KJ Method Study Session @ Cybozu

KJ method study group

• 2022-08-19
• I made a lecture material at the request of Loftwork: KJ Method Study Session @ Loftwork_Lecture Material v1.
• This one is still to be held, but the opportunity for a Cybozu internal study session came first, so I decided to speak there.
• Loftwork’s interesting point.
  • There is a company-wide culture that the KJ method is important.
    • The “Idea Method” and “Sequel to the Idea Method” are the assigned readings.
    • Whiteboard-type communication is becoming popular throughout the company.
    • We will all be using Miro for this 50-person study group.
    • A crazy IT literate assumed audience!
      • Normally, this is not possible, so it is done with pen and paper so that people with low IT literacy can handle it…
      • Even in lectures for working people at universities, when I say, “I’ll use Scrapbox, please log in with your Google account,” I get people who say, “I don’t have an account.
      • The students are all from a single company and have a very high level of IT literacy, which is great!

Write down anything that pops into your head as soon as it comes to mind.

• I wrote this first because it is the most important tip for intellectual production!
• reason
  • What you didn’t write down will be gone.
  • If you try to remember to keep it from disappearing, your brain will be used to “remember” it.
    • That reduces the amount of power available for “thinking”.
    • When you’re using intellectual production methods like the KJ method, you’re often trying to think of something difficult.
      • When thinking about difficult things, it is useless to use your head for anything other than “thinking”.
      • It’s important to write it down so you don’t have to use it for “remembering.”
• Let’s minimize the cost of writing it down.
  • Some people make the mistake of thinking they have to use a keyboard when there is a keyboard in front of them.
  • Which means are less costly depends on the person.
  • If you are better at flicking on your smartphone than typing on the keyboard, you may write things down by flicking
  • If you are better at handwritten notes, you may handwrite them down
  • Only you know what you are good at.
    • So it’s your responsibility to choose the best means.
• I believe this is the most important trick to intellectual production.
• Q: I wonder if the most efficient way to do this now would be to handwrite diagrams while voice inputting text.
  • A: That depends on each person and what kind of content they want to write about, so it’s something each person should try.

Self Introduction: NISHIO Hirokazu

• Master (Engineering), Doctor (Science), Master of Technology Management
• Cybozu Labs, a subsidiary of Cybozu’s research division, is engaged in research and development of software to support intellectual production. - Kozaneba digital stationery to organize your thoughts - I find the KJ method very useful, but there are a lot of inconveniences in doing it on paper! I need good digital stationery!” Motivation - Developed and provided free of charge as open source - I use it to organize my thoughts and give priority to implementing the features I think I need. - Folding groups: necessary to compress large amounts of information - Make important things bigger: hard to do on paper, but easy with digital. Zoom out and still be readable. - Drawing lines of relationship between things: is this also difficult to do with physical stationery, or do you connect them with string?　Digital is easy. - Keichobot, a chatbot that brings out your ideas - A “computer asks you questions to get you thinking” tool based on coaching techniques such as clean language and symbolic modeling - Questioning encourages verbalization. - Another important tip for intellectual production
• A little look back in time at our relationship with the KJ method
  • 2012~2013: Technology Supporting Coding
    • A book that compares more than 10 programming languages and explains “what is knowledge that is less likely to become obsolete and has long-term value”.
    • I used the KJ method to put this book together.
    • Most technical books have a short life span, but this book is still in print seven years after its release.
      • Evidence of “long-term value” being realized
  • 2013, 2014: Kyoto University Summer Design School
    • Taught the KJ method in a 3-day, 2-night, 12-hour workshop.
    • I used the KJ method to compile this lecture material.
    • Motoi’s discovery of this lecture material was the catalyst for this study session.
  • 2018: The Intellectual Production of Engineers
    • A book that explains how the “technology behind coding” was created
      • Intellectual production” took place to “create books of long-term value.”
      • There was a need for this process itself, and after writing a series of feature articles and serials, the plan was to make it into a book.
    • However, I made the editorial decision that “writing with the KJ method” alone was too narrow a topic for a book, so I decided to talk about intellectual production as a whole.
    • It ranked 10th in the overall ranking of Junkudo Ikebukuro’s main store.
      • 
      • I was personally very pleased to hear several booksellers say that they are not engineers, but that the book was good.
    • Chapter 5, “How to organize your thoughts” is the main chapter talking about KJ method.
      • I wanted to write more but couldn’t because of the overall volume of the book.
      • We received feedback that the advice “Thinking out of Conflict” and “Looks like presentation slides.” were useful for newcomers to your company who read them beforehand.
• Probably rather different from the work you usually do.
  • Especially those facilitating workshops where multiple clients do KJ legal things.
  • There was a preliminary question, “I want to know how to do good facilitation.”
    • but you are more experienced in that!
  • Role of in this issue: Promoting multifaceted understanding by offering different perspectives

Promotes multifaceted understanding by offering different perspectives

• 
  • One person says it’s a circle, another says it’s a square.
    • Seemingly contradictory opinions, which is right?
    • Neither is correct!
      • A cylinder looks like a circle or a square, but it is neither a circle nor a square
• The KJ method has the catchphrase “let the data do the talking,” but the basic premise is…
  • 「 All data is a lie 」
    • Circle” and “square” are both wrong.

