Interaction Map

Choose this exercise

Purpose: Map and analyze visible relationships, communication paths, and resource flows between actors within a defined system.

Use it when: Use when a team or community initiative involves multiple groups and needs to clarify how communication and resources actually move between them.

Skip it when: Skip when the working context is a single internal team with simple linear workflows, where a basic flowchart or RACI matrix is more appropriate.

Group arrangement: Subgroups of 3 to 5 people working on parallel system maps, or a single working circle for small cohorts.

Timing: 60 minutes matches the minimum standard duration from source evidence (60 to 120 minutes).

Materials and tools

• Roll of butcher paper or large poster sheets (1 per subgroup)
• Sticky notes in 3 distinct colors (1 pad per subgroup)
• Fine and medium tip markers in 4 colors: black, blue, green, red (1 set per subgroup)
• Low-tack masking tape or pushpins
• Timer

Before participants arrive

1. Define and post the focal question or boundary of the system being mapped (for example: How do local groups, service providers, and residents exchange support during emergency housing requests?).
2. Tape large paper sheets onto open wall spaces or tables with room for groups of 3 to 5 to stand around them.
3. Distribute sticky notes and colored markers to each station.

Say this to open

Today we will construct an interaction map for our project. We will identify the main actors involved, map how information and resources pass between them, and locate where handoffs work well or break down. We will work in small teams, create visual networks on paper, and finish by analyzing what needs improvement.

How to run it

1. Introduce scope and define conventions 5 minutes

   State the system boundary clearly. Explain the line-coding legend on the board: solid black arrow for direct information flow, green arrow for budget or material exchange, and dashed red line for friction or delay. Review the neutral example.

2. Brainstorm actors 10 minutes

   Subgroups spend 5 minutes silently writing actors on sticky notes (one person, organization, or department per note), using the guiding prompt: 'Who is directly or indirectly involved in this system?' Teams spend the remaining 5 minutes clustering duplicates and arranging key actors across their butcher paper.

3. Draw connections and flows 15 minutes

   Teams draw directed arrows between actor notes using the agreed color codes. Arrows must show the direction of flow. For two-way exchanges, draw distinct arrows in both directions. Label critical links with a 1 or 2 word note (such as 'quarterly report' or 'grant funds').

4. Analyze bottlenecks and disconnects 15 minutes

   Subgroups review their completed map against three diagnostic checks: Which actors have only outgoing or incoming lines? Where do red friction lines concentrate? Which actor serves as an overloaded sole bottleneck? Teams flag up to 3 priority intervention spots with circle stickers or marker stars.

5. Cross-group gallery walk 10 minutes

   Participants circulate to view other subgroup maps for 5 minutes. Reconvene as a full room. Take 1 brief observation from each subgroup highlighting a surprise connection or systemic gap.

6. Debrief and synthesize actions 5 minutes

   Facilitate a structured debrief using the prepared questions. Collect verbal summaries of immediate operational changes to test.

Debrief questions

• Which actor or link emerged as more central than expected?
• Where does information or resource flow stop completely or experience severe delay?
• What is one connection we can establish, simplify, or repair in the next month?

Finished output: A visible system map documenting actors, resource flows, information links, and marked structural bottlenecks, photographed or recorded for action planning.

Remote

Use an online canvas tool such as Miro or Mural. Pre-populate template frames with the legend (information, resource, friction) and sticky notes. Form breakout rooms of 3 to 5 participants. Each room works simultaneously on their canvas frame before returning to the main room for canvas screen-sharing.

Hybrid

Place remote participants together in a dedicated digital breakout group using the online whiteboard, while in-person participants work on wall paper. During cross-group sharing, project the digital canvas to the physical room and livestream physical maps via a mobile camera.

Access and participation choices

• Provide high-contrast markers and allow participants with mobility considerations to map from seated table positions rather than wall charts.
• Offer varied roles inside subgroups: note writer, flow drawer, or verbal contributor, so anyone uncomfortable with sketching can participate fully.
• Participants may decline to map sensitive political relationships by focusing strictly on formal administrative workflows.

If the session gets stuck

The map becomes an unreadable web of intersecting lines.

Ask groups to move sticky notes closer together to shorten lines, or limit each pair of actors to their two most critical interactions.

Participants disagree over whether a relationship is positive or broken.

Instruct the group to draw both: a green or black arrow for formal transactions and a dashed red line showing the experienced friction point.

Terms used here

• System boundary: The defined scope that limits which actors and activities are included in this specific analysis.
• Bottleneck: A point where workflow or communication narrows and causes delay or failure for other actors.