Strategic Options Development and Analysis (SODA)
Strategic Options Development and Analysis (SODA) is a method
for working on complex problems. It is an approach designed to
help OR consultants help their clients with messy problems.
SODA uses interview and cognitive mapping to capture individual
views of an issue. Group maps constructed through the aggregation
of individual cognitive maps are used to facilitate negotiation
about value/goal systems, key strategic issues, and option portfolios.
As well as problem content, attention is paid to the affective,
political, and process dynamics in the group.
SODA aims to provide a management team with a model as a device
to aid negotiation, working with individuality and subjectivity
as the basis for problem definition and creativity. It tends
to generate increasingly rich models, rather than move towards
abstraction or simplicity and sees strategic management in terms
of changing thinking and action rather than planning.
The method aims to develop high levels of ownership for a
problem through the attention paid to problem definition and
negotiation. It is aimed at groups of four to ten participants.
The process uses two personal computers, special software
(COPE, see below), one (preferably two) large monitors, blank
wall space, large sheets of paper, and water based pens. It is
managed by two facilitators - one who attends primarily to content
and one to process. SODA was originally developed by Colin Eden
at the University of Bath.
COPE
COPE cognitive mapping software was created specifically for
use with SODA. COPE is used to map individual cognitive maps
of the problem space and then to combine those individual maps
into a group map that can highlight both areas of consensus and
areas of disagreement.
It is PC/Windows based, can use colour, is easy to use and
highly flexible.
References
- Professor Colin Eden, University of Strathclyde
- "Using Cognitive Mapping for Strategic Options Development".
( in 'Rational Analysis for a Problematic World', Jonathan Rosenhead
(ed.)). Wiley 1989.
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