  • All data is a lie. Use data knowing it to be a lie. And from that, we can determine the more correct truth. That is the path to judgment. But how can we determine the truth from a lie? It is because, from a different point of view, every piece of data also contains some semblance of the truth. (KJ method Let the chaos speak for itself p.71)

  • A person’s words describing something are a description of the view from that person’s perspective
    • Description is not equal to the object itself.
    • Even if multiple people’s explanations seem contradictory at first glance, they could be different angles describing the same thing.
    • So “From a 360-degree viewing angle” It is important to collect data.
      • From a 360-degree viewing angle” later became the first of the “Five Principles of Exploration”.
      • (First published in: Sequential Idea Method, p. 29)

let data speak for itself

• Let the data speak for itself.”
  • Words are hard…”
  • Well, it’s a word from the 60’s. Younger people might not be familiar with it.
• Contemporary translation: “Let the data do the talking.”
  • Data doesn’t talk, does it?”
    • It’s an anthropomorphic figurative expression.
• Consider “Let Friend A Talk.”
  • Mrs. A: “Hey, listen, my husband…”
  • Bad example (Mr. B)
    • Listen to me for a moment.
      • Mr. B: “Ah, in essence, you are saying that ‘the attitude of the spouse’s participation in household chores is the problem.‘”
    • If you said this, Mr. A wouldn’t be able to speak the rest of the story.
    • Mr. B is “someone who doesn’t listen.”
  • Good example (Mr. C)
    • Mrs. A: “My husband thinks I’m stupid!”
    • Mr. C.: “Yes, you’re making fun of me.”
      • Not that I consider this claim to be true.
      • Whether it’s true or not, I think, “That’s how it looks from Mr. A’s point of view,” and I take it.
    • Mr. C is a “person who can listen” who takes what Mr. A says to heart.
• Good attitude towards people:.
  • “Listen to what they have to say without assuming, ‘This is what they must be trying to say.
• The equivalent attitude toward the data is: “I’m not a good person.
  • “Don’t just assume, ‘This must be happening,’ but look at the data.”
  • This is “letting the data do the talking.”
• Incidentally, “From a 360-degree viewing angle” in the context of complaining about a marital dispute:.
  • It becomes, “Listening to only one side of a marital dispute doesn’t give you a correct understanding, you have to listen to both sides.”

Letting the Data Do the Talking” in the planning stages of this study session.

• Motoi’s first consultation email

  • It’s a skill that belongs to the veteran members of the team.”
  • It’s hard to get that across to our younger members.”

• Nishio’s first thought.

  • If tacit knowledge is difficult to transfer.
    • Or, “Language at a Cost.”
    • Communicate non-verbally by doing things in the same place” (collaboration in the SECI Model) or
    • I think you have two choices.
  • As to “language at a cost:”
    • Since the veterans actually use the KJ method and find it valuable, why don’t you ask them to tell you “why I use the KJ method” with their own muddled experiences?
    • If the veteran can’t afford the time cost of preparing the material, why don’t the younger members interview the veteran and summarize it using the KJ method?
  • and was about to delve into “how to verbalize it at a cost.”

• Then I saw the detailed data.

  • Data = Questions to Motoi and preliminary survey results.
  • Apparently, that’s not what you understood beforehand?”
  • In many cases, especially younger members are doing the KJ method with their teams.
    • In other words, they are already trying to “communicate non-verbally by doing it in the same place” and then there is the current problem
  • There are “I don’t understand”, “I’m scared”, “I don’t know the right answer”, and “I feel like it’s too late to ask” in the survey.

• hypothesis

  • The KJ method is an essential skill, I was told to read the assigned book “Ideas” and I did, but I don’t understand what it means…
  • I’m trying to do the KJ method with my seniors, but I’m not sure if I’m doing it right… I’m not sure if I’m doing it right because my seniors say it’s the right thing to do…
  • When I say, “I don’t really understand,” you say, “What? Now?” I’m afraid you might say, “What? Afraid to ask questions…
  • (For a proposal to do it alone) I don’t know the right answer, so I can’t do it alone…
  • How can we solve this problem?

• Parable of the Bicycle

• I’m going to assume that everyone listening can ride a bicycle, and I’m going to use a bicycle analogy.

  • Now let’s say here’s a person who doesn’t know how to ride a bicycle.
  • I can’t ride a bicycle because I don’t know how to ride it properly, please tell me!”
  • What do we do now?

• The data is showing a “I can’t do it because I don’t know the right way to do the KJ method” kind of opinion.

  • Implicitly assuming that those who have done it know the right answer, I don’t, and I can’t do it without being taught.
  • But your process of learning how to ride a bike wasn’t reading a textbook or listening to a classroom lecture, was it?
  • You should have actually straddled the bike in a safe park or something, tried many times, sometimes fell down, and from the repetition you should have learned the knack of moving forward in a stable manner.

• Another perspective: a line from a veteran who has done the KJ method over 100 times.

  • I may have taken the liberty of making some of it my own.”
    • They don’t think, “I’m doing it the right way.”
    • Nor do I think, “I know the right answer, but I’m changing it a bit and making it my own.”
    • I don’t know if the way I’m doing things is the right way or my own way because I don’t know the right way.”

