Rich Pictures

Choose this exercise

Purpose: Make messy, subjective aspects of an organizational system visible and comparable without reducing them to linear diagrams.

Use it when: Use at the launch of a project or diagnostic session when interpersonal tensions, unwritten habits, and system complexity must be surfaced before planning solutions.

Skip it when: Skip when the problem is already well defined with established metrics, or when there is insufficient time to debrief the drawings.

Group arrangement: Subgroups of 3 to 5 participants working around separate large drawing surfaces (1 group at 4-5 people, up to 5 groups at 24 people), then reconvening as a full room.

Timing: 60 minutes matches the standard workshop window recommended in the source evidence.

Materials and tools

• 1 large sheet of butcher paper or A1 flip chart paper per small group
• 8 to 12 colored markers per small group
• 1 roll of painter tape or Blu-tack per room
• 1 focus question table card per group
• 1 sample Rich Picture elements card per group
• 1 flip chart pad and dark marker for facilitator notes
• Digital whiteboard with pen and shape tools if working remotely or hybrid

Before participants arrive

1. Write the open focus question (such as: 'What is happening in our customer handover right now?') on table cards.
2. Fasten large paper sheets onto walls or flat tables spaced so teams can talk freely.
3. Spread multicolored markers across every work station.
4. Place a copy of the sample elements card at each station.

Say this to open

Please grab a marker now. We are going to draw our situation to see the whole system together. Artistic skill does not matter here. Stick figures, symbols, storm clouds, and squiggles are welcome. The three main rules are: no formal flowchart boxes or process maps, no bullet points or text paragraphs, and everyone holds a marker to draw at the same time. The question on your table is: 'What is happening in our situation right now?' Grab your markers and start sketching.

How to run it

1. Frame the visual rules 5 minutes

   Read the opening script out loud. Point out the rules on the sample elements card: no flowchart boxes, no bullet points or text paragraphs, and everyone holds a marker. Ensure every person has a marker in hand before starting the timer.

2. Draw the system 25 minutes

   Subgroups of 3 to 5 sketch simultaneously on their assigned paper. Circulate among groups. If a group defaults to writing text or boxes, prompt them to replace words with symbols and faces. At minute 12, prompt them to add unseen tensions and emotions. Give a 5-minute warning at minute 20 to complete key links. Call time at minute 25.

3. Tour the gallery 15 minutes

   Have teams tape sheets to the wall if drawn on tables. Walk the room together. Give each group up to 2 minutes to point out the main figures, tensions, and connections on their poster, followed by 1 minute for peer questions. For 1 to 2 groups, use the extra time for deeper detail; for 4 to 5 groups, strictly cap each round at 3 minutes.

4. Debrief shared patterns 15 minutes

   Gather the entire room where all sheets are visible. Ask the debrief questions, taking up to 3 observations per question. Record recurring systemic themes, shared bottlenecks, and surprises onto the facilitator flip chart. Close by asking the room to name 2 priority areas that need attention next.

Debrief questions

• Looking across all drawings, what symbols, tensions, or figures appear in almost every picture?
• What surprised you in another group's picture that your own group left out?
• What important part of our day-to-day reality is still absent from these sheets?

Finished output: Completed visual situation maps showing informal connections, emotions, and blockers, plus a facilitator list of recurring systemic themes.

Remote

Assign breakout rooms of 3 to 5 participants to separate frames on a collaborative whiteboard. Preload each frame with the focus question and drawing tools. After 25 minutes of sketching, return to the main room. Screen-share each frame in turn for a 2-minute walkthrough and 1-minute question period.

Hybrid

Form separate remote and in-person subgroups of 3 to 5 people. Remote groups sketch on a shared digital whiteboard; in-person groups draw on butcher paper. During the gallery walk, share the digital canvas on the room display and aim a camera at in-person sheets so both cohorts see all work.

Access and participation choices

• Participants who prefer not to draw can contribute by naming elements, suggesting connections, or writing brief labels on sticky notes.
• Participants may pass during presentations or ask a teammate to explain specific elements.

If the session gets stuck

A team reverts to standard flowchart boxes and linear arrows.

Pause the team and ask: 'Where do people feel stuck or angry along this flow? Sketch that person's face and thought bubble right on the line.'

One person starts drawing while others stand back and dictate.

Hand markers directly to the standing participants and say: 'Pick another corner of the sheet and draw the external pressures impacting this team.'

Terms used here

• Rich Picture: A deliberately unstructured visual diagram capturing actors, feelings, conflicts, and informal relationships within a messy problem.
• Soft Systems Methodology (SSM): An organizational analysis approach developed by Peter Checkland that addresses complex, unstructured human situations.