Facilitating Collaborative Problem-Solving with Computer-Supported Causal Mapping

Achieving group consensus in the development, evaluation, and selection of solutions to complex problems requires team members to identify and resolve differences in individual conceptions of the problem-space. However, the complexity of a problem makes this process to be a highly challenging task. As a result, this demonstration introduces jMAP - a software application designed to facilitate collaborative problem-solving by enabling users to: 1) individually construct causal maps; 2) graphically overlay and juxtapose one individual's map over another individual's map to identify commonalities in causal links, root causes, and the causal chains linking root causes to a target outcome; 3) quantitatively score the extent to which two maps share causal links, root causes, and the causal chain links stemming from root causes; and 4) view their own maps with links that vary in density to convey the percentage of other users that included each specific link in their maps.