• There is no right answer, everyone who knows how to use it is self-taught.

  • Just like how you all ride your bicycles in your own way.
    • They know that riding a bike will get them around faster than walking.
    • Ride when you need it.
    • This is enough for practical purposes.
  • The reason you don’t get a clear answer to your question about the “right way” is because everyone is doing things their own way.
  • Self-improvement is not bad, in fact, it’s good.
    • Self-organized = customized method to fit your own personality.
      • [Each person is unique, so it is only natural that the method that works best for that person will be different for each person.
    • You can refine your own “my style” through trial and error.
  • Birth of the KJ method:.
    • The intellectual production technique created by Jiro Kawakita was given the name “KJ method” after the fact.
    • In other words, the KJ method itself is one of Jiro Kawakita’s self-styled intellectual production techniques.

Q: Do we need to share the premise that just because you “can” do something doesn’t mean you can “teach” it?

• A: That’s a good expression. It’s hard to tell people how to ride a bike in words, I think it’s the same thing!

Need to create a loftwork style.

• The cultural anthropologist wrote in 1967, “The Idea Act.”
• The day-to-day work your company is doing in 2022
• There is a huge gap between the two.
  • Different objectives, different tools used.
    • There’s lots of talk about paper diaries and labels in “Ideas,” but no mention of computers, because it’s a book from 1967.
  • Trying to apply it to day-to-day operations
    • Read “Ideas.”
    • Discarding detailed specific methods,
    • Extracting the essence as an intellectual production technique,
    • It is necessary to achieve this using modern tools
  • Isn’t that too high a hurdle for a new employee?
• If you want to improve the training of new employees, you need to update the “idea method” to the modern and your company’s context.
  • Updating to a modern context is also in line with what wants to do, so we can cooperate.
    • A first step in this direction was the 1988 “The Idea Act,” written after the 1967 “The Idea Act” and based on more than 20 years of experience.KJ method Let the chaos speak for itself 」を読むのがいいと思う
  • Updating to your context requires tightly coupled knowledge of your business
    • So this is what your company’s members should do.
    • Let each of you develop your own style for the task at hand.
    • You should feel free to ask each other questions, exchange know-how and make improvements.

The Small Start Principle

• When you can’t solve a big problem at once, start small.
• Solving the problem of “an atmosphere where people feel like it’s too late to ask.”
  • To resolve this, a questionnaire in the form of “outside lecturers seeking information on questions for the preparation of lecture materials” was used to create “opportunities to ask questions that are not currently being asked”.
  • It’s also an illustration of how “questions encourage language.”
  • It is impossible & useless to answer these questions orally in a limited time, so I will answer them in text before and after.
  • This question is data that “there are people in your company who wonder about it,” so you can use it as a trigger for discussion and know-how distribution within your company.
• In the limited time available for work in today’s study session, you will be asked to “practice riding a bicycle with auxiliary wheels”!
  • Even if the goal is to ride bicycles without auxiliary wheels on public roads in the future, I wouldn’t challenge that in the beginning.
  • First, experience “pedaling a bicycle to go forward.
  • And realize that “pedaling a bicycle will get you further faster than walking.
  • This realization leads to confidence that this is the right approach.
• This work
  • Label “Explore net” for “alone” and “about 25 pieces” for “self originated”.
  • Each of these elements will be explained

Going It Alone (1/5): History First - [The term “KJ method” is vague. - - 1: The KJ method was released in 1967, beginning with the “Idea Method”. - The method was intended to “summarize” the large amount of qualitative data gathered by the cultural anthropologist through fieldwork to learn what he wanted to know - 2: The “Idea Method” became a hot topic , and in the process of teaching the KJ method to others, he came to believe that the KJ method could be applied to various purposes. - And it was applied to a wide variety of purposes by himself and those around him - Because the objectives are different, the methods are also slightly different. - begins to use the term “KJ method in the narrow sense” to refer to the original KJ method to distinguish it from these many different KJ legal methods. - However, this is ambiguous when there are multiple narrowly-defined KJ methods, so I decided to call it “Beginning KJ method” on this page. - 3: One of the many and varied applications of the KJ method is the “KJ legal workshop”. - - Image of a workshop where a large number of “people who have never studied the KJ method” are gathered, their ideas are written on sticky notes, and everyone discusses them together in groups in a lively manner. - The nature of the KJ method, which is “done for a large number of people who have never studied KJ before,” made this the “first experience with KJ” for many people. - As a result, a lot of people recognized that “this is the KJ method.” - However, this “KJ legal workshop” is at odds with ‘s “Beginning KJ method” in many ways - The KJ method is not powerful without individual work. - 50 KJ method assumes 10 hours - Isn’t the KJ method workshop that you imagine, usually much shorter? - Again, you have 1.5 hours for the work. - The Kyoto University Summer Design School took 12 hours. - So people who recognize this “KJ legal workshop” as “KJ method” will be confused when they read ‘s book - In particular, “Idea Method” is a book from the time when “Beginning KJ Method” came out, so Jiro Kawakita is unaware of the wide variety of KJ Methods that would be created thereafter. - KJ method” is a low-resolution language, so it is necessary to Increase the resolution of the language… like we just did with the “Beginning KJ method” and the “KJ workshop”.

