Most network maps are static snapshots. Social System Maps evolve over time—just like the people and relationships they represent.
This is the seventh article in my 8-week series exploring foundational systems thinking concepts, written for the 2025 RE-AMP Systems Thinking Academy. Whether you’re following along with the series or diving deep into systems practice, this article explores Pattern Spotting…
As mappers, we’re always grappling with complexity. Networks don’t behave like machines. They adapt, self-organize, and surprise us. Which means that mapping isn’t just about drawing static lines — it’s about learning to see living patterns, and then engaging with…
The SenseMaking Mode: An Ongoing Practice of Inquiry Social System Mapping opens access to a domain we’ve previously only been able to speculate about – the ecosystem just beyond our own ego-network horizons, the connective tissue linking our immediate relationships…
Isn’t SenseMaking the Same as Envisioning? Not at all! The Visionary sees what’s possible and catalyzes others to build toward it. The SenseMaker helps people work with what’s been built – learning to read it, question it, and…
The original network visualization tools (as well as, perhaps, the underlying scientific research goals they were designed to serve) imposed constraints on a Social Network Analysis project that no longer apply when using sumApp and Kumu together. These new tools…
Social System Mapping unfolds in three fluid, overlapping phases — Envisioning, Mapping, and SenseMaking — all woven together by Storytelling. This isn’t a linear path, but a living, iterative cycle that deepens over time.
1. Click “Connections” to find members you want to add a connection
1. From ‘My Projects’, select the ‘Manage’ drop-down for
See a list of all members in your project. Send an invitation email to your memb
Click ‘Manage’ button to access your project management pages. Edit
A project you no longer need can be: Deleted completely Deletion is not reversib
Cancel your subscription. Return to sumApp. Remove a payment method. Add a payme
Once a member has joined your Social System Map, either the member can edit thei
1. From your project profile, click ‘My preferences’. 2. Make change
