Cognitive Edge is focused on rejuvenating management practices to better equip organisations when addressing intractable problems or seizing new opportunities in uncertain and complex situations. Where traditional approaches have failed to deliver success, Cognitive Edge techniques enable the emergence of fresh and insightful solutions seen from multiple perspectives.

Cognitive Edge solutions, comprised of open source methods, original research and the Cognitive Edge SenseMaker® Software Suite, are delivered through the Cognitive Edge Network. The Cognitive Edge Network is a widely dispersed, cohesive Network of experienced professionals in private and public sector organisations from diverse disciplines with deep-rooted experience in both business and science. It includes academics and practitioners, in house and commercial consultants. Membership of the Network is attained through participation in an Accreditation programme.

The Cognitive Edge SenseMaker® Software Suite provides a set of tools designed to enable informed decision making in organisations using both structured and unstructured data in a common environment. The Suite is fully integrated with a coherent body of formal methods is the outcome of several years of research into human based organizational complexity, sensemaking, decision making, knowledge sharing and narrative.

VIDEOS

Introduction to SenseMaker®

This video presents the conceptual underpinnings of the SenseMaker® Suite.   The software and linked methods allow the collection and signifying of multiple sense-making fragments which can be anecdotes, pictures, web sites, blogs and other forms of unstructured data.  The signification provides sophisticated metadata which can be used to provide quantitative research material, as well as measurement systems and impact analysis. Visualisation tools, linked to methods and models, permit users to sense complex patterns and anomalies that would not be visible to conventional analysis.

SenseMaker® is fully integrated with a coherent body of formal methods and is the outcome of several years of research into human-based organisational complexity, sensemaking, and decision making.  Recently Cognitive Edge announced the release of SenseMaker® Collector and Auditor v3.0.

View the Introduction to SenseMaker® Video

 

The Cynefin Framework

The Cynefin Framework is central to Cognitive Edge methods and tools. It allows executives to see things from new viewpoints, assimilate complex concepts, and address real-world problems and opportunities. Using the Cynefin framework can help executives sense which context they are in so that they can not only make better decisions but also avoid the problems that arise when their preferred management style causes them to make mistakes.

Cynefin, pronounced kuh-nev-in, is a Welsh word that signifies the multiple factors in our environment and our experience that influence us in ways we can never understand.

In this video, Dave Snowden introduces the Cynefin Framework with a brief explanation of its origin and evolution and a detailed discussion of its architecture and function.

View the The Cynefin Framework Video

 

How to organise a Children's Party

The Children's Party Story introduces the nature of systems and complexity through the use of a simple metaphor that resonates widely.  One of the key learning stories from Cognitive Edge. 

View the How to organise a Children's Party Video

 

Apollo 13

A common mistake in management today is to confuse creativity and innovation.  There are three necessary but not sufficient conditions for innovation – starvation, pressure and perspective shift.  This idea is illustrated in this video using the story of the ill-fated Apollo 13 mission.

View the Apollo 13 Video

 

Longitude

Mavericks and accidents, not experts, are responsible for many advances in society and organisations.  Dave Snowden warns that in complex situations, experts can fall victim to their own thinking, and fail to see innovative solutions to novel problems.

View the Longitude Video

 

Risk and Resilience

Moving from a system designed for robustness to one that supports resilience represents a significant strategic shift. Whilst systems have commonly been designed to be robust - systems which are designed to prevent failure - increasing complexity and the difficulty it poses to fail-proof planning have made a shift to "resilience" strategically imperative. A resilient system on the other hand accepts that failure is inevitable and focuses instead on early discovery and fast recovery from failure.

View the Risk and Resilience Video