Doing it alone (2/5): “Beginning KJ Method” and “KJ Legal Workshop

• Which do you have more experience with, the “Beginning KJ Method” or the “KJ Legal Workshop?”
  • The majority of participants in the participant survey used it more often with their teams.
  • 
  • What purpose do you use it for? There were many “workshop” and “brainstorming” answers to the question, “For what purpose do you use it?
• The KJ method is not powerful without individual work.
  • Jiro Kawakita believes that this problem has emerged due to the widespread use of the KJ method, which is done in groups.

    • If you have only experienced group KJ method from the beginning, it is difficult to develop the basic ability to do individual work… Moreover, they feel like they have somehow mastered the KJ method because they have only done it in groups many times. They do not realize that they have not mastered the KJ method. (KJ method Let the chaos speak for itself p.209)

  • Jiro Kawakita believed that “members working in pairs must first gain experience individually and mature in their respective competencies, or undesirable compromises will occur.

    • Around 1968, a training program was initiated in which two people work in pairs to assemble labels. However, this work was conducted only in the third round (pursuit of essence), after the first round (problem posing) and the second round (understanding the situation) of labeling work had been conducted on the same theme, one after the other after having experienced this work on an individual basis. It was only in this third round that the participants succeeded in working in flexible pairs for the first time. Prior to this, I judged that the individual competence of each person was not mature enough. It seemed to me that operationally speaking, an undesirable compromise would occur between the two of us. (p.201)

Going it alone (3/5): an undesirable compromise

• What is an “undesirable compromise?”
  • For example, let’s say that a senior who is familiar with KJ method and a junior who is not familiar with KJ method are paired up to do KJ method.
  • 
  • When the senior says, “This is a circle,” the junior says, “From my point of view it looks like a square?” Can he say, “From my point of view, it looks like a square?
    • (Is it round? I think it’s square… but if senpai says it’s round, maybe that’s right… I don’t know what’s right…) just because I don’t know what it is?
    • This is an undesirable compromise.
  • If anxiety prevents us from having a multifaceted opinion, we will not be able to “From a 360-degree viewing angle”.
    • There was some giddy data that “when you’re a lone wolf, you feel alienated.”
      • What? [The lone wolf is worth it. What do you mean you feel alienated? Is there a tonal pressure to be like everyone else? Isn’t that a bad place for the KJ method?
    • Seniors have the responsibility to control the atmosphere of the place so that juniors can express their opinions without anxiety.
      • But it’s not easy when there’s a gap in competence.
      • It’s hard to say what you think, especially when there’s an authority gradient like senior and junior staff, or when there’s uncertainty about where you are as a newly graduated member of society.
      • So let’s do it alone.

Q: Why is it that I can only gain strength through individual work? Is it because we don’t have the habit of thinking carefully?

• A: Or rather, when there are seniors and juniors, the juniors do not make proactive decisions on their own, but leave the decision-making to the seniors.
  • That way, it’s not training to “make decisions” at all.
• B: I see. I see why you would be reserved with your seniors.
• C: The promise & security of being able to express any naive opinion is a prerequisite, I guess.

Q: But wouldn’t it be better to work in a group because if you’re doing it individually, you lose the possibility of meeting the claim that you think it’s square?

• A: It is a prerequisite that the two participants have an equal relationship in which they can say to each other, “I think it is round” and “I think it is square.
  • That condition would benefit from group work.
  • On the other hand, if one person says it is a circle and the other person says “I think it is a square, but I wonder if it is a circle, I don’t know”, then even if you do it as a group, you will not reach a situation where “there are multiple viewpoints” can be visualized.
  • Therefore, I would say that we should first do it individually and train ourselves to output our own opinions sufficiently, and only after we are able to do so, should we do the pair work.
  • (Adding a thought I had while adding this) As for the members of Cybozu Labs, even if they have no experience at all in KJ method, they can do KJ method in pairs.
    • If I were to say, “It’s round,” you might feel free to say, “Isn’t it square?” I would feel free to say, “It’s a square.
    • Does that mean there is psychological safety in saying that it won’t cause problems?

Q: Practice in groups to learn how to express various opinions. Other skills are acquired individually. I guess that’s what I’m saying.

• A: The prerequisite for “exchanging various opinions” is to “express one’s own opinion,” which requires the process of “verbalization” to put into words what is bothering one’s mind, and the KJ method supports this verbalization process. The KJ method supports this process of verbalization. It is easier to do this with multiple people if one person first trains himself/herself in this process.

Q: If one person teaches the other how to do something, the way to do it is different than if two people normally do it together.

• A: You’re talking about when seniors and juniors do the KJ method, right? So, it’s about bicycles, and the person who can do it is not necessarily the one who can teach, so the senior rides off at his own pace astride the bicycle, and the junior gets left behind and is in trouble!

