketch then enables logical and mathematical calculations to help the team make an informed assessment of the likelihood of potential actions leading to desired outcomes.
Sketch helps with: Link to heading
- Assessing causal relationships
- Surfacing counter-intuitive effects
- Combining multiple points of view
- Embedding complex logic
- Recording logic history
- Facilitating debate
- Deciding on what matters
- Exploring hypotheses and red teaming
- Explaining decisions to newcomers
- Incorporating new information
- Overconfidence in gut feel
- Lack of awareness of wider risk factors
Why is Sketch different? Link to heading
- It makes use of the wisdom of the team, rather than relying on data which can be hard to obtain in the time available
- But it can still be connected to data feeds as and when they become available
- It can deliver useful outcomes in hours rather than days or weeks
- It structures what is universal (logical reasoning, especially under time pressure) rather than what is specific. If you change the way you do things, you can still use it.
- It can be adapted and tailored for any organisation
- It can used effectively by novices and experts alike
- It makes complexity easier to understand without oversimplifying or losing detail and nuance.
Get in touch Link to heading
Sketch is constantly evolving. Since we wrote this, it will have moved on. So if you think this is cool, just imagine what it might look like now. Sketch is available both as an on-premise installation, or as a service. If you want to know more about how you can get your hands on Sketch, please email us on contact@cosimmetry.co.uk.