Indi Young — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 17:38:10 GMT

Thanks for the comments! (I’m Indi, the author of the book.) Yes, this is a way of visualizing data, and it is “a very powerful way to explain these relationships to a customer.” It also keeps the designer focused on the user, not the product. Many companies still design iteratively based on how well an existing product works, which is fine, but it doesn’t give you a wider perspective.

As far as the term “mental model,” in the past decade cognitive scientists have broadened the meaning again and again. I felt that this representation of data falls within those broader definitions.

The “fishbone” (or “spine” or “horizon”) diagram is key in that it shows alignment between the things a person is doing and the ways an organization supports it. So the alignment is the important bit. Above or below the line the representation can take any form. I’ve found that three hierarchical levels of affinity are the right amount of data to depict.

Boxes and Arrows: Comments by Indi Young