Do it alone (4/5): so let’s do it alone first

• ‘I’ve only done it with a team; I can’t imagine doing it alone.’
  • Introduced from the preliminary survey
  • 
  • Lots of people use it for Brest.
    • On the other hand, there are those who are aware of the problem of “stopping at brainstorming and not being able to put it in writing.
  • On the flip side, some people say they use it for writing articles and blogs.
    • In other words, they use it for the purpose of “making sentences.”
    • This is similar to the “KJ method of beginnings” of [Jiro Kawakita.icon
      • He used to compile a lot of data and put it in writing.
    • Close to Nishio’s experience.
      • I used the slides for my lecture material and for writing my book.
  • Some said, “I’m not writing, I’m making slides.” - Jiro Kawakita explains that there are only two ways to “narrativization”: “written” and “oral presentation (with illustrations)“. - Does not include making slides in PowerPoint or Keynote - But slide making is a form of narrativization. - The only reason it’s not mentioned is because those presentation tools had not yet been created in 1967. - In fact, a number of people have commented in their experience with so far that “imagining the slide-making process made group organization easier.
  • It’s good to do it for the specific purpose of narrativization (= writing/slide making)
    • The clearer the objective, the easier it is to learn the methods.
    • A form similar to the “Beginning KJ method” to begin with.

Q: I like the metaphor of making slides, it’s very imaginative.

• A: Yes. I think it is very common to create a page that has 3-5 bullet points in particular, and the summary of those bullet points is written as the title or a one-line explanation below it, which is quite KJ legal.
• One line of bullet points is one label of the KJ method, and one line of commentary is the equivalent of a group’s nameplate!
• (Tip) There are two types of slide making: bottom-up and top-down, and those who make slides in a top-down way think “the KJ method is slide making! It’s a little bit wrong if you think “the KJ method is slide making!
  • For example, the style of writing “experimental method” in the title and then writing “first do A, then B” in the bullet points is the opposite direction.

Doing it alone (5/5): Achieving one job fosters both people and teams.

• There are many other kinds of work besides making texts and slides.
  • The purpose of the “Beginning KJ Method” was to write.
  • Later, “It can be applied to various purposes,” and the KJ legal method in a broad sense was derived.
  • As a result, the “purpose of the KJ method” became vague and more people felt unsure
• The common denominator of the KJ method is “Achievement of one job fosters both people and teams.”
  • One job = a job to be determined by you
    • Synonym “work”
      • The experience of independent judgment nurtures people.
    • Tasks at work may appear to be “to do” at first glance, but you have some discretion to make decisions based on your judgment.
    • Those with good judgment are given jobs with greater discretion, while those without are handed “tasks” with less discretion.
    • The purpose of the KJ method in a broad sense is to improve this judgment
    • When you’re on a team with a senior, you tend to leave decisions to the senior.
      • = No experience in proactive decision making is gained.
      • So it’s important to do it alone and “make your own decisions”.
  • Improving your judgment is important for your career.
    • So how can we improve our judgment?
    • Making decisions based on multifaceted information.
    • Quality and confidence in “judgments” are enhanced by being based on multifaceted information.
    • This is “let data speak for itself.”
• Some of the questions from the student survey: “When do you use it?” Some of the questions from the survey are as follows: 1.
  • When I’m unsure of the purpose of my work, when I have a vague sense of the issues I need to address, or when I’m trying to figure out the structure of an issue.”
    • I use it to figure out ”[* what is the problem to be solved?
  • Before starting any new work, we need to define what we’re going to do.”
    • I use it to make decisions about “what to do.”
  • When you’re struggling with priorities, scheduling, or creating a plan.”
    • I use it to decide “what to do first” among a number of things to do.
  • A number of people are using the KJ method for the purpose of proactively making decisions to “make their own decisions to proceed with the work”.
  • (Related: W-type problem-solving model of the KJ method and U-theory, respectively)
• Jiro Kawakita.icon] introduces the “Fireworks to think about” method in his article “Kanken net rethinking: Making the KJ method work” regarding daily decisions.
  • (It is like saying that the KJ method is not practical at the beginning of ).
  • Fireworks of thought are intended to bring certain conclusions to the worries, difficulties, and challenges that arise daily in our lives” (p. 304).
  • Learning this will be useful for you to use KJ method in your future practice.

Q: To begin with, it might be a good idea not to think of the KJ method as a finished method, but as a developing method. So I study it on the assumption that there is room for me to improve it.

• A: It has never been perfected, and in fact, the 1967 book has changed a lot compared to the 1967 book 20 years later.

Q: I don’t think improvement is the same thing. It’s more like you are given a clay (“idea method”) and you mold it into a shape you like.

• A: It’s not that there is “only one universally correct way” and you can improve towards it, but that each individual has their own method that fits them, which is different for each person, and you can change it “to fit your hand” according to your own aptitude.
• B: I think it’s important to think like Shuhari in all of your ideas.
• A: I think you are right!

Q: I think that different people are comfortable with different tools, and the KJ method is one of them.

