| name | connection-circles |
| description | Use connection circles to map cause-and-effect relationships and identify feedback loops in a system. Use when analyzing interacting variables, product dynamics, support load, customer behavior, or systemic side effects. |
| license | MIT |
| metadata | {"author":"itzcull"} |
Connection Circles
Overview
Type of Tool: Systems Thinking Tool
Purpose: Understand relationships and identify feedback loops within systems
How to Create a Connection Circle
Steps
- Start with a circle on paper
- Identify key system elements:
- Important to system changes
- Can increase or decrease
- Described by a noun
- Write elements around the circle (limit to 10)
- Map cause and effect relationships:
- Draw arrows between elements
- Indicate increases ("+") or decreases ("-")
- Find cause-and-effect relationships
- Identify closed feedback loops
Example Scenario
Context: Product with unhappy customers experiencing bugs and slow support
Key Elements
- Unhappy customers
- Bugs in product
- Response times
- Support tickets
- New features
Mapping Relationships
The connection circle helps visualize how these elements interact, showing:
- More support tickets lead to longer response times
- Longer response times create more unhappy customers
- New features attempt to reduce unhappy customers
- New features can also introduce more bugs
Benefits
- Understand system complexity
- Visualize cause-and-effect relationships
- Identify reinforcing and balancing feedback loops
Resources
Source: https://untools.co/connection-circles/