• Yes. It’s stationery. There is a wide variety of stationery in the world. Find the one that fits you amongst the many.
• You should use what fits you, and there is no “right and only stationery”.
• Just, “How about this?” and new ones are born and come out from time to time.
  • (Addendum)
    • For example, Post-It was launched in 1980 (src)
      • Post-its are often used in KJ legal workshops, so people might think like “the KJ method is the way to use post-its”, but it wasn’t even invented yet in 1967 when the “Idea Method” was invented.
    • Computers were invented.
    • Pen-like devices for writing on computers have been invented and improved, and around the Apple Pencil, they began to surpass the effectiveness of traditional pens.
      • The two-finger gesture scaling/scaling parallelism, which has been widely adopted in Apple-related devices including the iPad, mitigates the disadvantage of a smaller display area compared to paper notebooks.
• It is important to find what is convenient for you.

Q: New stationery makes me want it anyway w I guess I want a comfortable tool that will increase my (intellectual) productivity.

• A: I think you should keep buying and trying new things.
  • Well, trade-offs between use and exploration.

Do it with about 25 labels.

• It takes more than 100 sheets to really understand the KJ method.
  • I totally agree, so in “The Intellectual Production of Engineers,” I wrote something to the effect that if you can’t make 100 labels, you’re not gathering enough information in the first place.
• But as I was planning this study group [Maybe 25 sheets would be a good first step to experience the KJ method.
  • Assume a situation where “an unfamiliar person tries it alone for the first time.”
  • The data shows that many people are stumbling due to lack of “experience to finish alone”.
    • So it is important to do The experience of accomplishing a task first.
    • It is very important to do it alone until the end, whether it is 25 sheets or 100 sheets is much less important.
  • The KJ method is four times more difficult when the number of sheets doubles.
  • You should make the task smaller and the distance to the goal shorter.
    • It’s not right for someone who is just starting to jog to participate in a full marathon.
• Jiro Kawakita’s “KJ method” in “It takes more than 100 sheets to understand the KJ method” refers to the “KJ method in the beginning.
  • He also says “[30-60 labels for fireworks to think about.
    • The idea that it is not necessary to exceed 100 sheets for daily practical use
• I recommend trying to go over 100 sheets when you get used to it.
  • Start with the easy ones and gradually challenge the difficult ones.
  • First, we ride bicycles with auxiliary wheels, and when we get used to it, we can ride bicycles to the next town.

Do it with a label of your own origin. - KJ method from surveys is the most difficult.

• What do you do when you see a label and say, “I’d like more information.
  • 1: Label with your thoughts
    • →Then ask yourself, “How can I elaborate on this?” Ask yourself
  • 2: Labels created from multiple people brainstorming etc.
    • →Then ask the person who offered that opinion, “How would you elaborate on this?” ask the person who gave the opinion, “What do you mean when you say this in more detail?
  • 3: Labels created by picking up from “long descriptions” such as books
    • →Reread the relevant sections of the book.
  • 4: Labels created from “short descriptions” such as free-text sections of anonymous surveys.
    • →I’m in trouble.
      • Maybe you could ask the people inside the surveyed companies…
      • For example, there were some things that were not clear in this pre-survey of participants
        • Several people used the terms “axis” and “granularity”.
        • I don’t know if these words “axis” and “granularity” are used in a dictionary sense or in a sense specific to your company.
        • So I emailed Motoi and asked him.
        • I read the text of the reply (=longer than the survey) and it was clear
      • Can this kind of resolution be done or not?
  • Easiest to do with self-derived labels, much harder to do with anonymous survey-derived labels.
    • So this time I’ll do it with a label of my own origin.
    • It appears that your company often uses the KJ method to compile “100 or more” labels of “survey origin” for business needs.
    • I guess if you have to, you have to do it, but you should realize that you’re taking on something very difficult.
    • It seems too spartan to make someone unfamiliar with the KJ method do it for the purpose of learning it.

I’m going to do an exploratory net. - Expedition Net (aka: Fireworks) - The KJ Method’s twin brother, “Making KJ Methods Practical.” - KJ legal methods created for practical purposes - Since the purpose is different, it is only natural that the method should be different from the “KJ method of beginnings” (see The flow of birth of fireworks to think about). - - How exactly are they different? - In the narrowly defined KJ method one round (Chapter 4) - Make a nameplate as an element of group organization. - Then we have spatial arrangement as an element of illustration (p. 123). - - On the Explore.net - Spatial placement as an element of net building - Then, as an element of integrated illustration, I’m making tableplates (p. 289). - - Elements are swapped back and forth.

• The “grouping” is missing from the exploratory net.
  • So thinks that grouping is not necessary in practice.
  • Everyone assumes that the KJ method is about group formation, and there were many questions in the survey about how to form groups, but is that really necessary in the first place? But is it really necessary in the first place?

  • The first system of KJ method introduced to the world was the six-round cumulative KJ method. This created the perception that problem solving by the KJ method was time consuming. (p.436)

  • Jiro Kawakita himself has created about 1,000 pieces of work in the five years since 1981, of which only 8, or less than 1%, were created using the 6-round KJ method (p.436).
    • I usually use exploration nets (thinking fireworks) (90%).
    • 
    • I only do the 6 round KJ method once or twice a year.
      • We only work on topics that require six months to a year to reach a conclusion.
      • In the example of “Writing a book”, the theme is like “Writing a book”.
    • I do a light KJ method about once every two weeks.
    • I make about one exploration net (thinking fireworks) every two or three days.
      • Accounts for about 90% of all cases.
      • In other words, in most cases, they’re not grouped together.
  • So “group formation is always necessary” is an assumption contrary to the data
• So when is grouping necessary?
  • Quite simply, “when there are too many sheets.”
  • Direct spatial placement is not possible due to the large number of sheets.
  • therefore
    • Look at the whole picture and “attach what seems relevant.”
    • Give the group a “nameplate” that represents its content.
    • Bundle bundle with the nameplate at the top.
  • Bundling is the key to doing the KJ method at the beginning with a large number of sheets.
    • Bundling reduces the number of apparent pieces.
    • This is the purpose of group formation
  • 
  • Some people are misled by the term “grouping.”
    • I wonder if the word “group” makes them feel like they have to form a group of, say, seven or something.
    • Some things just don’t fit anywhere.”
      • Then leave it in one piece.
      • There remain many labels that say, “I can’t find a mate, and I’m left with one” (p. 126).
    • A group of, say, seven cards?”
      • First is the feeling of putting two pieces together.
        • It’s not uncommon for a piece attached in two pieces to be further attached later to increase the number of pieces.
      • Some sets of labels consist of two labels, and some sets consist of three labels. Some have a set of four or five labels.
        • There is a case in ‘s experience where the average number of sheets was 13 as a result of sticking together, but we consider that to be an exceptional event.

        • In this example, the small group of units in the first stage averaged a little less than 13 pieces. In this example, the number of units in the first small group averaged just under 13, but this was due to the fact that there were quite a few units in the field data collected that should unquestionably be in one group… It is normal for a group to include as many as four or five pieces of paper or units. (Continued from Ideas, p.72)

    • The main focus of this “putting two pieces together” is the “exploratory net.”

Different tools have their strengths and weaknesses

• Everyone in this study group uses Miro, which is an interesting situation.
  • You do a lot of things on paper, often because the client’s IT literacy is spotty.
• Explore net explicitly expresses the relationship between the two labels
  • This is hard to do with paper labels.
    • is a tearful device, such as “placing a clip📎 between
  • We can easily achieve this with Miro’s “Draw a line between stickies” feature.
• So there will be a lot to learn if we all take this opportunity to do an exploratory net together.
• This time, we’ll do something based on “Thinking Fireworks”, one of several variations of “Exploration Net”, customized to fit the constraints of this study group.
  • The original “Thinking Fireworks” will surely be useful for your work, so if you are interested, please read the explanations on p.304-311 of KJ method Let the chaos speak for itself.

Place the theme in the middle and spread it out in a 360-degree direction.

• First, write the theme with one large label in the middle.
• Add a new label for something associated with this theme, connect it with a line, add another new label for something associated with that label, and repeat. - If you have experience with mind-map, it may be easier to imagine writing associations and connecting them.
  • Mind maps create a tree structure, but exploration nets create a mesh (see below).
    • Arrange them in such a way that they are connected to as many things as possible in a short distance.
• This time I had the labels pre-written.
  • If you put time pressure on writing out the label, you may create a messy label in a hurry, which may cause all the later phases to be messed up. We wanted to avoid that (SEE Don’t put time pressure on label creation.)
  • When expanding the associations from the theme, glance at the existing labels and pick up and connect any labels that seem to be connected.
  • The goal is not to “hook up everything we’ve prepared in advance.”
    • If you can use it, you can use it.

Purpose of this time

• 〜It’s not a ”~.
  • It’s not about “connecting all the pre-prepared labels.”
  • It’s not about “putting the data together nicely.”
  • Nor is it “making pretty diagrams.”
  • Nor is it “slurred speech.”
• To notice something that you have not noticed before.
  • This could be an “idea” or “finding a solution to a problem”.
  • If you notice any one thing that is new to you, you’ve succeeded.
  • Some will find it difficult, it’s important to be able to think this is “doable”.

(Time is running out around here.)

Representing relationships with lines to create a mesh-like structure.

• The exploratory net does not organize groups, but rather expresses the relationship between the two pieces with a line.
• Many people have trouble organizing groups for the KJ method, but you can get the hang of it by doing an exploratory net.
  • Instead of “grouping,” “categorizing,” “categorizing,” or “creating an axis,” attach two pieces that seem related.
  • also place opposing labels close together.
• Place the label in a place where it will draw lots of lines with its surroundings.
  • Lines should be as short as possible.
• This process creates this kind of mesh (net).

  • 

  • I actually made it on the Miro board you all are looking at.

  • At the time the mesh was created, it was not divided into groups.

• In the process of creating a mesh, for example, you may say, “I thought I was thinking in terms of multiple aspects, but when I put them together, there are gaps around the themes.
  • What fills this gap?” Prompting awareness by asking “What fills this gap?

Once the mesh is created, pen around each of the two or three pieces.

• Surround the area with two to three pieces, four to five at most.
  • This is the equivalent of collecting labels for the KJ method.
  • Anything that does not fit well anywhere may of course be left in one piece (lone wolf).
  • (In Miro) I thought it would be good to use a frame, but it was hard to do, so I decided to enclose it with a pen.
• Once enclosed, summarize and give a title (nameplate)
  • How would you summarize it?” Asking the question “How can I summarize this?
  • Unlike the narrowly defined KJ method, there is no bundling, so there is no restriction that “the meaning must be known only by the nameplate” (SEE Mission of the nameplate).
    • Even if you make some mistakes, you can summarize them comfortably because you know what they mean when you read what’s in them.
• Repeat this “enclose and put a nameplate” until there are 5 or 6 enclosures.

Pay attention to what you notice and make it into a narrative

• When the work is done, first take a break and carefully appreciate the whole process.
  • You can add anything you come up with in the process.
• Then, make it descriptive.
  • No need to write long, clean sentences.
  • That’s not what we’re here for.
• Repost: The purpose of this time is “to notice something new for me, even if it is just one thing.”
  • So pay attention to “what you notice” and put it into words.
  • Narrativization also has different ways of doing things depending on the purpose. by
    • Narrative for reporting of facts collected
      • Many of you may be used to this, but that is not the purpose of this project.
    • Narrating for Ideas” (p. 141)
      • Put more and more of what you notice and ideas that come to mind into writing.
    • It is not important to report the whole picture of the ex-labels in this study session
      • So, let’s focus on “awareness” as the main part of the story and explain only the minimum necessary labels.
• Why is awareness valuable?
  • Because that’s what “the bike moves forward.”
  • Repeating the same things we’ve been doing won’t solve the problem.
  • Reaffirming what you already know hasn’t taught you anything.
  • In order to move forward, it is necessary to realize the goodness of “things that go against conventional thinking”.

Constraints of this study session

• The ideal theme is what I am struggling with right now.
  • But you don’t want to share that with others.
  • For example, if you’re serious about your career, “changing jobs” is an option you should consider, but you don’t want to discuss whether or not to change jobs in front of some of your colleagues.
  • Priority was given to the benefits of seeing other people’s work.
• Ideally, there should be no time limit.
  • The experience of thinking carefully until you are satisfied is beneficial.
  • Some people try to look presentable in the eyes of others when they have a presentation scheduled after a certain time.
  • The purpose is to think hard and gain some new insights.
  • Prioritized the benefits of listening to other people’s insights.
• It is difficult to align the time required for a large number of people.
  • Some are fast, some are slow.
  • It’s not always the slow people who are bad, there are those who sass up their appearances without thinking twice about it.
    • It’s like buzzing a bicycle around with the stand up, you can turn it faster because there’s no load on it, and you’re not going to move forward by doing that.
  • In this case, we’ll say, “If the label didn’t reticulate in the first 30 minutes, we’ll leave it alone and move on.
    • The idea of adjusting time by reducing the number of sheets for slow people
    • People who spend too much time trying to “use it all” end up rushing and doing the crucial second half in a messy way, which is not good.
      • I would rather not be able to use all of the labels than to make the second half a chore, so I prioritized taking my time in the second half over “using all of the labels”.
      • If you don’t have time constraints, you’re really better off challenging yourself to use all the labels.
        • Because the question, “How can this be connected?” prompts awareness.
    • People with extra time
      • You should take the time to watch it and add as much as you can think of.
        • This is how also recommends
      • You can go and watch other people work.
• After this study session is over, I want you to take the time to do it alone, on a subject you really want to think about, without worrying about what others think.
  • This experience is very important for “KJ legal thinking to become clear”.

Q: Can the act of creating a mesh of fireworks be considered a preliminary step to grouping?

• A: I guess that depends on what you mean by “grouping” or “pre-grouping.”
• Q: When it is difficult and confusing to group and put a nameplate in the beginning KJ method, I wonder if it would be easier to do it by finding the relationship between stickies first.
• A: It definitely has the effect of making it easier to do, so from ‘s point of view, it’s not the KJ method at the beginning, but from a practical point of view, it’s better to use fireworks, which is easier and less time consuming to do.
  • The “KJ method in the beginning, it takes too long” problem is a problem that is also aware of.
• Q: One interpretation is that one of the reasons for this was the lack of language on how to do the grouping.
• A: Well, actually, I’ve done my best to verbalize some of it, but the harder I try to verbalize it, the heavier the work becomes and the more time it takes.
  • Jiro Kawakita is so confident in his judgment that he can make groupings without having to verbally think about how to do it right.
  • However, if you try to convey the feeling of grouping to someone who doesn’t know how to ride a bike, it’s like putting together a manual in words and having them read it.
  • Especially serious people who say, “I have to read and understand this before I can ride a bike!” I have to follow the manual!” They feel like, “I have to read and understand this, or I won’t be able to ride a bike!
  • There is a flowchart-like document created by Jiro Kawakita, but I think, “No, no, no one will be able to do it after reading this.
    • 
    • A: Even if the process of “looking at the contents of the group and making a front cover” is verbalized in detail B, it is even more difficult for someone who does not understand A to understand B

It would be good to have a short presentation after the work is done on “what kind of efforts might be needed to create a loftwork style in the future”.

• Indeed!

---

This page is auto-translated from /nishio/KJ法勉強会@サイボウズ using DeepL. If you looks something interesting but the auto-translated English is not good enough to understand it, feel free to let me know at @nishio_en. I’m very happy to spread my thought to non-Japanese readers.